You'll find a wide range of prices for Internet Service Providers
(ISP's). Pricing is a consideration of the experience,
hardware & connection speeds, and services available to you, the client.

We characterize ISP's in three categories:

1. Part-Time Hobbyist ISP's - These are often priced very nicely. but if you need some new service or technical support, you'll just have to wait! Price is the attraction here, not service. Hardware is minimal. One way to tell if you have a part-time hobbyist is to telephone one 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 can be very good, it could be unreliable, too. Never set up an on-line 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 customer's Web sites periodically to see that
(1) you can contact them and
(2) download (viewing) speed is adequate.

2. Small Businesses ISP's - These ISP's take 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 specific business types.

3. Large Businesses ISP's - These deal in volume. They have in-house technical support, and often provide many services to businesses, 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 account will be competitive, while prices for business services are often somewhat greater than the small business ISP's. They have the best equipment and fastest connections to the Internet.

Does Your Business Need a Custom Domain Name?

The short answer is YES, unless you expect to do a minimal amount of business on the Internet.

A Domain Name:

Increases name recognition

Makes it easy for customers to remember your address

Indicates you are a serious Internet presence

Protects your Internet advertising investment from the possible failure
of your Internet Service Provider

Allows your Internet address to go with you,
even to your own in-house server if necessary

What kind of Name Should You Choose?

Choose a Domain Name which is:

Memorable
Short
Fairly Immune to Misspelling
Pronounceable
Directly Related to either your Business's Name or Core Field

Innovative ideas are what makes the world turn!

Our goal is to make the world turn and notice your companies web site!

Arias Multimedia Design
805.494.8383
ariasjg@adelphia.net