Labs

All In One + from Lycos is the most expensive web-hosting package in this test, but it comes with a wealth of tools, a generous 2GB of storage and a 20GB monthly bandwidth limit.

For users who are unfamiliar with the finer points of creating and running a website, Lycos provides an E-Learning pack. This consists of more than 200 articles as PDFs that cover everything from basic HTML to PHP and SQL. Similar content is available on the internet, but it is very useful to have all this information in one location. There's also a comprehensive help system.

The WebBuilder application makes it easy to

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design and edit your site using template pages. However, while this will get you up and running, it won't result in a particularly original webpage. The toolbar and photo album builders are more useful. There is a basic CGI script library, which makes adding simple components to your site, such as the time and date, very easy. You can upload your site by FTP or use the comprehensive online file manager, while support for FrontPage extensions means you can also publish directly from your desktop. An ample 200 email accounts can be created and accessed either through a webmail interface or using a POP3/IMAP client such as Microsoft Outlook.

The package also includes space for two SQL databases, and additional ones are available for 99p per month. These can be purely user-defined databases that are administered through phpMYAdmin or, alternatively, by one of the many open-source software titles available for direct install. Unlike the Fantastico suite offered with cPanel-based packages, not all the tools here eat up SQL slots.

Although All In One + is a relatively expensive package, its solid interface, technical proficiency and wealth of useful extras just about justify the price.