Labs

Zen Internet's entry-level Bronze package comes with 1GB of storage and a 3GB monthly bandwidth allowance, which should be enough for most home and small-business users. It doesn't include domain registration, so you'll have to budget for that separately, but you do get an instant subdomain under .myzen.co.uk.

As with all the hosts here, FTP is the primary method for adding content to your site, but you can also use the online file manager. All packages from Zen Internet support FrontPage extensions, so you can also publish straight from your desktop. The Bronze package provides only 10 POP email addresses, which could prove insufficient if you plan to run

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the site for a club, business or organisation.

There's 1GB of space reserved for MySQL databases. You can implement up to three databases, or use one or more of these slots to house applications from the Fantastico library, such as photo galleries or blogs. There's also a selection of additional scripts covering bulletin boards, chat, e-commerce and guestbook applications accessible through the main control panel. Zen's control panel is one of the best in this round-up. It gives a no-nonsense overview of your website and account statistics and makes access to all website, domain, email and database- management tools straightforward.

The Bronze package houses your site on a Linux server. This means it has support for PHP and Perl, but if you want to use ASP, you will have to upgrade to the Windows Developer package for an extra £4 a month. The Bronze package also doesn't allow for any subdomains or additional domains to be hosted.

The relative dearth of email accounts and the inability to use more than one domain may deter some, but this is offset by the generous database quota. Although this package isn't expensive, the lack of an included domain could also put off first-time web developers and those on a tight budget.