If you‘re a newbie looking to create your first website or blog, "free" web hosting seems like a dream come true. Just create an account, get your free domain name, and start building your online home, with no credit card required! But before you dive in, it‘s important to take a closer look at these free offers and understand exactly what you‘re getting. Can free hosting really provide everything you need to create a successful site long-term? Or is there a catch?
Don‘t worry my friend – I‘m here to answer those questions for you and help you make the right choice. After reading this, you‘ll understand what free hosting includes, where it falls short, and when it might be time to upgrade. Let‘s dig in!
An Honest Look at Free Hosting Offers
First, what do you actually get with a free web hosting plan? Most offers include:
- 500MB to 15GB of storage space
- 100GB to unlimited monthly data transfer
- 1-5 free email accounts
- Basic control panel access
- Limited tech support via email
- Required advertising on your site
The amounts vary, but usually fall in those ranges. Now that may sound pretty generous for a free service! However, there are some important limitations to be aware of:
Maximum Traffic Limits: Most free hosts will cut off your site if you exceed certain visitor traffic thresholds, which are typically quite low. For example, if you ever consistently surpass 10,000 to 100,000 monthly visitors, your site may be taken offline until you upgrade to a paid plan.
Lower Security: Free hosting companies tend to have lower security standards and outdated software, since they don‘t invest as much in infrastructure and maintenance. This exposes your site more easily to hacking attempts, malware, and other risks.
More Frequent Downtime: While paid hosts guarantee 99.9% or higher uptime, free services average around 99-99.5% uptime in reality. That means much more frequent downtime where your site is completely unavailable – not good!
Lack of Features: Don‘t expect extras like daily backups, staging sites, dedicated IPs, or advanced caching. You get only the bare hosting necessities.
Advertisements: Finally, those unavoidable ads can range from mildly annoying to downright spammy or inappropriate. You typically can‘t control what displays.
Now I don‘t want to make it sound like free hosting is completely terrible! For very small personal sites, it can be a perfectly fine starting point. But it‘s crucial to understand the restrictions compared to paid hosting.
Who is Free Web Hosting Good For?
Based on those limitations, free web hosting is best suited for:
- New bloggers just starting out
- Small hobby or community sites
- Student project sites
- Light traffic portfolios for artists/photographers
- Temporary sites for short-term projects
Essentially, if you have a simple low-traffic site, don‘t need advanced features, and can tolerate some downtime and ads, free plans may suffice.
However, free hosting is likely not a good long-term solution if you want to create a commercial website, popular blog, or any site with extensive traffic and customization needs. The capped resources will hold you back.
Now let‘s look at a few of the most well known free hosting providers…
Popular Free Web Hosts Compared
The free providers I see used most often include:
InfinityFree
- 10GB storage
- Unlimited monthly bandwidth
- 1 MySQL database
- Site builder included
- Random ads
InfinityFree is one of the most fully featured free options out there. The unlimited bandwidth is excellent and 10GB should be sufficient for many starter sites. Just be prepared for untargeted ads.
000webhost
- 15GB storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- App installer & WordPress optimized
- Text ads only
If you plan to use WordPress, 000webhostapp has good optimized hosting plans. They also limit advertising to text links only. Storage is adequate for launching most sites.
ByetHost
- 15GB storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- PHP & MySQL support
- Banner ads
ByetHost has been around since 2004 and has a proven track record. Like the others, resources are ample for a fledgling site. But support options are more limited compared to paid hosts.
Freehostia
- 10GB storage
- 100GB bandwidth
- 1 MySQL database
- Email & forum support
Freehostia is a bit more restrictive on bandwidth allowance compared to alternatives. But the free forum community and responsive email support is a nice perk.
There are a number of other options, but these tend to be among the best reviewed free hosting companies currently available.
Hidden Costs of "Free" Hosting
While you won‘t pay anything up front, using free hosting does come with some hidden costs:
Time: Dealing with more downtime, potential data loss, slower speeds, and technical limitations can cost you significant time.
Missed Audience: Site crashes and slow page loads mean lower visitor satisfaction and losing possible repeat visitors.
Reputation: Low-quality ads displayed on your site reflect poorly on your brand and content.
Higher Long-Term Cost: Migrating to paid hosting gets more expensive and troublesome if your site grows substantially on a free host.
Limited Customization: You may not be able to achieve the exact site design, functionality, and features you want.
Take these into account when weighing free vs paid options. The upfront savings may cost you more down the road.
Signs It‘s Time to Upgrade from Free Hosting
Here are some clear indicators it‘s time to upgrade to paid hosting:
- Your traffic exceeds 50,000 visitors per month consistently
- Your site is very slow or crashes frequently
- You need features like daily backups or staging sites
- You want to run a commercial site or accept payments
- Downtime and ads are losing you visitors or harming your brand
Don‘t wait until your site is already struggling to make the switch. Ideally move to paid hosting well before you hit the free plan limitations.
Budget-Friendly Paid Hosting Alternatives
When you outgrow free hosting, high-quality budget paid options to consider include:
Shared Hosting ($3 to $10 per month): Hostinger, Bluehost, and Veerotech are top picks with unlimited site hosting, SSD storage, and free SSL certificates.
WordPress Hosting ($5 to $30 per month): Kinsta, Flywheel, and SiteGround specialized managed WordPress hosting optimizes performance.
VPS Hosting ($5 to $50 per month): For ultimate resources, VPS services like DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr offer affordable Linux virtual private servers.
The Bottom Line – Is Free Hosting Worth It?
For short-term starter sites, free hosting can make perfect sense to gain experience and test ideas without financial risk.
However, for any site you want to grow long-term, paid hosting is strongly recommended. The additional resources, speed, reliability, features, and support are well worth the small monthly investment.
The few dollars a month for quality budget hosting will save you endless headaches compared to limited "free" plans. And your site‘s growth won‘t be artificially restricted as your audience expands.
I hope this overview gives you a better idea of what to reasonably expect from free offers – as well as their downsides. Use this information to make the best and most informed choice for your website!
Let me know if you have any other questions as you consider hosting options for your new site. I‘m always happy to provide more advice to help you build your ideal online home!
Source: Security Feed