Web hosting companies that offer their services for free will probably not remain in business very long. Why is it that some companies offer free hosing? How is any money being made? There is always a price for everything, even something that is purported to be free. A company may offer free hosting if they are trying to build up their business. Their value may be demonstrated, but they may charge their existing customers additional fees in order to counteract their loss. It is just another form of advertising.
Many companies that do not have the capability for managing servers for websites may make a play with free hosting. However, if the company's load is excessive, your website may be shut down! Another problem with free hosting is resource limitations. Free hosting will only offer you a limited amount of space. It will probably be enough to put up a few dozen pages. However, if you have a very active site, you will find that you quickly run out of space.
A very serious limitation is load. If you decide to go with free hosting, you may find that strict limitations are placed on the amount of bandwidth that you can use. If your site is hot and draws a lot of traffic, the web host may ask you to leave or to be blocked for the rest of the month. A certain amount of bandwidth may be given to you to use each month. Once you have reached that amount, you will not be able to have any other visitors until the beginning of a new month.
With free web hosting you will share equipment with lots of other websites which may very well affect your performance. If you choose to migrate your already established site, it can raise other issues that could have been avoided. Another problem with free web hosting is the lack of support. When you pay for hosting, you can usually get a certain amount of technical support to be able to help you as problems crop up.
If you happen to lose some files due to either accidental deletion or a virus attack, free web hosting companies have no available options to help you out. If the server happens to fail, your website will be up and running when the server comes up. If you have a small site, this may not be a problem for you. It is true that free web hosting companies may be able to protect your website against viruses and attacks. However, you may only receive minimal help if you need services that go beyond that.
One of the most serious limitations may not have anything to do with technical issues. Free web hosting services usually require your website to carry advertising that pays the web host. This may or may not bother you. This all depends upon the individual. If you are planning that your website will grow and be active, then you will soon outgrow the need for free web hosting. In the end, you get what you pay for, so you may actually end up paying for web hosting.
Free Hosting With Unlimited
Free web hosting is a service that stores your website and offers to delivers its web pages to the Internet for free. Thus, free hosting for your website actually offers you to increase your online business opportunities. Just as you want to get your website hosted in Internet, similarly there are customers out there who want to know more about your company. Free hosting suggests web hosting services that are free, and are usually advertisement-supported and of limited functionality.
Features of free web hosting
Free web hosts will start by providing you a sub domain [http://yourname.example.com] or a directory [http://www.example.com/yourname]. Since free hosts allow the use of separately purchased domains so they do not operate as domain name registrar. The free hosts are advantageous because they have a basic package for free and also enhanced packages [obviously with more features] that you have to purchase with a cost. This allows the users to try the services for an initial trial and then upgrade it in their websites, if needed.
The free hosts provide the following extra features:
File transfer via FTP
Allows some of the scheduled processes like cronjobs
A web based control panel
Free email accounts for subdomains and domain hosted
Scripting languages like ASP and PHP
Allows relational databases
When you are searching for a free web host, you should make sure that the hosts have an excellent track record. You should enquire into the storage facilities allowed by the host and see how much the free host can provide you with web control panels and password protected directories for your website.
Methods of free web hosting
There are a few methods of giving out free web hosting to people by web hosts, which are as follows:
- Instant activation - these hosts usually give very little storage space and bandwidth allowances. They require the user's web page to display their banner ads, or pop-ups, text link ads or the user's files to be uploaded through a web-based file manager.
- Post for hosting - this is more popular as it allows one to register at Web shots forum, which usually has lots of banner or popup Ads - and post there for Free web hosting. One has to stay active and meet certain requirements almost every month/week to keep up their level of web hosting.
- Posting in forums - some of the free hosts allow posting in a forum. It requires users to either reach a certain amount of posts before getting a free hosting account or be an active contributor in the forum. These forum-based free hosting factors often work on a system of points where posts points to a user and are basically used as credits towards getting a hosting account.
Limitations of free web hosting
But free hosting has the following limitations:
- Prevents hot linking of files
- Fails to provide any type of uptime guarantee
- Do not allow file types like MP3, MPEG and others
- Provides very small bandwidth per month as compared to paid hosting
Both Daniel Millions & Sharon Albright are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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