Earthlink Hosting Review: One of the
First & One of the Best
Earthlink is a well-known Internet service provider that
has been around for several years. Founded in 1994 by
Sky Dayton, it has emerged as one of the leading names
in Internet service. In 2000, Earthlink and Mindspring
merged, creating the second largest Internet service
provider in the United States at the time – with more
than three million members. In 2006, Earthlink announced
a new cable broadband agreement with Time Warner. This
will broaden their customer base and include 27 million
households. The mission is: “Anytime, anywhere,
EarthLink connects people to the power and possibilities
of the Internet. We deliver a reliable and personalized
experience our customers trust.” In 2005, they received
CNET's Editor's Choice Award.
In addition to providing Internet access to subscribers,
they also offer several web hosting opportunities for
those seeking to establish an online presence. They
offer near-100% reliability and top-of-the-line
features. While some plans can work for individual use,
most web hosting solutions are geared toward those
building a business or those seeking reliable business
solutions for their established web presence. Therefore,
if you own a small business, Earthlink may be a great
place for you to turn for your hosting needs.
Earthlink’s hosting packages include 3 difference plans:
StarterSite, ProSite, and PremiumSite. The StarterSite
begins at $9.98 a month with 2,000MB in disk storage,
20GB data transfer, and up to 30 mailboxes. The ProSite
starts at $17.48 a month and includes 4,000MB disk
space, 40GB data transfer, and up to 100 mailboxes. The
PremiumSite offering starts at $42.48 a month and has
10,000MB in disk space, 200GB data transfer, and up to
200 mailboxes. There is no setup fee for any of these
plans.
There are also some great benefits to Earthlink’s web
hosting services. They have a Web Hosting Control Center
which allows you to manage your web site from one
location. If you run into any problems with your
service, you can contact their technical support team at
any hour of the day by phone. There’s also a free
Trellix Site Builder software, which helps you build
your own site and get it up and running in no time, and
also a free online marketing guide to show you how to
market your online presence.
Earthlink also offers extensive ecommerce packages.
Their three plans are Store, SuperStore, and SuperStore
Unlimited. As with the web hosting packages, there are
no setup fees. Each plan gives you the choice of going
with Unix or Windows 2003 servers. With both operating
systems, all ecommerce packages include Miva Merchant
ecommerce software, Access to the EarthLink Control
Center, FTP access, Support for MS FrontPage 2002, Site
Builder software, blogs, and Urchin Web Site Statistics.
For an additional fee, you can choose to add more
mailboxes and disk space.
Even if you don’t choose to go with Earthlink Internet
access or one of their web hosting packages, you can
still opt for their domain parking services, which gives
multiple domains the ability to link back to your site.
This service allows you to redirect parked domains to
your web site, protect your company’s identity by
registering your domain name, and assign special URLs to
specific promotions, products, or advertisements.
In order to help you select the best options for your
needs, there is an extensive FAQ page that answers your
questions. There is also the option to chat live with a
representative for more personalized service. Of course,
there’s always the choice to call them on the phone.
Finally, Earthlink offers SiteBuilder for customers that
want to build their own sites, but if you want a more
professional look done quicker, you can choose
Earthlink’s web design services. They’re partnered with
Website Pros, design experts that can deliver the look
that you need. They work with you throughout the process
so you can get the most out of your service.
Continue to Earthlink Hosting ...
