Yahoo on Monday will launch a new Web hosting service that will target small businesses looking to promote themselves online. Called Yahoo Web Hosting, the product packages tools and services to allow small businesses have a Web presence. All subscribers will get 24-7 customer service, domain name registration, a business version of Yahoo Mail, access to Yahoo"s e-commerce storefronts and the ability to be promoted on Yahoo. Subscribers also get Web site publishing tools, design templates for different types of businesses, PHP scripting and MySQL database services.
The launch is Yahoo"s latest effort to sell Web services to business with fewer than 100 employees. Yahoo has been trying to diversify its revenue streams since online advertising collapsed and has added fees to existing services and launched new premium services as well
"We want to be the place for small businesses to go online," said Rich Riley, vice president of Yahoo"s small business division.
Although Yahoo has offered Web hosting for five years, this is the first time it has marketed it to small businesses. Up to now, Yahoo"s Web hosting services have fallen under the umbrella of its Web publishing site GeoCities and through its Broadcast.com service. In March, Yahoo began charging for beefed-up versions of GeoCities while pulling some features into paid-only versions.
GeoCities will continue to offer a free service with extra premium tiers and will be geared more toward casual Web publishers, Riley said. Yahoo will no longer offer "GeoCities Advantage," its most costly tier, and it will migrate these users over to Yahoo Web Hosting.