The Downside to Free Web hosting

Articles on Hosting | Topics: hosting, web, host

by Kohana J. Davis

With the growing cost of living and continual jump in Internet costs, such as web servers and domains, it is understandable for someone to look for another alternative. This however, can come at a great cost to the site you are trying to put online. One would have to ask them if there really is a benefit to having and using free web hosting services. If you think about the common phrase you get what you pay for, is it not safe to assume that if you pay nothing for web hosting you will get minimal service and not much in the way of quality that one would expect? In this article we will explore some of the most common reasons exactly why free web hosting is not the best option for your web site, or sites. One of the most apparent and discerning problems with going to a free web host site to promote your web site is the general lack of poor customer support. It is great if you are a computer wizard, and have no need for any tech support at all. Many people however, are not great at solving issues with their computers or the site management that they need. This is exactly where tech support comes into play, if you are using a free web host you can bet you have minimal to no support on your endeavor.

If you have developed a great site and have poor or neglectful support, you can put your money on the fact that this site will surely fail. Another big issue from free web hosting is the lack of reliable uptime. It is not uncommon for a free web host server, to be down or running at a very slow rate. This is due to major overcrowding on the hosts server, as many of the hosts are at best, fly by night operations. This is not something that you should trust your site or its files to. If you still decide to go this route, you will be doing so at a great risk to your web site. This is not a very appealing thought to say the least. If you are looking for features that will enhance your site, such as FTP accounts, POP email, or PHP, look elsewhere as you will not find them on a free web-hosting server. Another problem with free web hosting servers, is the tacky use of banners and pop ups. This is basically a plague that is causing much uproar on the Internet. Many people find that this is a major nuisance to their visitors and people often shy away from sites that have these pests on board. Not to mention, this can easily make your site look cluttered and less appealing.

Historical Quote

Science is a dynamic undertaking directed to lowering the degree of the empiricism involved in solving problems; or, if you prefer, science is a process of fabricating a web of interconnected concepts and conceptual schemes arising from experiments and observations and fruitful of further experiments and observations.

—James Conant (1893–1978)

The reason for the addition to your site of these unsightly ads, banners, and pop ups are to actually pay for the free service that you is getting. Therefore, by not paying in form of funds, you are paying for it in the long run by having a less than attractive site. This is very poor for your intentions of a great looking site. In addition, for this reason it should be avoided at all cost. One of the biggest mistakes a new business owner can do is to use a free web hosting service for their sites, this will only show the potential customers that you are not taking this business seriously and that you may not take them seriously too. This will easily kill your business before it even has a chance to get off the ground. If you cannot offer the visitor something tangible on your site, they will look elsewhere even though you could have been quite capable to serve their needs. This will crash your success hopes in a very short time, and will most likely discourage you from further business ventures. It is great that the free web-hosting site wishes to use your site as a roadside bulletin board, but lets face facts this will only kill your site and its traffic. Do you want a successful site, or do you wish to help these people that you do not even know advertise their garbage at your expense?

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "The Downside to Free Web hosting" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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