Why Free Web Hosting May Not Be A Bad Thing

Why Free Web Hosting May Not Be A Bad Thing


There is paid web hosting and there is free web hosting. Most
people tend to steer clear of free web hosting as they tend to
believe that "there is no free lunch". Free web hosting must have
its catches?
Well, that really depends on your purposes and your position.
Why purpose?
If your web hosting is for your website which is for commercial
purposes, such as an ecommerce web-store, you need absolute
reliability and uptime. Every second of downtime is lost
revenue. While some free web hosting providers guarantee
uptime, you cannot hold it against them if their services do not
meet expectations and cause your business to lose hundreds of
dollars of revenue. Why? Because most free web hosts will have
a clause in their terms that state that they do not guarantee uptime
at all because they are a free service. Now, most free hosts will
not even guarantee any uptime and those free web hosting
services are provided on a best effort basis. You cannot risk
hosting your crucial business website on such a free hosting
plan.
However, for most individuals who are experimenting with
building websites, free web hosting is the ideal choice as there
is no monetary commitment and no lost for both parties.
Everyone deserves a chance to learn and what better way to
learn than to do it? Free web hosting plans from free hosts are
the ideal platform for aspiring webmasters to start their web-
building careers. Of course these free hosts may require
something in return: visiting sponsors, displaying ads on hosted
pages, reading emails, and lately, participating in online
communities of the free web-host. This last option may not be a
bad thing as online communities allow the users to interact and
learn from each other.
There is also a last category of users who just want free web
hosting for a personal site which they do not find the need to be
up all the time and do not see the need to pay for it and do not
see the need to do anything for it. There are some free web hosts
out there who offer free hosting for nothing - just a simple sign
up. Therefore, a clear purpose for using free web hosting is
important. If the purpose is critical and there is no tolerance for
problems, then free webhosting is not suitable. Other than that,
free web hosting is not a bad thing.
Why position?
Web hosting plans are relatively affordable these days (some
plans as low as $1 a month) that almost any working person can
afford it for their websites. Therefore, paying for web hosting
should not be a problem for those who have an income, or some
savings to spend on developing their websites further. Also, any
working adult should be able to afford using a Paypal account
that most web hosts will accept as a form of payment. On the
other hand, students and young people do not have much to
spend, much less a Paypal or Credit Card with which to pay for
hosting. For this group of people, free web hosting plans are the
obvious alternatives if they wish to set up websites without
paying anything for them.
To conclude, free web hosting may not be a bad thing for
selected groups of people who have a specific purpose. For
students and people looking to learn about developing websites,
free web hosting is a good thing.