If you own a business of any size, web hosting is a necessity; it isn't a luxury. An internet-connected world demands that businesses have websites, even if the pages simply detail locations and hours of operation.
Why? Word of mouth only gets you so far in the internet era. People discover new businesses—even local businesses—via Bing, Google, and Yahoo. The days when they'd just look you up in the yellow pages are long gone. If you don't have a sharable website address, your chances of building online word of mouth via social networking plummet, too. In other words, no website, no discoverability, no money. Of course, web hosting isn't just for businesses. You may want to host a personal website or blog, too. Either way, the services here have you covered.
The first step in building your online presence is finding a web host, the company that stores your website's files on its servers and delivers them to your readers' and customers' browsers.