Web Hosting: Not just one, but numerous companies have specialised in offering free hosting. The so-called free hosters tempting for anyone, working on a tight budget. But they are not always the best choice. Publishing content has never been easier, thanks to social media. It doesn’t matter whether you create a Facebook page or an Instagram account: Content is online in just a few moments. What is accessible on social platforms is usually not the case on your website. Freehosters have found a good niche here: free websites.
Web Hosting: Free Hosting Is Explained Using WordPress.Com
WordPress.com is a provider that is referred to as a free hoster. With the free account, you can quickly start your website. This then offers 3 GB of storage space in addition to its subdomain (example.wordpress.com).
However, the website also has some limitations. The website contains advertisements from WordPress.com. In addition, it offers only a few options for making adjustments (e.g., plugin or theme installations). Such services are chargeable. WordPress.com is an excellent example of the limitations free hosting entails. It offers essential functions for bringing content to the Internet. When it comes to design, however, it quickly reaches its limits.
What Can Good Web Hosting Cost?
If you are looking for essential freedoms to design your web presence, free hosting will rarely be enough. However, using any paid hoster is not very helpful.
Instead, you should ask yourself some basic questions: What are my plans for the website? What kind of income should it bring? How problematic is the downtime? How expensive does it get if support is not available within a few minutes, but in the worst case, only in a few days? These questions help assess the importance of web hosting – and what it can cost.
Free hosting can suffice if it’s a small website for the model building club around the corner. However, if you are talking about the online business card of an advertising agency or the online shop of a master confectioner, paid solutions are usually the only sensible and nerve-racking way.
If web hosting is not only a part, even the core of the business, the choice of web host plays an even more significant role. Agencies and freelancers will then find specialised hosters such as Mittwald.
Free Hosting As An Introduction
If a company is in its infancy, the budget is probably tight. The question could quickly come up here as to whether free hosting might not be sufficient after all – at least for a start.
From the functions alone, free hosting could be a working savings measure for the first few weeks or months, depending on the desired services. But if you take a closer look, you will find that a necessary website move requires a lot of time and money with increasing demands.
If you have to work extra shifts or cannot be reached for a few hours, the monthly 5-10 euros for entry-level tariffs are quickly recouped with good hosting. You will probably choose a paid hoster directly with this factor in mind.
From Free Hosters Who Grow With You
There are free hosters, such as WordPress.com, as mentioned earlier, that offer accessible hosting environments but also uncomplicated upgrades to paid plans. The latter would then contain more necessary functions for a professional website. Isn’t that a good way for a website? To answer this question, the long term should be considered.
For example, if you plan to expand your website with an online shop that is not based on WordPress in the long term, WordPress.com will not be a suitable platform. The same applies if you think about using another CMS like Joomla! or to test NEOS.
What To Look For In A Good Web Host
Some excellent web hosts on the market offer attractive services with prices under 10 euros per month. An important question that separates the wheat from the chaff right from the start: Are you planning private or commercial use? Many other factors play a significant role in the latter case, probably more so than the price.
A B2B hoster like Mittwald scores with 24-hour telephone support, reseller hosting, agency tools, and many other services. Worth seeing and anything but self-evident: the data centre located. Because in this country, where data protection is becoming increasingly important, the actual location of contact details and payment methods is playing an increasingly important role.
Conclusion: Look Behind The Scenes At Free Hosters
It may well be that you will find a free hosting that provides you with precisely the services that you need. A free host also means a specific waiver or one or the other restriction in many cases.
Advertising banners, subdomains, or fluctuating performance are not good prerequisites for secure hosting. However, this is required if you don’t just run a website as a hobby but also pursue essential goals.
If you want to work with a free hoster in the long term, you should take a close look at the guaranteed services. Moving the site later could take a lot of time and money. However, should a move become necessary, some hosts – including Mittwald – will even lend a hand and take care of it for you!
ALSO READ: The Dark Side Of Technology: Manipulative, Surveillance, & Already In Use
