Interland, which sells Web-hosting services to small and medium-size business, had said earlier this year that it wanted to focus more on the small-business market.

Trellix makes development tools focused on activities such as Web site publishing, marketing and e-commerce, and it recently announced a new Web log, or blog, service. Trellix's founder and chief technology officer, Dan Bricklin, has a long history in PC software, and is probably best known as the inventor of the VisiCalc spreadsheet.

The deal calls for Trellix shareholders to get $4.75 million in cash and 3 million shares of Interland stock, which closed at $1.70 Wednesday. Shareholders will also get warrants to purchase up to 6 million additional shares of Interland at $5 per share. The deal is expected to close within the next 30 days.

Bricklin and Trellix CEO Don Bulens will continue to lead the Trellix operations and will get "executive positions" at Interland, the companies said.

"Through our mass-market strategy we are creating an opportunity to reach a much broader audience of small business, one that no one else is reaching effectively," Interland CEO Joel Kocher said in a release.