Right now there are a lot of companies that are trying to promote themselves as the best in web hosting. Some will even try to trumpet themselves as the best because they offer free web hosting. It’s hard to beat that when you’re on a budget, but is it really worthwhile? That’s the thing that you need to really consider as you start to look into setting up a real website online. You will find that if you look at this with careful precision you are going to end up seeing some holes in the story that the free web hosting companies are trying to paint through a great deal of advertising. Even those companies that are offering limited time offers for free solutions aren’t necessarily the best that you’re going to find online. You will want to take the time to find something better than free web hosting. If you’re skeptical, consider some of the issues that are well documented online in terms of this solution overall.
The Limits of Storage
The very first issue that you are going to find is true with free web hosting is the storage options. Some will tout that they will give you unlimited storage, but that’s not true. No one is giving away this type of digital real estate, and even mighty companies like Google impose limits on their free spaces online. If you remember the early days of Gmail, for instance, you will remember that they were touting that you would get unlimited space for your email. That has changed several times, and that’s exactly the same tactic that many free web hosting companies are playing with right now. If it worked for the mighty search giant, why won’t it work for them? It’s not going to work, as you’ll find that the limits will get imposed fast.
Restrictive Templates
Some companies will give you a limited amount of storage, and then strike you with a lot of templates. This is a good option, right? In theory, the notion of free web hosting is a good solution for those that are on a budget, but if you want a custom made website, this is not going to happen here. You will find that the templates are generic and can be edited marginally, but that is not the same as having a web designer build your pages for you. When you have restrictions placed on your creativity, you will be stifled and your reach may not go as far as you’d like it to go.
There’s nothing wrong with templates, they can be very good to use when you have a blog or anything else that doesn’t require a lot of design work. However, you will find that for a business site and other solutions for the web, the free web hosting templates aren’t worth your time.
The Upsells Keep Rolling
You may get something for free, and it may marginally work. However, when you find the restrictions are too much, you will get a ton of upsells happening overall. The upsells that will keep rolling are going to end up forcing you to lose market share overall. In fact, it’s such a problem that you could get spammed relentlessly as the free web hosting are trying to make money through other means. You may find that you can ignore a lot of their emails, but when you go to focus on SEO, internet marketing, and other elements within your page, you’ll get blocked. Again those restrictions will come through and when you want to open them up, you’ll have to pay a premium. It’s just not a good way to move forward with a site, and you’ll become aware of that fast.
The Domain Name Issue
When you sign up for anything but free web hosting, you should get a free domain name registered. Upon renewing your hosting, the domain will get renewed as well. That’s not the case when you go with free options as they will give you a domain of their choosing on a subpage of their domain. You will have a custom name but their major advertising is going to be in the name and within the body of the site. They’ll promote their products on your page, and in some cases, the free web hosting companies are adding PPC marketing to your page. Imagine setting up a site that has a big banner ad on it, and anytime someone clicks, the free web hosting company gets to keep the profits. It’s that sort of issue that is causing some people to get very upset with the free web hosting options that abound today.
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