In recent years, the hosting business has become extremely competitive. Not so long ago, the monthly price for an average hosting account for one domain was in the $35 and up range, at a minimum. Now, you can get a hosting account where you can host unlimited domains (up to the disk space and network usage limits of your account), for $25 and under. To try to win more customers in this crowded field, most hosting companies offer bundles of features, included at no extra charge in your hosting plan.

On the surface, all of those features look great, and they are. From single autoresponders to shopping carts, from private name servers to the amazing Fantastico package that lets you install any of numerous software packages, like blogs, content management systems, forums, help desks, and so on, with near one-click ease. But there's a hidden, more self-serving reason the hosting companies offer this convenience to their customers. They hope you'll become dependent enough on the software features they offer that it will discourage you from changing hosting companies.

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