Internet-Based Company Was Industry Pioneer

, one of the world’s premiere web hosting and IT companies is quietly functioning right in Bridgewater, and has been since 1996.

Joyce Lin, the owner and operator of Web Express, Inc., is a Bridgewater resident who housed the company at 672 Route 206 before moving it to its new location along Route 22 in May.

“I live in Bridgewater, so it’s much easier to start a business in your neighborhood,” she said.

Web Express, Inc. began providing its varying Internet services in the mid-1990s to a wide range of customers, ranging from local government and library systems to a worldwide client base that still exists today.

“We actually started with the international customers first, and then the local area," Lin said. "Local businesses and corporations came later on. The people who were more aware of what the Internet could do for them [at the time] tended to be the people who had a technological background, and those were in the rest of the U.S., Europe and everywhere. Local people tended to fall a little bit behind at the time.”

Other countries where clients have used Lin’s web services—which include webex.com, 007names.com, netnweb.com and hostsupport.com—presently include Nigeria, Africa, Japan and several European countries, including the Netherlands and England. The fact that the business operates exclusively on the Internet gives it a reach that other local businesses may not enjoy.

“Anyone who finds us, they come to our websites,” Lin said. “There is really no geographical boundary.”

Another Internet service where Web Express, Inc. pioneered was as a domain name registrar. In a time when very few domain name services existed and registering a domain name was not viewed as being essential to a successful business like it is today, Web Express, Inc. got a jump start on the rising trend.

“I told all the local businesses that they had to get domain names for their companies, and a lot of people said, ‘well, what do I need that for?’” Lin said. “A few years later, they were all like, 'oh my gosh, I think I need a domain name.'”

Lin said she has noticed that some of those who have fallen behind the times now struggle to make their presence felt on the Internet, due in large part because they have been unable to establish a desired presence for their businesses with a strong domain name.

“Everybody’s trying to get online now," she said. "Right now, everybody is aware of the importance of owning a name. A lot of them, I’d say 80 or 90 percent, fell behind and couldn’t get a name they wanted, so they’ve settled for something less desirable for them.”

Knowing this, Lin understands the demand for domain names, and offers some of the lowest prices in the industry, besting competitors like GoDaddy.com. Currently, 007names.com offers shared hosting packages for as low as $7.95 per month.

“Our registration price and hosting price is probably the lowest one on the market,” she said. “We treat our customers very well, and that’s why a lot of our customers have been with us since 1996 or 1997.”

Above all else, though, the company keeps a small-town business philosophy despite its global reach.

We consider ourselves to be making the money the old fashioned way, one customer at a time,” Lin said.