As they say, you get what you pay for. So generally anything given for free may not be worth that much. This goes as well for free web hosting services. In choosing a free web host, one must be cautious for it may not provide that level or reliability that you may be looking for in a web hosting service.



In any free web hosting, certain restrictions are likely. For instance, free hosts rely on advertisements as their source of revenue. Ads, even those of competing sites, may be placed on sites that they host for free. Certain browsers and customers are irritated by such ads and do not wish for advertisements to affect their browsing experience.

A free hosting plan provides limited if not no support at all. Quite often you may only find as support an FAQ page if you have questions. Even if a complaint is filed, most of the time problems are not corrected or changed.

Server breakdowns may frequently occur with a free web host. The website's needs may not be fully supported because the bandwidth is not enough. Many websites would be competing for the server resources. Many if not most web hosts that offer free hosting services fail in practice.

There are only a limited number of free web hosts that offer larger storage space. Other free web hosts also restrict and do not allow the use of certain file types. MP3 files for example, that use a lot of bandwidth may not be allowed for certain web hosts.

Some free web hosts require the usage of sub domain names which makes the domain name longer and harder to remember. The longer the URL length the bigger are the chances of people misspelling and forgetting the website's address resulting to either people not being able to easily and efficiently locate your website.

Come to think about it such disadvantages shouldn't be disregarded at all for the information highway is such a competitive market. Browsers and visitors may not want to return to your website especially if it frequently experiences technical difficulties and suffer server breakdowns. Banner advertisements that distract and interrupt internet browsing may irritate them as well.

When a business website is being set up, a free web host should be avoided. Having a website that is substandard may label the business as not credible and substandard as well. A personal or information website can make do with a free web host especially at the beginning. But for a website to grow, money has to be invested.