Unlike most providers, we do not charge extra for business use of the Websites included with accounts. Business Websites are a little different though, and this page is about some of those differences. It's mostly about free special features for more businesslike Websites, but we'll also mention some options that aren't free.

These free features are only for business Websites, so they aren't enabled automatically. The directions for using them are simple: tell us your business Website exists, and promote the appropriate URL.

Unbusinesslike URLs (Web addresses)

Imagine Fred Smith has a business making handcrafted beerkegs, and he wants to put it on the Web. He signs up for a NetHeaven account with username fred, and he makes a Website for his business. He follows the directions on our Web page on how to use your Web space.

Fred winds up with the rather unbusinesslike URL (Web address)

http://www.netheaven.com/~fred

As an address for Fred's beerkeg business, this just doesn't cut it. For one thing, it advertises NetHeaven, not Fred's business. In fact, there's nothing in this URL to associate it with Fred's beerkeg business. Also, few of Fred's English-speaking prospects have any idea what a ~ is or what to call it, other than something like "squiggly."[*]

Even fewer of them can find it on a keyboard, and those who can probably know that on the Internet it signifies a personal Website.

[*] It's correct name is "tilde", and it's on your keyboard in the upper left, next to the key with the numeral "1" and the "!"

Businesslike URLs

We can rescue Fred. Usually we automatically rescue client business Websites we learn about, but we often don't know about them for some time. Fred tells us, and we'll give Fred a businesslike URL.

The first thing we do is make Fred's site visible on our business server, which gets both NetHeaven and the ~ out of Fred's new URL. Fred doesn't lose the URL he had, he just gets a new one. He then has two URLs for the same Website - the URL he had

http://www.netheaven.com/~fred and a new more businesslike URL http://www.webaddrs.com/fred

We're part way there. We could stop here and leave Fred with a URL that has a businesslike structure, but it still doesn't say anything about his business.

That too can be fixed for free. However, it requires some input from Fred on what he wants, so this is as far as we go unless Fred tells us he wants more. Fred has to know what's available, and that's why this and some other pages are here on our own Website.
 

Fred wasn't thinking ahead when he chose his username "fred". That says who he is, but it doesn't speak to what his business is. By now he has Internet correspondents who know him as fred, so he doesn't want to change that, but he'd prefer his URL say something about his business.

We can do that for Fred. Without changing his username he can have this URL:

http://www.webaddrs.com/beerkeg

For most (but not all) users' browsers, we can also make this URL work:

http://www.beerkeg.webaddrs.com or, if Fred prefers, he can choose: http://www.beerkeg.netheaven.com

(Actually, we can make these work for all browsers, but it requires an IP-based virtual server. We'll get to them below, but they're not free, and so far we're just covering free features.)

(We will not let users use subdomains of netheaven.com that we feel are inappropriate. For example, a website developer would not be allowed to use

http://www.websites.netheaven.com)

Adding a domain for the business

Fred decides he wants to tidy up his URL even more, with his own domain. We register beerkeg.com for Fred's beerkeg company. We do not charge Fred for the domain services he needs, but the domain registry will charge him a registration fee in most cases.[*]

With his domain - but without an IP-based virtual server - Fred gets two more URLs, one that works with all browsers

http://www.beerkeg.com/beerkeg and one that works with most browsers http://www.beerkeg.com

The latter is done with a free feature called a name-based virtual server. (With a conventional, or IP-based, virtual server, the latter URL will work with all browsers, but we are still covering just free features.) See our page on virtual servers.

Fred still has not given up his other URLs. These are still valid addresses for his beerkeg Website:

http://www.netheaven.com/~fred http://www.webaddrs.com/beerkeg

(With his domain, Fred can also take advantage of his NetHeaven account's other free domain services.)

[*] Fred's business has no geographical identification, but for domains associated with a locality there are often locality-based domains available for free. For example, if Fred's business were the Lake George Beerkeg Company, then beerkeg.lake-george.ny.us might appeal to him and would not cost anything to register.

(IP-based) Virtual server

Fred has decided he wants his simple beerkeg.com URL to work with all browsers. In addition, Fred now wants his personal Website to differ from his business Website. He needs an IP-based virtual server.

IP-based Virtual servers aren't free. However, Fred has also been thinking about using ISDN, and he's realized that for not much more than the cost of ISDN alone he can get both ISDN and the virtual server he wants, plus weekly hit reports too. Fred's been reading our online blurb and has decided to go for a Premium Membership.

With the Premium Membership's virtual server, every browser can reach Fred's business Website via the URL

http://www.beerkeg.com

Of course, if Fred wants his Website to be usable with older browsers, he still must be careful about not using new Web features they don't support, or at least he must make those features not be critical components of his Website.

With his virtual server, Fred has the option of, for example, letting his kids use his personal Website without worrying about what they do to his business image. (We take no responsibility for what they do to his personal image.)

Fred must tell us if he wants the his personal and business sites to be different. By default we make them the same.