Choosing Between Free or Paid Web Hosting
John Purdy
There are a number of things to consider when choosing between a free or
paid web hosting service. Setting aside cost for a moment, lets look at some
factors that will help you make an informative decision.
The very first thing you must consider is the intent or purpose of your
website. Are you looking for a convenient way to share photos of family and
friends? Or, are you considering something a little more complex such as
adding multiple pages with different content on each? How about a website to
promote a product or business?
The purpose of your website will act as a key component in determining which
type of web hosting service is best suited for you. For example, if your
website will be used primarily for personal postings, your file sizes aren’t
very large and you don’t expect a lot of traffic, you won’t require a lot of
disk space or bandwidth for your hosting.
If this is the case, a free web hosting service may meet your needs. Free
web hosting services are also useful if you’re inexperienced in creating web
pages. This type of service can provide an excellent opportunity for you to
learn and practice your html skills. You could even use a free service as a
test site before uploading your web pages to your live website.
Keep in mind that most free web hosting services provide limited features
compared to paid web hosting services, but normally offer enough disk space
and bandwidth to host a small website. To help offset costs, though, most
free providers will place advertisements on your web pages.
With paid hosting, you’ll find a variety of available plans to choose from.
These plans allow more disk space and bandwidth, and usually include a
number of other features such as free domain names, free sub-domains and
unlimited email accounts. Some of the more advanced common features are a
CGI-Bin, MySQL databases and Microsoft FrontPage extensions.
Compared to free web hosting, you’ll also find that the services provided by
paid web hosting companies are much more reliable, not to mention offering a
higher level of customer support.
Cost wise, there is no charge to register for a free web hosting service,
although you may be required to purchase your own domain name. For a basic
paid service, you can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $10 per month – a
very small price for the improved service, support and features you receive.
John Purdy is the owner of 1st Web Hosting Plans. We maintain a current
directory of affordable web hosting providers and other website resources
for personal internet users, online marketers and business owners. We also
have directories dedicated to business and free web hosting. Visit us today
at
http://www.1st-web-hosting-plans.com
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