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FREE Websites – You get what you pay for

Mar 12, 2014

michael

Why pay for it when you can get it for free right? Wrong! A free web hosting company truly proves the statement you get what you pay for. You pay nothing so expect nothing in return get nothing in return. No service, no support, no Google searches, no space and the list goes on.

Any company that offers anything free has to make this up somewhere else. Often by tying people to long term contracts, or by compromising on standards, service and/or support. In some cases the cost is very simply that they make it impossible for you to ever transfer your site away from them.

Sure, free web hosting might seem like a low cost – or no cost – option to get your website online, however the many shortcomings of free web hosting far outweigh the monthly hosting fee of having a domain name website.

By having your own domain name – ie www.kateskats.com.au instead of www.freezehosting.kateskats.com.au – you add credibility to your business and make it easier for people to find you and remember you.
By opting for free web hosting, you don’t necessarily own your or the content. Many businesses only realise this when they go to move their website to another host.
Free hosting has less space available and the band width is also low. So your site is limited from the very beginning and most likely have slow load speeds.
Limited interactive features – you may find if you try and add social media integration or a blog to your site you will be limited by free hosting services.
Search engines often ignore websites that are with free web hosting services. So if you ever want your business to be found in Google, don’t choose a free hosting service.
Your visitors may doubt your credibility
May have banners and/or pop ads on your homepage and/or all of your pages - You normally get a website littered with adverts. Free hosts stick random advertisements on your site as a way to "pay" for your site being hosted, and these can be off topic and mess with your google rank
Long and hard-to-remember web address (instead of yourdomain.com)
No guarantees of site availability and longevity
No branded emails addresses ( you@yourdomain.com )
Poor help and support options
When the free web host runs out of online advertising dollars and closes the business, your site disappears along with it
Chances of being spammed and hacked are always high with a free web hosting company

It is always better to own you domain name, because it allows ownership and customisation of your web site, giving you more freedom and flexibility than if you are using a free host. It will always be better to pay the dollars and get your own website name then to use a free hosting service.

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