Seeking that heavenly host
A weak Web presence is not an option
By RYAN DORAN and ALEXANDER SOULE

 

It was a headline in May straight out of the “cybersquatter” days of yore – the domain name America.com was on the market for an asking price of $1 million, with the final sticker to be set at auction.

If $5,000 is more in line with your business budget, the America.mobi domain name can be had.

As the Internet completes a “Web 2.0” upgrade – while adding new top-level domains like the .mobi suffix targeting Web-enabled mobile devices – Web hosting remains an industry that mirrors Corporate America, with mom-and-pop vendors hunkered down alongside titans like Texas-based AT&T Inc., New York City-based Verizon Communications Inc., and IBM Corp. of Armonk.

IBM dominates the industry, according to IDC Corp., a Framingham, Mass.-based market research company, with a 25 percent market share in the United States. As might be expected, Big Blue excels at large, complex, hosting scenarios where application support and integration services are important, according to Lydia Leong, an analyst with Gartner Inc. of Stamford, Conn.

If there are any chinks in the company’s armor, she added, it is in complex contract terms that can shift risk onto the client, and in its use of corporate partners on smaller projects, which can impact communication.

Communication remains an issue throughout the industry: while industry players will gather next month at the HostingCon convention in Chicago, the fragmented sector lacks a national trade association to promote professional links and best practices.

Perhaps as a result, small business owners are often clueless when choosing the right Internet hosting provider for their Web sites, according to industry observers.

In addition to hosting sites on servers they maintain or subcontract, hosting providers typically host e-mail servers; register domain names; and design Web pages and purchase-transaction engines.

The wrong Web host can put a business in the position of promising a convenience that doesn’t deliver – ultimately harming the business.

“I'd recommend that business owners hire separately for the Web hosting and Web design services,” said Darryl Ohrt, founder of Plaid Design and Branding in Danbury, Conn., which works with emerging media like Web 2.0. “You want a great host company to do your hosting, and a great Web development firm to build your Internet work, especially on the smaller business side – there aren’t companies that do both well. You also don’t want your hosting account tied to your agency. What if things go sour, and you move to another agency? It’s best to keep the two independent.”

In shopping for a Web-development firm, business owners should consider capabilities, personality and budget, Ohrt said.

“Look at the firm’s portfolio of work,” Ohrt said. “Are they capable of producing the caliber and type of work that you need? Larger agencies bring more infrastructure, planning, depth and scalability. Maybe you need that; maybe you don’t. Get a firm that’s sized right for your project. There’s a right-sized firm for every business. Once you’ve found the right fit, give them your budget. Never ask, ‘What does a Web site cost?’ That's just like asking, ‘What does it cost to build a house?’ The answer depends on a thousand variables. Outline your budget up front with the agency, and ask what they can produce for you within that scope.”

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