When you are starting out in online business and budget is tight, a free web hosting provider is not a bad idea. I don’t like free web hosting because of their annoying pop-up ads and forced ads in all over my web pages. However, there are a few providers who offer ad free web hosting without a monthly charge. They generate their incomes from upgrades and other paid services.
Another issue with free web hosting is the use of sub-domains off their main domains. Even if you are using free web hosting, you should have your own domain. You can purchase a domain for less than $10 a year and it should be the first investment you must make on your online business. A domain is your brand and as you you promote your site, your brand gets stronger.
Most free web host providers will not offer any support. You are on your own. Even the cheap web host providers have difficulty providing a satisfactory level of customer service because it is expensive to hire dedicated personnel answering phones and replying to emails.
To compensate for the lack of customer support, free web host providers may offer member forums where new members post their issues or concerns and experienced members offer solutions. The customer service becomes a community effort.
If you don’t have any knowledge about how to create a web site with a web host company, you should go with a provider who offers an easy to use control panel. Using the control panel in free web hosting, you should be able to create websites, install programs like blogs, upload your web site files, create a database, etc. Even experienced users prefer a control panel to increase their productivity.
I have listed eight providers who offer ad free free web hosting.
001Webs.com: 400MB space, 2GB monthly traffic, 1 domain, 1 MySql database, forum for support, control panel
8tt.org: 10GB space, 10GB monthly traffic, 1 domain, 10 databases, forum for support, control panel
XTreemHost.com: 800MB space, 20GB monthly traffic, 10 domains, 10 MySql database, forum for support, control panel
110mb.com: 5GB space, 300GB monthly traffic, 1 domain, No MySql, forum for support, control panel
OxyRack.com: 2GB space, 100GB monthly traffic, 1 domain, 2 MySql database, forum for support, control panel
FreeGBs.com: 5GB space, 20 GB monthly traffic, 1 domain, 1 MySql database, ticket-based support, control panel
AwardSpace.com: 200MB space, 5GB monthly traffic, 2 domains, 1 MySql database, no support, no control panel
LeadHoster.com: 250MB space, 6GB monthly traffic, 2 domains, 1 MySql database, no support, no control panel
After you sign up with any one of these free web hosts, spend some time learning various features of their control panels and reading their forum postings for any issues and concerns you may have. Before you launch your web site, you should get a domain name for your site. You can use one of the free keyword tools to find keywords that you can use in your domain name.
Do you know any other ad free free web host providers? Please leave your answers in the comments. If you have used or are using any free web hosting providers, please share your thoughts, good and bad, in the comments.
