As the name suggests, a free web hosting option is when you host your website on a web server without paying a dime. The “free” option can be highly appealing when creating a website for the first time. After all, we all want to save money. But whatever you do, don’t fall for these free web hosting businesses’ snake oil salesman techniques.
They may claim that they can get your site up and running for free. They might even provide you with a “free domain.” However, the disadvantages of these deals are nearly never worth it. They’re a poor notion that you’ll just regret afterward. In other words, there are various red flags to be aware of if you use a web hosting provider that claims to give free web hosting.
Here’s a cool site where you can learn all there is to know about web hosting. Now, let’s dive into details!
Why Should You Avoid Free Web Hosting at All Costs?
It’s far better to start with a cheap hosting company (the most popular sort being shared hosting) to avoid a lot of difficulties (and perhaps money) later on.
Here are the most important reasons why free web hosting is bad for business.
Reason #1: Spam Advertising
This kind of web hosting services must make money in some way. Many of them will place paid advertisements on your website in order to make a little more dollars. Unfortunately, this might make your website appear spammy and harm your search engine rankings.
Reason #2: Slow Speed
You might expect lengthier load times and, as a result, worse search ranks if you choose a free web server. Furthermore, according to KISSmetrics, if a website takes longer than three seconds to load, 40% of users will quit it. As a result, this kind of hosting provider will not only harm your site’s rankings but may also deter users from visiting it.
Reason #3: Limited Content
When you acquire something for free, there will always be some form of severe restriction. You may be limited to only 20MB of storage space for a few photos or images, as well as text. They may restrict your bandwidth to unacceptably low levels. You may be limited in the number of blogs you may have, the number of emails you can send, and a variety of other factors that could harm your business or personal life.
Reason #4: Poor Customer Support or None At All
In most cases, free web hosting provides poor customer service. You may be able to send them an email, but you may not receive a response for several days. Your website will be unavailable in the meanwhile. Paid web hosts, on the other hand, include email, phone, online chat, a forum channel, a “ticket system,” and social media as contact options.
Reason #5: Security Problems
Many of these “free web hosting” firms infect your website with viruses or even sell your personal information to third parties. Some even exploit “free hosting” as a ruse to steal people’s identities. They don’t have the financial resources to safeguard you against determined hackers because of their “free” business strategy. Due to poor security methods, your website may be defaced or even erased.
Reason #6: Difficult Transfering
When you’re ready to relocate your website to a new host, what should you do? If your site is currently hosted on a server of this kind, you may run into some issues. Server accessibility is usually restricted with free hosting services. As a result, you may not be able to access all of the files when transferring your site. Furthermore, some free servers construct their services expressly to make it difficult for consumers to relocate, effectively capturing and preventing them from leaving.
Reason #7: Possible Problem With Website Ownership
Some free web servers have been known to erase the websites of their members for no apparent reason. If you spent a lot of time constructing your own website, this might be very frustrating. Imagine spending a week creating and designing your website to your exact specifications, only to have it erased the next day for no apparent reason. Furthermore, many free host terms of service state that you do not have complete control of your site while it is hosted with them.
Final Thought – Cheap Is Better Than Free In Web Hosting
I’m sure you have your own reasons for wanting to start with this kind web server. Unfortunately, you will waste valuable time dealing with the challenges that come with it. So, if you want complete control over your website, you should save up a little money and choose one of the top shared hosting providers.
Free web providers are fantastic for experimenting, but free web hosts are not the way to go if you want to develop a real website!