First off, let's define what this is. Basically, an Internet Hosting Provider (ISP) is a company with a room(s) full of servers connected to the Internet. This is where the physical files used to build your web site will reside.
You are most certainly going to be using an ISP because the only other alternative is to setup and maintain the Internet servers yourself. Not only can most people not afford this, but it is hard to do and just makes no sense for an individual person or small company. Even large companies use ISP's these days.
There are many advantages to using an ISP. The biggest one is cost. A single Internet server can host hundreds or thousands of web sites and therefore the ISP can afford to let you put your web site on their servers for a very low monthly cost.
The other alternative is to get a package in which your business uses the entire web server. But, unless you have some exceptional situation that makes this necessary, there is no reason to do this.
The ISP is responsible for maintaining the Internet server and making sure that no one hacks into it. This is very important and one of the considerations you need to make when selecting an ISP. You want to use an ISP that considers availability and security a high priority.
Over the years, I have used three different ISP's. Changing ISP's is kind of like changing your phone service. It is not something you want to do often, because it takes a lot of effort to transfer files and domain names over and there is always a delay involved. For this reason, I suggest you take a little time and make sure you are selecting an ISP that you want to stick with.
I would suggest that you ask friends what ISP's they have used and have them tell you what it is they liked or did not like about them. If anyone mentions that they have trouble accessing the files on their web sites or that the ISP they used got hacked once, scratch the name of their ISP off your list.
Ideally, you want to hear from someone who tells you that when they had a problem with their web site, they were able to quickly and easily contact the ISP support and had a resolution almost immediately. If anyone tells you this story, go ahead and sign up with who they are using.
Whatever you do, do not let price be your only factor for deciding. Hosting rates are ridiculously cheap these days, but you still pay for what you get. How much can you expect if you are paying less per month than you would pay for a meal off the dollar menu at McDonalds?
Good luck and let me know your experience with an ISP. Was it good, bad, indifferent? You might be able to help someone reading the comments of this article.
