Free web hosting abound on the web, with
literally hundreds of services vying for our
attention. The question is: Should you partake
as a small business owner? Well, there are
several things to consider if you are
considering a free web hosting site. The
following list is just some of them:
Most free web hosting services make money by
placing banners or other ads on YOUR site, which
can draw potential customers from you.
Many free web hosting sites, limit their
features (such as bandwidth) in hopes of selling
you their upgrade web hosting packages. If you
anticipate your site growing, a free web hosting
deal does not seem to make sense because you
will have eventually outgrow its limited
features and have to move anyway, which could be
a real hassle. Better to just start with an
affordable shared web hosting package.
Some free web hosting providers provide only
sub-domains instead of your own domain. For
example: freesite.yourdomain.com instead of just
yourdomain.com. You can imagine the negative
impact this would have on your business.
Overall, these are just some of the reasons
why you may wish to consider paying for an
inexpensive but reliable web host that will not
limit or detract from your online business. One
last word regarding free web hosting. There are
definitely some instances where a person may
benefit from free web hosting. One such
circumstance may be when a person is new to the
idea of web site building and design, and wants
to simply get their feet wet. In this sense, a
free web hosting site may be just the thing to
help them with the learning curve of putting a
web site on the web.
