Shopping for the best web host is a task every Internet marketer, blogger, or business owner will face eventually. Even if you own an offline business, you will probably want to create a business website at some point and you are going to need a suitable hosting plan for your new site.
The first step in choosing the best provider is choosing between free web hosting sites or paid sites. Free web hosting sites are attractive, obviously because free is free, but it’s important to understand the major disadvantages of free web hosting so you can make an informed decision. I don’t recommend free hosting at all, simply because there are too many disadvantages. Here’s why…..
Credibility
When you host your site for free, your domain name will include a combination of the name of the free web hosting site you chose and the name of your site or business. This results in a long, weird-looking URL that doesn’t look very professional or credible to prospective customers, not to mention it’s also hard for people to remember. This could make your business appear less trustworthy and amateurish.
Hideous Banner Ads
Free web hosting sites make their revenue through advertising because they don’t charge hosting fees. This means that in order to host your blog or website for free, you will likely need to display ugly banner ads on your site. Flashy banner ads and pop-ups will display on every page of your site and you won’t have any control over them. Not only does this look tacky and unprofessional, but it can also result in lost web traffic when visitors click through the banner ads and leave your site. The ads being displayed can also annoy visitors if they’re inappropriate, overwhelming, or irrelevant to the content on your website.
Limited Features
Free web hosting sites are limited in functionality and web page space. Top paid hosting sites will provide you with adequate web space and tons of useful tools that you won’t find with the free ones. Most free web hosts don’t include interactive features like a chat room, forums, or games. As you produce more content, you will start to gain more daily web visitors and you will end up having to switch over to a paid host anyway because the free host will probably run out of space or load too slowly.
No Backup
A free web host usually will not provide a way for you to back up your site. Most paid hosting companies do provide backup. This is a huge risk if you were to build a large website or blog through a free web host provider and then it suddenly shuts down. You would lose all your hard work in the blink of an eye. The risk of losing your site through a free web host is also much greater since you are not paying the company and there is no incentive for them to care about your site. Your website could disappear at any given time, which has happened many times even with free Blogger blogs.
No Support
Most free web hosting companies provide little customer support if any at all. Hiring a quality support team is not cheap and only reputable paid hosting companies can afford to provide their customers with it. If you have a problem or a question, good luck getting an answer.
Is Free Web Hosting Worth It?
Not for a serious blogger or business owner. I think it’s pretty obvious to see that free web hosting sites are bad for business, but they are not a bad idea for someone looking to make a non-business site for fun or for a hobby. There are some excellent paid hosting plans with reputable companies and the best option out there in my opinion is BlueHost. I use them for all my hosting needs and they are one of the cheapest and most reliable. They provide unlimited domain hosting so you can host as many domains as you want for the price of one.
Also Read: How to Choose the Cheapest Web Hosting