So You Are Looking For a Free Web Host?
Whether you are looking for a free web hosting service or a commercial grade hosting company that’s reliable, responsive and cost effective, you will need to do some homework to be able to select the right one for your needs. With number of websites increasing exponentially, plethora of web hosting companies have sprouted up and to find a good one could sometimes be challenging. Lets see if we can do some simple requirement analysis and use that to choose the most appropriate web hosting company.
The initial question would be “why”. Why do you want to host a site? If the answer is something simple like talking about your hobby of growing eggplants, you would probably be looking for a free web hosting service. However, the “free” hosting providers are free for a reason. The get you into a marketing loop free and then start presenting various paid products and services, with the hope that sooner or later, you will bite. These hosting services provide limited features, support and service. The web site you host there will most likely be ad supported, meaning there will be advertisements shown on your site. The bandwidth will be limited and you may not have complete email support. These sites are fairly rudimentary and don’t work for most but the absolutely non-serious users.
Commercial, paid hosting services have become very affordable, thanks to increasing competition. However, there are so many that it becomes hard to choose the right one. Go to any webmaster discussion boards and you will find numerous threads on hosting companies. These discussions serve as a guiding post for someone like you, looking to find the right hosting company. Here you will find real experiences from past and present customers - you don’t have to blindly believe whatever the hosting companies claim.
To determine the right commercial hosting company for your needs, you will have to know a few things. Do you want Windows based or Linux/Unix based service? While Linux based web servers are becoming increasingly popular, you will need Windows based server if you need to use Microsoft specific technologies (like the .NET technology). If you are not a professional web server administrator, you will require an easy to understand front end tool to manage your site. You would want to know how to contact the customer service department and how promptly they respond to issues. You will have to make sure that you are getting enough bandwidth for your needs. You will want to make sure you get all other services that you need. For instance, if you need IMAP support for email, ensure that the hosting company offers it, What about multiple sites? Most hosting companies offer packages that allow you to host multiple domains within one account. If you have multiple domains, or plan on them in the near future, you would want to know the availability of such packages.
With prices as low as $3.99/mo , there really is no reason to look for a free hosting solution. At around $20/mo you should get a package at a reputable hosting company that offers all the standard features, multiple domain hosting and 24/7 customer support. stick to the known brands and the friendlier ones and you will have one less thing to worry about your web business.
