Choosing features and services for your website

To successfully put your business on the Web, you will need some or all of the following features and services, depending on what you want to do. Click each item to find out more about the service and the advantages and disadvantages of making different choices. (I will be adding more links as I write the pages.)

DSL or other high-speed connection to Internet
ISP (Internet service provider)
Website hosting company; for example, Server101
Your own domain name
One or more e-mail addresses at your own domain
Website designer and/or developer
Website design, development, and maintenance software
Site search facility; for example, Atomz
A newsletter server; for example, AWeber
Adtracking facilities; for example, Adminder
Autoresponders; for example, AWeber
Forms processing facilities
Shopping cart or other order processing facilities
Credit card or other payment acceptance facilities; for example, MultiCards® Internet Billing (most countries worldwide)
Website statistics facilities
Newsgroup (Usenet) access
An inexpensive long-distance telephone service, as a general business aid