The research and analysis firm Netcraft (www.netcraft.com) announced on December 17 that 1&1 Internet (www.oneandone.co.uk) and The Planet (www.theplanet.com) were the two fastest growing Web hosting providers this year, adding 397 716 and 330 899 hostnames respectively. The two are followed by Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com), EV1Servers (www.ev1servers.net) and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com). Netcraft's data is based on its Hosting Provider Switching Analysis, which identifies movements of Web sites between hosting providers on a monthly basis.
The Planet (490.8 percent) and Go Daddy (171.7 percent) were the fastest growing companies in terms of active site percentage growth, according to Netcraft's data. Four of the top five were American-based hosts. Germany-based 1&1 Internet, which made its debut in the US market earlier in 2004, was the only European host in the top five. Netcraft said the five fastest growing providers all grew organically, expanding without the help of acquisition.
