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Free Web Page Hosting – Should you try it?
Free web page hosting has been around for a very long time. But is it a viable option if you plan on setting up a website that may generate some income, even if it’s a small amount? We all want things for free, but rarely does free equals good quality. It really depends on your goals and circumstances – free hosting may actually be workable in some cases, as long as you understand what the deal is.
Of course, as is expected, free hosting offers limited capacity and services. These companies may not charge you anything for hosting your site, but they have to make money somehow, just to stay afloat.
This is why “free” is never really “free.” Most free hosting providers generate revenue by placing paid ads on your site, which you have no control over. You won’t know what type of ads will show up, and they just might end up advertising for your competition if you set up a business site. Or, the ads may be about a topic you don’t want to be associated with.
Again, the resources available to you will also be limited with free hosting. Free plans offer smaller amounts of disk space and bandwidth and can also restrict the type of content you are allowed to upload. Selling products may be a no-no, for example.
Some hosts don’t even let you upload video and music files because it takes up too much space and use a lot of bandwidth when visitors try to gain access to the files, which could severely limit your ability to run a successful website. If your plans include starting an online business that you want to build into a mini empire, free web hosting is probably not a good idea.
Another risk you’ll be taking involves the stability of the hosting company. Free servers have been known to disappear overnight, leaving customers without a website in a flash. Disappearing providers are more common than you may realize, so it’s important to be informed about this before you take the risk.
Some companies offer free web page hosting under your own domain name, rather than under a sub-domain of their company, which is a definite advantage. Just register your domain through them and pay the renewal fee each year. This is a good alternative for smaller website owners for whom free hosting has its advantages because the unique domain name adds credibility.
If you want to start out very small with free web page hosting, find a company that allows you to upgrade to a paid service if you start to grow over time. You’ll start with free hosting and a unique domain name, but have the option to upgrade at a later date without disruption to a paid service.
If you run a larger website, try a company such as SiteSell. They offer way more than just hosting services, and can market your site online as well.
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