Free or Paid Web Hosting?

Friday, 13 November 2009

If you have just finished your first website then the next step is to look into web hosting to promote your site.  There are many web hosting companies to choose from but the very basic consideration is to make a choice between free or paid web hosting services.  This article will walk you through the pros and cons for both options.

Free Web Hosting

Free web hosting is exactly what it is, free.  You need not pay for a domain name.  But not having a domain name would mean that you would have a URL that would be a subdomain of on website, something like mydomain.google.com.  This means that should you move your web site and use another provider in the future, you have the potential to lose you traffic.  Another disadvantage would be that free web hosts normally use a lower bandwidth as compared to paid hosting services.  They also normally do not offer features such as PHP and MySQL.  Using free web hosting providers also mean that you are inclined to have ads included in your pages.  You shall get about 2-3 banner ads or sometimes pop up windows.  So if you plan to utilize banner exchange in your site, do carefully go through the terms and conditions of your contract because some free hosts would not allow this. It is good to be informed of what you can and cannot do within the contract.  However, also be cautious of free web hosts that change their terms and conditions during your contract.  Like say for example, should your free web host offer hosting without ads, do not be surprised if you suddenly see a banner or a pop up appear on your site. In addition to this, some free hosts have the tendency to cancel their free web hosting service and then switch to being a paid host.  When this happens, you will then be left with either paying them or losing your website.  So be very wary when choosing a free web hosting service. It is good to be informed before making a decision.

Paid Web Hosting

Although paid web hosting may cost you more money, you should consider some of these advantages before finally deciding on the web hosting service that you need.  Paid web hosting means that you can have your own domain name.  This means should you move to another provider in the future, you can bring the domain with you to the new provider so you don’t loose the traffic that you have built over time.  Paid hosts also offer a 24 hour service support whether it be through live chat, email or toll free phone support.  This additional service will be important in running your business.  You shall need an efficient technical service and support team to address all your site concerns.  Paid web hosting services also normally come with an uptime guarantee as compared to free hosts.  More over, they offer an adequate amount of disk space and bandwidth.  They also carry features like PHP and MySQL as a standard in their package.  

So before finally deciding on your choice of web hosting service, determine the real requirements of your site.  If you merely need a few personal pages for your friends with a small number of html files then you can opt for free web hosting.  But if you are planning to put up a serious business, consider going with a quality paid web hosting service.