E-commerce

Web hosting

Placing a customer's Web page or Web site on a commercial Web server. Many ISPs host a personal Web page at no additional cost above the monthly service fee, while multi-page, commercial Web sites are hosted at a very wide range of prices. The customer's registered domain name is typically used. A single computer can hold hundreds or even thousands of small Web sites, while larger Web sites use a dedicated computer or multiple computers.

InterNIC

The domain name registration project that was formed by agreements between Network Solutions, the National Science Foundation, General Atomics and AT&T.

Domain Parking

With domain parking, an ISP or Web-hosting service acts as the DNS server for your new domain. The service forwards any requests for http://www.yourdomain.com to a Web page, where you can display a message such as "Under Construction" or "Send e-mail to [email protected] for more information." Some hosting services will provide this basic functionality for free because it gives them the inside track on getting your business once you do decide to put up the site. Others charge $5 to $20 for a year's parking fee.