Free vs. Paid Web Hosting – which is best for you?
When you finally think about making your website live on the internet. You may need excellent hosting service to host your website.
Some hosting providers charge you around $3 per month, while others give you the free service.
Ever wondered which service you should go with? Well. Here is everything you need to know about free vs. paid web hosting.
Free vs. paid web hosting
-
Is it really 100% Free?
First of all, this would be the question that comes to your mind when you hear about free hosting. You may wonder, if it is free, how do they make money.
The answer is YES; it is free, but they put ads in the footer of your website and make money. Not all hosting providers do the same thing, but most do.
-
You WILL have to upgrade to Paid Web hosting Later
No matter how much excellent the free web hosting may look. Eventually, when your business grows, and visitors increase, you need to upgrade it to a paid WEB hosting, and later on, you will have to purchase your server when there are plenty of visitors.
So, I would suggest not to go with free hosting and get paid web hosting. They don’t cost much.
-
Limited Resources
Free comes with a limit. They may not advertise your website, but they need to make money somehow. So, the resources that are provided to you are limited.
They don’t allow more than a certain MB of space or limit the total number of visitors (bandwidth). There is a catch even if you find something called unlimited free hosting.
Some free web hosting may provide unlimited storage and bandwidth, but they somehow limit the inodes. If we don’t go technical, inodes mean the total number of files stored in your web hosting, including emails and thrash.
Whereas in paid web hosting, with a minimum price, you get unlimited resources to handle your website. You can upgrade that at any time.
-
Boring sub-domain
Free web hosting doesn’t allow custom domains. No custom domain means no branding.
A reliable and trusted website must have a custom domain name. It is not easy to remember. Moreover, Search engines don’t prefer ranking sub-domain when there are websites with a custom domain name.
Some free host offers a free custom domain which is pretty much the same as a free sub-domain. You may lose that free domain anytime without warning.
-
Ownership
There is a wonderful thing created that nobody reads. Yes, you guessed it right “Terms and conditions.” It will be clearly stated in T&C that a free web host can terminate your account anytime.
The free templates given in free hosting are not yours. You don’t get the template when you transfer your account from free to paid.
Moreover, you may want to sell your website. Free web hosting doesn’t allow you to sell your website. You can’t sell your website even if it is yours.
While in the paid web hosting, you get all the ownership, and the website belongs to you.
-
Search Rankings
When we talk about free vs. paid web hosting, we should keep in mind Search Engines.
Many people ask whether free hosting affects in search rankings. The answer is Yes, it does.
There are many other websites hosted on a free hosting server. As the service is free, some of them may be using it for spamming purposes.
This creates a bad reputation for your server’s IP, and Search Engines like Google prefer not to rank those websites.
-
Zero Security
With free hosting, your website is vulnerable to thousands of attackers. They don’t provide security as paid hosting does.
They provide basic security; the rest you need to do yourself or hire a security expert.
Whereas paid hosting provides more security. You get access to security tools to secure your website from attackers in paid web hosting.
-
Your existence may disappear tomorrow
Above all, There is no guarantee when you go with free web hosting. Today your website may have thousands of visits, but they may suspend or terminate your account without any warnings.
This is one of the most critical points to consider in free vs. paid web hosting. Read the terms and conditions of the free web host properly to know more about it.
-
Backups and Support
Free hosting providers don’t keep any backups. If, anyhow, your website is deleted, or you deleted some important files.
You may have to redesign your website or write the content that is deleted.
However, it allows you to take backups manually if you have a blog and post every day. You won’t have enough time to keep a backup of your blog every day.
Also, there is no support for free hosting. Some hosting providers have free email support but take days to reply. While, you get live chat, email and call support, and Skype support in paid web hosting. The responses to your queries are fast.
-
Uptime
Uptime is the total time your website is accessible and live. The total uptime of paid hosting is around 99.09%. In comparison, there is no guarantee of uptime in free hosting.
You start losing visitors if your website is not live and accessible. Also, uptime affects your website’s ranking in Google and other Search Engines. Nobody wants to visit your website to see an error page.
Conclusion: free vs. paid web hosting – Which is best for you?
The last question is about which one you should go with; free vs. paid web hosting. If you want to learn about the platform and hosting, you can get started with free hosting.
You can freely learn and apply new things and make them live. You should go for paid web hosting when you have learned everything and want to start a real blog or a business.