There are a lot of
free web site hosting
companies out there touting their services. While the accounts offered by many of these web hosting providers are free to use, there are sometimes hidden costs that can leave you wasting both time and money.
If you want to
build web sites
that are truly free, you are going to have to carefully evaluate free web site hosting services before signing up. Special considerations to keep in mind when shopping for
web hosting providers
include:
Reliability
You can
build web sites
all day long, but no one will ever see them if your web host isn't reliable. To find out how reliable a free website hosting company is, you should ask about expected downtimes, traffic limitations, and customer service procedures. You should also ask what type of message will be displayed if the web site is disabled for any reason.
Bandwidth
The amount of bandwidth you have determines how long it will take for your pages to load. To keep costs low, many web hosting providers offer limited bandwidth. The problem with this is that your pages can take ten seconds or more to load. That's just enough time for a user to get frustrated and seek out another web site. If your free website hosting account comes with limited bandwidth, you need to be prepared for the possibility of missing out on customer sales.
Unwanted Ads
Free website hosting
services are notorious for placing unwanted ads on customer web sites. This means that you will have pop-ups and other annoying advertisements on your site that you cannot remove. These ads might become very irritating for you and even more so for your customers, who may choose not to visit as a result.
Other Limitations
If you want to
build web sites
that include pictures, icons, and large amounts of text, you may want to look for web hosting providers that will allow you to build these kinds of web sites. Some free website hosting services will place limitations on what you can and can't do. For example, you may be barred from using pictures or more than five web pages.
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