Free or Paid Web Hosting?

In our last post, we discussed choosing a web host -- the company or service that will rent you disk space and provide all the services you'll need to put your website up on the Internet.

At first glance, you might wonder, "Why would I pay for web hosting when there are so many services offering it for free?" When setting up your first web site, it's a great idea to explore all the possibilities before making your ultimate choice for a web host. But remember the old adage, "You get what you pay for."

Obviously, all web hosting companies have to pay for the services they provide somehow. The most common way they do that is by placing their ads on your site, and you will have no control over the type of ads.

Additionally, there are lots of limitations to what you can and can't do on the free sites. Some of the most common limitations of free web hosting services are:

• Limited storage space and bandwidth.
  
• Limited services.
  
• The content you put up may be restricted. For instance, you may not be able to sell certain things.
  
• And sometimes, free web hosting companies simply disappear overnight!

Many of the "free" service providers count on a certain percentage of people eventually upgrading to one of their "paid" packages when they realize the limitations of their free service.

So, it's important to really analyze your current and future needs. It's possible you won't require a lot of storage space, bandwidth, or technical services. In that case, you may be okay at least starting with a free web host - especially if you're not particular about advertising being on your site.

If you want to compare some of the free options available, some good places to start include:

• Free Web Hosting Reviews
  
  
• Absolutely Free Hosting

On the other hand, paying fees to a web hosting service will usually buy you:

• More storage space.
  
• More bandwidth.
  
• Better technical service.
  
• More services such as databases, email accounts, and mass mailers.

The bottom line is, if your long-range plans include developing a unique, profit-making website on its own, you will probably be best served by going with a good, paid web hosting service that offers all of the capabilities and services you think you're likely to need.