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.
