Labs

Fasthosts is one the oldest and largest web-hosting companies in the UK. The Home package is available in both Linux and Windows versions for the same price and comes with 1.5GB of storage space and unlimited bandwidth, so if your site becomes popular you won't incur added charges or be forced to shut up shop temporarily. Both versions support Perl and PHP CGI scripting, and the Windows version adds ASP support.

You access your account through a tidy interface that includes a wide range of tools without overcomplicating matters. Getting your site up and running is straightforward, although unlike most of the other web-hosting packages here,

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there's no online file manager. This means an FTP client is the main access route to your web space. Fasthosts provides a free download of Wise-ftp, but there's a comprehensive guide to logging on to your FTP account using a number of other clients, both for Windows and Linux. Alternatively, you can publish directly from FrontPage, which may make life easier for novices.

The Home account provides five advanced 1GB mailboxes with anti-virus and spam protection and 200 standard 20MB mailboxes. Both types of mailbox can be accessed through POP3/IMAP and webmail.

Other tools include an online SiteBuilder application, which can churn out 10 basic webpages from templates for free. There's also a blogging template application, which makes it easy to create and maintain a basic blog. The Home package doesn't include SQL database functionality or SSL space for business transactions, although both are available in higher-level packages or as upgrade options.

With unlimited traffic, loads of email accounts and FrontPage extensions, Fasthosts' Home is particularly appealing if you expect high traffic volumes. Although it lacks SQL support, the site-building tools and FrontPage extensions are a boon for novice users.