"The page cannot be displayed." Have you ever encountered this message while surfing the net? Of course you have. We all have. Think it can't happen to you? Think again. If you're hosting your business on one of the free hosting services, you're literally placing your entire business in the hands of a complete stranger.

Free hosting services don't need to have a reason to shut your site down. You may get up one morning, try to access your site and instead of your site loading, this message will appear, "The page cannot be displayed." There goes all of your hard work, your web site, your traffic, your search engine positioning, your customers, all gone.

Free hosting services aren't interested in your business or how hard you've worked to design your web site and create a steady stream of traffic. Their main concern is their business. That's why they're doing it. They display banner ads on every site they host. Pop up ads are not only irritating, but they make your site appear to be unprofessional. In addition, many Search Engines will not allow free host URLs to be listed.

If you're serious about your business and you have a sincere desire to succeed, having your own domain name is a must. It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. Businesses using the free services are not taken seriously. Having your own domain name is just as important if not more important than a professional looking web site. They go hand-in-hand.

Selecting Your Web Page Host

When selecting a professional web host your first consideration should be the company. Check out their background. Talk to some of their customers and ask them if they've been satisfied with their service.

How many customers do they serve?
What is their uptime percentage?
Do they require you to make payments in advance?
Do they charge set up fees?
How is their customer support? Test them.
Do they offer fast connections?
Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
Can you upgrade free of charge?

Web hosting prices vary greatly. When selecting your host, make sure you're getting exactly what you're paying for. Keep in mind, a lower monthly rate will not benefit you if your site is down a lot, slow, or customer service is poor.

Criteria for selecting a host

Selecting a professional web host is a very important decision. Make sure you do your homework and ensure the host you select offers exactly what you need.

Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
Your own True POP email account - name@yourdomain.com
Fast, low overhead, Multi-T3 access
Your own unrestricted cgi-bin
Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
Java, C, C++, Tcl support
Autoresponders
htaccess Password Protection for your files or directories
At least 1 GIGABYTE (1024 MB) of Daily Transfer
Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or other HTML editing software
Microsoft Frontpage (98) Server Extensions for those utilizing Frontpage
Unlimited free access to your server via Telnet/FTP
Online invoices, account tracking, and payment history to enable you to check your account balance, monthly invoices, past payments, etc.
Complete daily server backup
Easy access to your log files
Statistics on visits to your site

Free web hosts are great for hosting a personal web site, but not recommended for a business site. If you're really serious about your business and want to establish your Internet presence, I highly recommend Host4Profit. They provide you with exactly what you need to develop a profitable Internet business at a very reasonable price.