Disadvantages of Free Web Hosting
By William Davis
If you get what you pay for, anything
free must not be worth much. This is as true for free Web hosting services
as any other commodity. A free Web host may or may not provide the
required level of reliability. Therefore extreme caution must be taken
when choosing a free Web host.
There are several restrictions likely to appear. These include:
1. Advertisements, potentially those of competing Web sites, may be placed
upon any site they host. This is a common source of revenue for a free
host. These advertisements prove to be an irritant for many customers who
may not like their browsing experience to be affected by these ads.
2. There may be little to no support with a free hosting plan. Sometimes
only a FAQ page is offered as support. There may be no chance for change
or correction of problems even when a complaint is filed.
3. The host may suffer frequent server breakdowns. There may be
insufficient bandwidth to support the Web site's needs. There may be no
scalability. There may be thousands of other Web sites competing for the
same server resources. This "death of a thousand paper cuts" result in
hosts that look good at first glance, but fail miserably in practice.
4. Few free Web hosts offer significant storage space or even restrict the
type of files allowed for use. For example, files typically that use a lot
of bandwidth (like MP3 files) may not be allowed. This can cripple the
utility of many Web sites.
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Free Website Hosting Services
Listed here are a few free web site hosting
service providers... though they come with ads, long domain names, limited
features/ capabilities, they are among the best free webhosting service
providers:
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5. Free Web hosts may also require the use
of a sub-domain, which makes the ID much longer than it would have been if
the Web site used its own domain name. The vast increase in URL length for
the site can result in many potential customers forgetting, misspelling,
or otherwise failing to reach the site quickly and efficiently.
These are not insignificant disadvantages.
The Internet is a very competitive and unforgiving environment. Visitors
can be very fickle and are unlikely to return to a Web site that suffers
from frequent technical problems, is cluttered with obtrusive banner
advertisements, or which otherwise encumbers their navigation. Because the
Internet makes most tasks very easy, this ease of use is expected.
Complications are typically greeted with simple avoidance, as there is
almost certainly an easier way to accomplish any given task.
Generally speaking, a free host should be avoided if the desire is to set
up a business Web site. The resultant loss in terms of customers lost can
be much higher than the actual gain to be had through Web presence. A
sub-standard site is often the sign of a sub-standard business.
Free Web hosts are, however, a safe choice if the Web site is an
information Web site or a personal Web site. Even then the goal should be
for this to be a limited period. For a Web site to grow, money will have
to be invested eventually.
About The Author: William Davis writes articles for several web sites,
most recently
http://fidew. com and
http://tasup.
com
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