The Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for finding products or services. In other countries most businesses have a website or a virtual store in order to effort to attract customers. While South Africa has been lagging, the situation is changing rapidly. With the availability of virtual hosting, the costs for setting up a site have been slashed, while administration is much simpler.

Previously the only option was a dedicated server, but this new concept has slashed the cost of hosting websites. Even smaller businesses and individuals can now afford a site of their own. There are a large number of software packages available free which will let you create an amazing website very quickly and easily.

While you will still need a domain name, most hosting package provide a domain free. Domains are charged annually, and are the least of your worries. Together with the domain you should be provided with email addresses, which will allow you to project your company image even when simply responding to customer emails.

With modern technology having cut hardware costs dramatically, the Internet has been opened to everybody. Not only that, but there is free software available to design, build and manage your software available to download.With the cost of a website having become so affordable, it is essential to make full use of the opportunities which the popularity of social media has created for businesses.

An important criterion is the reliability of your service provider. This is an important factor, as a site that is frequently down can create a bad impression and you could lose customers. No one likes a very slow response from a site, so you should be certain that this will be up to demands.

Space and bandwidth are also important considerations. It is important to make sure you get more than you think you will need, because it is surprising how quickly modern software and a busy site can gobble up these resources. Nowadays most service providers overseas offered unlimited amounts of both, as they are very cheap.

You will find that setting up your own website will be very rewarding. The Internet is a powerful tool to promote your wares, and you might find an online store enables you to tap into a wider market. The cost of virtual hosting has dropped so much you can be sure your competition will also be using the opportunities presented.