Free Web Hosting, Why It Is Not Always The Best Choice.
With the economy hitting not only the individual but also businesses, many are looking toward free web hosting services to house their online site. For monetary reasons, this looks great on the surface. But going free is not always the best choice and may, in fact, cost your business money in the long run.
No control. Another downside to hosting for free is a severe lack of control. Most free hosting companies do not offer a control panel or an ftp access account to allow administration of a web site.
You are not able to quickly make page changes or install programs that your business might need. If you are selling products or services online, you won’t be able to add a shopping cart or inventory control software to your web site.
Even putting in tracking code that helps you analyze your site visitors might not be possible and this is something most every webmaster wants and needs. You might also run into problems if you want a customized site or want to change the appearance of your web pages. To create a page, you will probably have to use templates which means your site has to look a certain way, even if you don’t like it.
Free web hosting sites must make money somehow; they can’t afford to let people use their bandwidth for free. Since they do not charge you a hosting fee, they make money by placing ads on your webpages. The revenue from these ads goes to the hosting company, not you. Even worse, you have no control over the type of ads your visitors are subjected to.
It’s in their advantage to tailor the ads to your content, but it doesn’t always work out that way. In fact, they may place ads on your site that are your direct competitors. This means when you are using free web hosting it could actually be taking money out of your pocket.
Affordable solutions. Paid hosting these days really doesn’t put a huge dent in your pocketbook. Some hosting companies run specials on a regular basis and you’re sure to find one that will fit your budget. You can find hosting from as low as $3-$5 a month, depending on what your business web site requires.
Paid web hosts usually offer lots of valuable features for your money and offer you access to your own control panel where you can install various features with a simple click. This allows you to add a forum, blog, shopping cart, and picture gallery easily and customize them in any way you want.
Free web hosting companies cannot afford to provide in-depth support in case anything goes wrong with your site. You will probably be limited to an online forum where you post your questions and hope someone comes along and answers them. You won’t have access to email support, phone support, or a help desk like you get with paid hosting. So if you site goes down, it could stay down for a long time and cost you money in lost sales.
There are many ways you can pinch your pennies to save money, but when it comes to web hosting, it is best to pay for quality service. Free web hosting sounds appealing but it just can’t deliver when it comes to support and giving you the tools you need to fully develop your site. You are much better off if you find a reliable hosting company you can use that has a price you can afford.
Founder and actual CEO, Ricardo d’Argence has been in the field for almost twenty years. Alojate.com is now one of the biggest web hosting providers in Mexico, offering a range of services for all business needs. Dedicated servers, Search Engine Optimization, factura electronica, web hosting & domain registration. Visit us to read Internet Articles
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