May 11, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - Web hosting provider and domain registrar AITDomains.com is offering new domain registrations for $1 in tandem with a year's worth of web hosting service. That is on the heels of the North Carolina-based registrar's initial foray into the hosting arena with low-cost plans geared toward small businesses. The targeted plans comes as research company IDC reports that small businesses are spending more on hosting with an estimated 80% of firms to be online in the next three years.
"What we're seeing is businesses want an online presence, not so much to sell their products, but to get their names out and to open an additional doorway to customer communication," said James Steger, Product Manager for AITDomains.com. "These plans are a good first step."
The IDC report says small businesses will spend nearly $7.5 million on web hosting by 2009, but that most of those companies have little interest in tapping the growing e-commerce market. What these customers are interested in is being able to interact with visitors without eating up staff time or hiring new employees.
"Our customers include a lot of one- and two-person shops," said Steger. "Their sites are used for lead generation, and for sparking traditional calls to action - phone calls, in-store visits, and the like. Some customers go further, like a couple of insurance agents who take credit card payments online as a convenience to them and clients."
