Network Solutions Small Medium Business Web Hosting review

Network Solutions is one of a growing list of companies that started out registering domain names and has since expanded into Web hosting and more. The company sells three basic hosting plans that offer a lot of bang for the buck, including generous storage and bandwidth; free domain name registration for the first year; support for commonly used scripts, databases, and security certificates; and a nice Web site design tool. But when it comes to e-commerce, Network Solutions' single package costs double that of many other providers, such as Hostway. If your site requires sales of goods and services, check out Hostway; otherwise, Network Solutions stands as a good choice for non-e-commerce sites.

Network Solutions keeps things simple by offering just three variations on its basic Web hosting package. The entry-level Standard plan costs $9.96 per month for 7GB of storage, 150GB of bandwidth, and 50 e-mail accounts. The $14.96, midrange Advanced package includes 15GB of storage, 400GB of bandwidth, and 100 e-mail addresses. Finally, the Pro plan goes for $29.13 and provides 30GB of storage, 500GB of bandwidth, and 200 e-mail addresses. We should note that all of these prices are based on a one-year sign-up, with prepayment for the full year. All three plans include one year of free domain registration (with a one-year purchase), FTP access, site backups every 24 hours, and support for SSL certificates. Unix packages feature MySQL databases and CGI, PHP, and Perl scripts. Windows packages features include .Net, ASP, CGI, and Perl scripts.

What you won't find with any of Network Solutions' basic plans is the option to add an online storefront, credit-card payment gateway, or merchant account. For these features, you must choose the expensive, $99.95 Pro E-Commerce plan, which offers e-commerce services courtesy of Network Solutions' own MonsterCommerce.