So my new site, http://www.karrtuttle.com/ , is up and running and I am now learning about the world of search engine optimization. I have a lot to learn and I can see I already made some mistakes.

I think iFinity's URL Master could help. I watched Lee's tutorials, which were, as I expected, excellent. I downloaded the product trial and installed it on my test site, which went well.

I then emailed my hosting provider tech support to see what they thought before proceeding to install it. They acknowledged URL Master does what it does very well. But he said it can lead to troubles from which there is no easy recovery and that it is something that they do not recommend. (I don't want this to be about my hosting provider so I will refrain from identifying them).

I'm sure their hesitation stems from real world experience. Still it seems like with frequent backups we'd be okay and especially since the nature of the site, since it's basically an online brochure, is non-essential to everyday company operation.

I guess I am looking for some input on how valuable the URL Master product is and if it is worth the risk of misconfiguration that could result in downtime.
Doxey

The two things that inspire confidence in the iFinity URL Master module are:

1. The recommendations of people I know and trust, and
2. The very good blog that Bruce Chapman writes about URL Master on the iFinity web site.

You might want to add a third reason: That DotNetNuke Corporation has started using it on the DotNetNuke.com site.

Basically, it is a URL rewriter, and it can be disabled. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn't change anything in a site (aside from its own rules, configuration and conditions) so you couldn't cause any permanent problems.

Test it thoroughly on a test site before installing on a live site.