Some kinds of shopping are fun. You take a spin to your local mall, look in shop windows and watch the people. Unfortunately, shopping for a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your business Web pages isn't fun.
If all you need is someone to host your Web pages, incidentally, the ISP can be anywhere in the country. But you probably want the Internet access for yourself and your business, as well as a local number to call up to check your e-mail. So you're off on a journey to find a local ISP.
As a Web page designer with clients all over the US, I've had a unique opportunity to work with many different ISPs. Since my own strong values are high quality and modest prices for my clients, here's what I have learned that will help you on your own quest for the perfect ISP.
Types of ISPs
You'll find ISPs all over the map in terms of price and service. I believe there are three types of ISPs:
Part-Time Hobbyists. These are often priced very nicely. But if you need some new service or technical support, you'll just have to wait, thank-you. Price is the attraction here, not service. Hardware is minimal. One way to tell if you have a part-time hobbyist is to telephone and see how long it takes to get a reply. Another is that access is available in only one community. Be careful here. While this could be very good, it could be unreliable, too. Never set up an on-line retail store with such a hobbyist ISP. But if you have a business-to-business site that won't attract a large number of "hits" each week it may work for you. Check some of their business customers' Web sites periodically to see that (1) you can contact them and (2) download (viewing) speed is adequate.
Small Businesses. These ISPs takes the whole enterprise very seriously. The ones who will survive know that excellent customer service is necessary to grow their business. You'll find technical support is available fairly quickly. Often tech support personnel will be on-call and work out of their homes with beepers. As the business grows, the tech support personnel will be in the office during regular hours. Prices are competitive and service is often very good. Look for expansion of local access numbers to various areas of your state. Some of these specialize in services to business.
Large Businesses. These deal in volume. They have in-house technical support, and often provide many services to business, though their level of flexibility is down from the small business ISP. They aren't so eager to please, so customer service sometimes suffers. Prices for personal ISP accounts will be competitive, while prices for business services are often somewhat greater than the small business ISPs. They have the best equipment and fastest connections to the Internet. You can recognize the large ISPs because they tell you they are the biggest.
Beginning Your Shopping Spree
Unless you have a local business friend you trust who has some personal experience with an ISP, you'll be wise to do your homework. In my area of the country (Sacramento, California) two "freebie" computer tabloids are available at libraries, grocery stores, and Burger Kings. This is where you can expect ISPs to advertise. If you can't find these, there are two URLs to try:
http://www.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Companies/Internet_Access_Providers/Regional/
or
http://www.thelist.com
Carefully write down the Web addresses for each ISP, and check them out on-line. They usually give prices for business services on one of their Web site pages. Some will be so high you won't go any further. While you're there, look for an e-mail address that will respond to inquiries about business Web pages. By the way, info@host_name is often an automated e-mail responder; it may not get you a real person.
The Checklist
Once you've collected e-mail addresses, prepare a checklist of questions to send by e-mail to each of your prospective ISPs.
When Bill Tait of Skeleton Development Corporation was looking nationally for an ISP to host his on-line store, he prepared a specific list of questions, of which I've extracted a few. After describing the kind of Web site he had in mind, he asked ISPs their price for offering:
* Virtual hosting of an existing domain name
* High-speed (T1 or faster), redundant connection to the Internet
* Netscape Secure Commerce Server
* Proven history of reliability and uptime
* 10 megabytes (MB) of Web space
* Access to the server's C compiler, Perl interpreter, and his own, unique cgi-bin directory. (These allow for programs to support a "shopping cart" application)
* Unlimited e-mail addresses for their domain.
* Auto-responder e-mail system
* Mailing list program (such as majordomo or listserv) for a discussion group or newsletter
* Unlimited telnet and FTP access
Now your checklist will probably be different and perhaps not so demanding. Bill found that only about 25% answered his e-mail inquiry. That tells you something right there.
Ask Some Current Business Clients
Next, Bill checked out more thoroughly the ISPs that responded. He looked at the businesses hosted by each ISP and wrote down e-mail addresses to contact each. Then he sent the business clients a questionnaire that went something like this:
"I am hoping that you can help me. I am considering host_name as a host. If you could, please spare a few minutes to candidly reply to these questions:
1. Has your service been VERY reliable?
2. Roughly how many times has your WWW service been "down"?
3. If you have problems, is host_name tech support accessible and responsive?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall experience with host_name?
5. How long have you used host_name?
6. Any other comments?
Thank you very much for your time. Any help is truly appreciated."
He found that 50% of the businesses he contacted willingly answered his questions. None seemed offended at his query. "Some of the responses were alarming," he says. "I stumbled across a few clients very unhappy with their ISPs." This eliminated several more prospective ISPs.
Now, Bill had a short list of ISPs who met his requirements, with whom he had some degree of confidence. Hard work? Yes. But for a very Internet-intensive business like Bill's, he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
Good News, Bad News, Good News
The good news is if you conduct this sort of two-stage survey, your chances of securing a good ISP are much improved. The bad news is you could still make a mistake. The good news is that if you do, and if you have your own domain name, you can always transfer to another ISP if you need to.
If you just can't find an acceptable ISP in your community, don't despair. You can have any ISP in the country to host your Web pages. (If you're one of my clients, I can make some recommendations.) E-mail sent to the e-mail address at the remote ISP can be automatically forwarded (using a .forward file in your root directory) to any e-mail address you desire, such as at CompuServe or America Online. When a good ISP comes to town, you can always transfer then.
The bottom line? Do your homework on an ISP and you'll probably end up satisfied (and hopefully prosperous).
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt/issue3.htm
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
12 Elements in Planning Your Business Web Site
Several years ago our family built our dream home in the country. It seemed like the planning stage would never end! Site location, placement of windows to take best advantage of the site, orientation for solar gain, floor plans, financing, permits, locating and checking out contractors, septic system requirements, the list went on and on. But we had to keep moving -- we had one of those two-year IRS deadlines within which to complete the project. I was happy when we moved past the planning phase to the construction. But the usefulness and value of the house we constructed depended on those careful, thoughtful plans.
Planning a Web site which is useful and valuable takes careful planning, too. These are some of the most important elements, though your particular industry may require other considerations. Some will seem obvious, while others you'll need to give more thought to. (Please note that these are elements not steps, since so many of them overlap.)
1. Begin with a Unique Selling Proposition
Hope springs eternal among us entrepreneurs. There was a time when the Web was thinly populated -- no more. Now to sell your products or services you need a special twist, a way to differentiate yourself. You may have thought: Shouldn't I check out my competition first? No. Start with the wonderful idea first. But hand in hand with developing your Unique Selling Proposition you need to see what your competition is doing.
2. Check out your competition
Happy is the entrepreneur who doesn't have any competitors on the Web. Yes, there are still some wide open spaces in certain industries. But for most of us there are hundreds or thousands of competitors. How do you find out? Use an exhaustive (translate "exhausting") Web search engine such as AltaVista or HotBot and insert the key words that someone looking for a business like yours might use to find it. Use several sources for your research -- don't forget Yahoo -- since different engines and directories give you different listings for the same words.
Make yourself some forms on which you can make notes about your competitors' Web sites: name, URL, geographic scope of their marketplace, particular strengths, particular weakness or gaps in their offering, methods of attracting people to their Web page, attractiveness and utility of their Web pages, etc. As you do this -- expect a project which will last five to 10 hours or more -- you'll begin to refine your Unique Selling Proposition and see new possibilities. (Write these down as they come to you).
Just because you have many competitors doesn't mean you can't find your niche and do very well on the Net, but you'll have to differentiate yourself in some important ways to get noticed.
3. Specify objectives for your Web site
Just what do you want to accomplish? I talk to people constantly who tell me they want to have a Web site, but don't really know why, except that their competitors have one. Not good enough. Be precise. At the top of your notepaper write "Objectives". Then list them, such as:
- Generate prospects who I will contact on the phone or by e-mail.
- Promote a high-tech, growing-edge image for our company.
- Sell products directly over the Internet using a secure server to receive credit card information.
- Provide an on-line catalog to which I can point people from display ads, and thus save printing and distribution costs.
- Develop a national or global dimension to my business.
Of course, this forces the obvious question: Can you deliver on these objectives, on your emerging Unique Selling Proposition? Can you really conduct your business effectively at a distance of thousand or ten thousand miles? Read my article "What Is the Purpose of Your Web Site?" Web Marketing Today (WMT), Issue 6.
4. Decide if your product or service is a good one for the Web
Do Web demographics indicate that your potential customers are on the Web? Are some successful businesses out there doing what you want to do? And how can you tell if they're successful? Is the geographic marketplace you are able to serve with your business large enough to warrant using the Web rather than traditional forms of advertising? Can you differentiate yourself enough to attract customers? Read my article "Is Your Product a Good Candidate for Web Success?" WMT, Issue 14.
5. Select a domain name for your business
Don't call it a "vanity domain name." This is not vanity, it is good business. I encourage clients to look for a domain name which has all or most of four elements:
- Short
- Memorable
- Related to your company name or core business
- Hard to misspell
You can see which names are already taken by checking with InterNIC. I caution you against trying to apply for the name yourself; go through your ISP or Web site designer to save yourself some grief. You might also want to read my article entitled, "Does Your Business Need a Custom Domain Name?" WMT, Issue 4.
6. Ask yourself, "Why should anyone come to my Web site?"
If you haven't already read it, take a look at my article "Why in the World Should Anyone Come to Your Web site?" WMT, Issue 7. A very great part of the success of your Web site adventure depends upon your answer to this, and the strategy that flows from it.
7. Develop content for the Web site
You have at least three objectives for the content you'll have on your Web site:
- Attract people to your Web site
- Convince them you are knowledgeable and competent enough to trust with their business
- Tell them about your business
Most novice Web marketers only accomplish objective 3. "Attraction content" is what will get listed in Web search engines and will bring people. Consider for a moment Wilson Internet Services. Web site designers are a dime a dozen (not ones with excellence, of course. Grin.). How do I attract potential customers? I have two primary content attractions:
- "12 Web Page Design Decisions Your Organization or Business Will Need to Make", one of my first articles written nearly a year ago and periodically updated. Not by chance it begins with a numeral which places it at the top of one of Yahoo's alphabetical lists. This one article gets hundreds of hits a week. It is related to Web site design, of course, but doesn't purport in its title to be selling those services.
- Web Marketing Info Center, which offers a constantly up-dated list of hundreds of linked articles about conducting business on the Internet. I figured that people seeking to learn how to market their businesses on the Internet would make good clients, though the content does not directly relate to Web page design, per se.
People will come for information, entertainment, or social interaction. Or they probably won't come at all -- unless they are specifically looking for something in your field and have the patience to search through pages and pages of your competitors.
8. Fashion a realistic business plan
If you've got a good business going already, you've got a leg up. But you need to make some realistic business plans. Be conservative about the number of hits you'll expect at first. Don't plan on your Web business making money for the first few months or more.
Some of my friends have a long history of money-making schemes which always focus on how much money they could make "if ..." rather than on how they can meet a felt need and really help others. If your Unique Selling Proposition comes from the former view your compatriots are many, but your business is not likely to do well. "Find a need and fill it" works!
Now get out a spread sheet and work the numbers. I know this is hard work, and that you have to make a lot of assumptions, but it is vital to a successful project. Include all the costs you can think of, including the possibility of increased staffing to handle e-mail inquiries, etc. Use the power of an electronic spreadsheet to try a number of "what-ifs" to see how much your various assumptions affect the bottom line.
Jesus cautions the person who wants to build a tower to count the cost, lest he become the laughing stock of his neighbors (Luke 14:28-30). You don't have to look far to see some of those unfinished "towers" on the Web.
9. Decide on a Web Site Designer
This is probably one of the most important decisions you'll make. Shop around for price, but be sure you look at sites they have completed for other clients. Look for experience, competence, quickness to return your e-mail or phone call (which may be an indication of what kind of priority they'll place on completing your Web site), artistic flair, and marketing savvy. If your Web site designer doesn't have personal experience using the Web to conduct business, what kind of Web site do you think he or she will produce for you? How valuable will be the advice you get?
The other option is to develop your Web pages in-house. If you're thinking about this, be sure to read my article entitled "Should You Outsource Your Web Pages or Do Them Yourself?" WMT, Issue 15.
10. Select an Internet Service Provider
Many businesses are finding they can save money and hassle by securing (1) a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) to provide e-mail and local access, and (2) a Web hosting firm thousands of miles away to provide Web page hosting. Local ISPs usually specialize in access but often don't understand or cater to business needs. They often price business services as if there were no competition. There is! Depending upon your specific needs, you can get adequate Web page hosting using your own domain name from between $17 and $55 per month. If you need a secure server, add another $20 or $30 per month. Caveat 1: Cheaper is not always better. Caveat 2: Expensive is sometimes a rip-off.
You might read my article entitled "How to Shop for an ISP for Your Business Web Pages.", WMT, Issue 3. Be careful if your Web page designer offers to do the hosting for you. It could be a good deal -- and then it could lock you into a situation that is difficult for you to get out of easily. (I've decided not to resell ISP services to my clients, since I don't want to be responsible for service I can't personally control, but I do provide my clients with recommendations.)
11. Clarify your marketing strategy
Actually, nearly everything we've talked about so far is part of your marketing strategy. But you need to think about what other means you will use to attract people to your Web site. Some of these include:
- Registering with the major Web search engines and directories. (Your Web site designer ought to do this for you.)
- Submitting press releases in the local, national, and trade press.
- Listing your URL in display ads, stationery, cards, brochures, catalogs, etc.
- Hobnobbing in targeted news groups and mailing list discussions. See my article on "Niche Marketing on the Web," WMT, Issue 12.
- Purchasing banner advertising on targeted high-traffic sites. See my article on "Using Banner Ads to Promote Your Web Site," WMT, Issue 16.
- Joining a Mall. See my article "Should You Locate Your Store in a Mall?" WMT, Issue 9.
You may also want to employ a Web marketing consultant or media broker to do this for you.
12. Set a target date
You can plan till you're blue in the face and perhaps see your best opportunities pass you by or be grabbed by your competition. There is an advantage to being the first one there with a Unique Sales Proposition. Do your planning, but don't wait forever. And along the way, make sure to get help from people with enough experience to guide you in the right direction.
Okay. That's what's involved in the planning process. Instead of making you feel overwhelmed, this ought to make you feel better. Just think. Since most of your competition haven't done a careful planning job on their Web sites, yours is likely to shine in comparison. Set a date and work diligently toward it. Go for it!
How to Shop for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to Host Your Business's Web Pages
Some kinds of shopping are fun. You take a spin to your local mall, look in shop windows and watch the people. Unfortunately, shopping for a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your business Web pages isn't fun.
If all you need is someone to host your Web pages, incidentally, the ISP can be anywhere in the country. But you probably want the Internet access for yourself and your business, as well as a local number to call up to check your e-mail. So you're off on a journey to find a local ISP.
As a Web page designer with clients all over the US, I've had a unique opportunity to work with many different ISPs. Since my own strong values are high quality and modest prices for my clients, here's what I have learned that will help you on your own quest for the perfect ISP.
Types of ISPs
You'll find ISPs all over the map in terms of price and service. I believe there are three types of ISPs:
Part-Time Hobbyists. These are often priced very nicely. But if you need some new service or technical support, you'll just have to wait, thank-you. Price is the attraction here, not service. Hardware is minimal. One way to tell if you have a part-time hobbyist is to telephone and see how long it takes to get a reply. Another is that access is available in only one community. Be careful here. While this could be very good, it could be unreliable, too. Never set up an on-line retail store with such a hobbyist ISP. But if you have a business-to-business site that won't attract a large number of "hits" each week it may work for you. Check some of their business customers' Web sites periodically to see that (1) you can contact them and (2) download (viewing) speed is adequate.
Small Businesses. These ISPs takes the whole enterprise very seriously. The ones who will survive know that excellent customer service is necessary to grow their business. You'll find technical support is available fairly quickly. Often tech support personnel will be on-call and work out of their homes with beepers. As the business grows, the tech support personnel will be in the office during regular hours. Prices are competitive and service is often very good. Look for expansion of local access numbers to various areas of your state. Some of these specialize in services to business.
Large Businesses. These deal in volume. They have in-house technical support, and often provide many services to business, though their level of flexibility is down from the small business ISP. They aren't so eager to please, so customer service sometimes suffers. Prices for personal ISP accounts will be competitive, while prices for business services are often somewhat greater than the small business ISPs. They have the best equipment and fastest connections to the Internet. You can recognize the large ISPs because they tell you they are the biggest.
Beginning Your Shopping Spree
Unless you have a local business friend you trust who has some personal experience with an ISP, you'll be wise to do your homework. In my area of the country (Sacramento, California) two "freebie" computer tabloids are available at libraries, grocery stores, and fast food outlets. This is where you can expect ISPs to advertise. If you can't find these, there are two URLs to try:
Yahoo's list of regional ISPs
or
http://thelist.iworld.com/
Carefully write down the Web addresses for each ISP, and check them out on-line. They usually give prices for business services on one of their Web site pages. Some will be so high you won't go any further. While you're there, look for an e-mail address that will respond to inquiries about business Web pages. By the way, info@host_name is often an automated e-mail responder; it may not get you a real person.
The Checklist
Once you've collected e-mail addresses, prepare a checklist of questions to send by e-mail to each of your prospective ISPs.
When Bill Tait of Skeleton Development Corporation was looking nationally for an ISP to host his on-line store, he prepared a specific list of questions, of which I've extracted a few. After describing the kind of Web site he had in mind, he asked ISPs their price for offering:
* Virtual hosting of an existing domain name
* High-speed (T1 or faster), redundant connection to the Internet
* Netscape Secure Commerce Server
* Proven history of reliability and uptime
* 10 megabytes (MB) of Web space
* Access to the server's C compiler, Perl interpreter, and his own, unique cgi-bin directory. (These allow for programs to support a "shopping cart" application)
* Unlimited e-mail addresses for their domain.
* Auto-responder e-mail system
* Mailing list program (such as majordomo or listserv) for a discussion group or newsletter
* Unlimited telnet and FTP access
Now your checklist will probably be different and perhaps not so demanding. Bill found that only about 25% answered his e-mail inquiry. That tells you something right there.
Ask Some Current Business Clients
Next, Bill checked out more thoroughly the ISPs that responded. He looked at the businesses hosted by each ISP and wrote down e-mail addresses to contact each. Then he sent the business clients a questionnaire that went something like this:
"I am hoping that you can help me. I am considering host_name as a host. If you could, please spare a few minutes to candidly reply to these questions:
1. Has your service been VERY reliable?
2. Roughly how many times has your WWW service been "down"?
3. If you have problems, is host_name tech support accessible and responsive?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall experience with host_name?
5. How long have you used host_name?
6. Any other comments?
Thank you very much for your time. Any help is truly appreciated."
He found that 50% of the businesses he contacted willingly answered his questions. None seemed offended at his query. "Some of the responses were alarming," he says. "I stumbled across a few clients very unhappy with their ISPs." This eliminated several more prospective ISPs.
Now, Bill had a short list of ISPs who met his requirements, with whom he had some degree of confidence. Hard work? Yes. But for a very Internet-intensive business like Bill's, he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
Good News, Bad News, Good News
The good news is if you conduct this sort of two-stage survey, your chances of securing a good ISP are much improved. The bad news is you could still make a mistake. The good news is that if you do, and if you have your own domain name, you can always transfer to another ISP if you need to.
If you just can't find an acceptable ISP in your community, don't despair. You can have any ISP in the country to hosat your Web pages. (If you're one of my clients, I can make some recommendations.) E-mail sent to the e-mail address at the remote ISP can be automatically forwarded (using a .forward file in your root directory) to any e-mail address you desire, such as at CompuServe or America Online. When a good ISP comes to town, you can always transfer then.
The bottom line? Do your homework on an ISP and you'll probably end up satisfied (and hopefully prosperous).
http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/shop-isp.htm
If all you need is someone to host your Web pages, incidentally, the ISP can be anywhere in the country. But you probably want the Internet access for yourself and your business, as well as a local number to call up to check your e-mail. So you're off on a journey to find a local ISP.
As a Web page designer with clients all over the US, I've had a unique opportunity to work with many different ISPs. Since my own strong values are high quality and modest prices for my clients, here's what I have learned that will help you on your own quest for the perfect ISP.
Types of ISPs
You'll find ISPs all over the map in terms of price and service. I believe there are three types of ISPs:
Part-Time Hobbyists. These are often priced very nicely. But if you need some new service or technical support, you'll just have to wait, thank-you. Price is the attraction here, not service. Hardware is minimal. One way to tell if you have a part-time hobbyist is to telephone and see how long it takes to get a reply. Another is that access is available in only one community. Be careful here. While this could be very good, it could be unreliable, too. Never set up an on-line retail store with such a hobbyist ISP. But if you have a business-to-business site that won't attract a large number of "hits" each week it may work for you. Check some of their business customers' Web sites periodically to see that (1) you can contact them and (2) download (viewing) speed is adequate.
Small Businesses. These ISPs takes the whole enterprise very seriously. The ones who will survive know that excellent customer service is necessary to grow their business. You'll find technical support is available fairly quickly. Often tech support personnel will be on-call and work out of their homes with beepers. As the business grows, the tech support personnel will be in the office during regular hours. Prices are competitive and service is often very good. Look for expansion of local access numbers to various areas of your state. Some of these specialize in services to business.
Large Businesses. These deal in volume. They have in-house technical support, and often provide many services to business, though their level of flexibility is down from the small business ISP. They aren't so eager to please, so customer service sometimes suffers. Prices for personal ISP accounts will be competitive, while prices for business services are often somewhat greater than the small business ISPs. They have the best equipment and fastest connections to the Internet. You can recognize the large ISPs because they tell you they are the biggest.
Beginning Your Shopping Spree
Unless you have a local business friend you trust who has some personal experience with an ISP, you'll be wise to do your homework. In my area of the country (Sacramento, California) two "freebie" computer tabloids are available at libraries, grocery stores, and fast food outlets. This is where you can expect ISPs to advertise. If you can't find these, there are two URLs to try:
Yahoo's list of regional ISPs
or
http://thelist.iworld.com/
Carefully write down the Web addresses for each ISP, and check them out on-line. They usually give prices for business services on one of their Web site pages. Some will be so high you won't go any further. While you're there, look for an e-mail address that will respond to inquiries about business Web pages. By the way, info@host_name is often an automated e-mail responder; it may not get you a real person.
The Checklist
Once you've collected e-mail addresses, prepare a checklist of questions to send by e-mail to each of your prospective ISPs.
When Bill Tait of Skeleton Development Corporation was looking nationally for an ISP to host his on-line store, he prepared a specific list of questions, of which I've extracted a few. After describing the kind of Web site he had in mind, he asked ISPs their price for offering:
* Virtual hosting of an existing domain name
* High-speed (T1 or faster), redundant connection to the Internet
* Netscape Secure Commerce Server
* Proven history of reliability and uptime
* 10 megabytes (MB) of Web space
* Access to the server's C compiler, Perl interpreter, and his own, unique cgi-bin directory. (These allow for programs to support a "shopping cart" application)
* Unlimited e-mail addresses for their domain.
* Auto-responder e-mail system
* Mailing list program (such as majordomo or listserv) for a discussion group or newsletter
* Unlimited telnet and FTP access
Now your checklist will probably be different and perhaps not so demanding. Bill found that only about 25% answered his e-mail inquiry. That tells you something right there.
Ask Some Current Business Clients
Next, Bill checked out more thoroughly the ISPs that responded. He looked at the businesses hosted by each ISP and wrote down e-mail addresses to contact each. Then he sent the business clients a questionnaire that went something like this:
"I am hoping that you can help me. I am considering host_name as a host. If you could, please spare a few minutes to candidly reply to these questions:
1. Has your service been VERY reliable?
2. Roughly how many times has your WWW service been "down"?
3. If you have problems, is host_name tech support accessible and responsive?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall experience with host_name?
5. How long have you used host_name?
6. Any other comments?
Thank you very much for your time. Any help is truly appreciated."
He found that 50% of the businesses he contacted willingly answered his questions. None seemed offended at his query. "Some of the responses were alarming," he says. "I stumbled across a few clients very unhappy with their ISPs." This eliminated several more prospective ISPs.
Now, Bill had a short list of ISPs who met his requirements, with whom he had some degree of confidence. Hard work? Yes. But for a very Internet-intensive business like Bill's, he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
Good News, Bad News, Good News
The good news is if you conduct this sort of two-stage survey, your chances of securing a good ISP are much improved. The bad news is you could still make a mistake. The good news is that if you do, and if you have your own domain name, you can always transfer to another ISP if you need to.
If you just can't find an acceptable ISP in your community, don't despair. You can have any ISP in the country to hosat your Web pages. (If you're one of my clients, I can make some recommendations.) E-mail sent to the e-mail address at the remote ISP can be automatically forwarded (using a .forward file in your root directory) to any e-mail address you desire, such as at CompuServe or America Online. When a good ISP comes to town, you can always transfer then.
The bottom line? Do your homework on an ISP and you'll probably end up satisfied (and hopefully prosperous).
http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/shop-isp.htm
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