Much has been written about choosing an ISP for general dial-up access to the Internet. But there are additional factors to consider when choosing an ISP to host your Web store.

The choice of an ISP is critical to the success of your store. Once you take the plunge and commit to a specific company, it can be difficult to change without suffering considerable disruption.

Herewith are 10 steps to help you make your all-important selection.

#1 Plan first. Too many Web store merchants choose their ISP and then start to think about how they are going to implement their store. Instead, prepare an outline plan for your store -- number of items, desired features, payment methodsand so on. THEN select an ISP who will commit to supporting your plan.

#2 Seek recommendations. There are currently about 2000 ISPs in the US and about 200 in the UK. It is obviously not possible to review every ISP's capabilities, so draw up a list of up to 10 candidates based on advice from business associates. Another fine way to uncover the gems is to post to newsletters and newsgroups, and seek recommendations.

#3 Submit your requirements. Forward your outline store plan to your selected ISPs and ask for a written response (with a deadline) detailing how they can meet your requirements.

#4 Analyse the responses. This is where you can separate the wheat from the chaff. Many won't respond within the time frame you requested. And some of those who do will submit incomplete replies. Remember that the ISPs are pitching hard for your business and should be trying equally hard to impress. If their service is poor now, it will only get worse after you sign on the dotted line.

Your goal after this step is to prepare a short list of two to three ISPs for further evaluation.

#5 Look for experience. Hosting Web stores is a lot more complex than providing dial-up accounts with free Web space for personal homepages. Look for an ISP who can demonstrate experience in hosting Web stores. And ask for names of current merchants whom you can contact for references.

#6 Support. Straightforward dial-up accounts are set up with minimal contact between an ISP and a customer. However, setting up a Web store will involve considerable interaction between you and your ISP, so make sure the ISP has round-the-clock support in place. Preferably, that support should come by both e-mail and 'phone. Send a few e-mails to the support desks of each ISP on your shortlist, and note how quickly and completely they respond.

#7 Guaranteed availability. While it's no big deal if your personal homepage is unavailable for a few hours a week, your Web storefront needs to be permanently available or you will lose out on orders.

Ask each of your shortlisted ISPs to give a written guarantee on availability and to explain how they intend to achieve this figure. Stay clear of ISPs who do not have a clear strategy in place to achieve their downtime targets. A few dollars refunded from your monthly fees as a downtime penalty cannot make up for lost sales.

#8 Connection speed. Not only must your store always be available, your customers must be able to access it quickly. Choose an ISP that is multi-homed, that is, it has Internet connections through more than one backbone carrier. That way, if one backbone carrier is down, there is an alternate route to send your data over.

Multi-homed set-ups are also better because the ISP's router is able to watch each link, and then decide which one to use to get your data to its destination the fastest.

#9 Unrestricted administration access. Some ISP's limit the number of site updates or restrict the hours during which you can access your site to update it. Choose a provider that allows unrestricted access to your store.

#10 Trust your instincts. Above all, don't ignore your gut feeling. Your choice of an ISP is critical to the success of your business. You will need to work with them very closely over the coming months, so make sure you feel comfortable with them and are confident you can build a good business relationship.

Paul Lang owns and runs Netsavvy Communications a UK-based Internet consultancy that specializes in helping small- and medium-sized businesses implement successful Web stores. He is also the editor of Sell It!, an online magazine that features Web commerce news, analysis and reviews.