Most people who start their website don’t have a big budget to cover all their hosting and website requirements. This is why some start their website with a free hosting plan. Yes, many companies on the market offer their hosting services for free, enabling many website owners to begin their online journey.
A free web hosting plan will enable you to register and manage your website without any expenses. On the other hand, many people aren’t aware that free hosting isn’t free. You might not be paying for the services, but you’ll be sacrificing your site’s security, and your site will be filled with ads. Another downside of the free hosting services is that you’ll be getting limited resources, poor performance, and not that reliable security features.
Overall, trying a free hosting plan is worth it if you don’t need a professional website but rather a personal site and want to explore how the web hosting world works. Many web hosting companies offer free hosting plans, so if you want to explore the free hosting world, you’ll get a proper opportunity. Learn more about how free web hosting works and the benefits you can get from it.
Is It Worth Trying Free Hosting?
Many people are skeptical about free hosting because they’re not sure what they’ll be getting. Since they won’t be paying any money, they wonder whether this type of hosting can make their website work properly.
Let’s take a deep look into the free hosting and see whether it is worth your time and effort.
You’ll Be Getting A Lot of Ads on Your Website
Companies that offer free hosting make their money out of ads. Please don’t be shocked when you see tons of ads on your website because that’s how the web hosting company makes its money. After all, they won’t make any money out of you, so it’s probably fair.
On the other hand, having tons of ads on your website can get annoying, so be prepared for that if you sign up with a free hosting plan. Most ads are placed on the top or bottom of the website, and some even add pop-up ads.
Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of the ads is to upgrade the plan or pay a one-time fee, so if you have to pay, maybe it’s better to choose a hosting company that offers great services.
You’ll Be Getting Limited Resources and Features
Since the hosting is free, it’s clear that your resources will be limited. The disk space and monthly traffic are limited, but it’s enough if you have a small website. Another significant limitation is the file size limit. Building the simplest WordPress website would require downloading a plugin or adding a theme. The size limitations will prevent you from uploading a zip file and unpacking it on the server. You’ll also not be able to add a larger image. On the other hand, paid hosting services don’t have any limit on file size. You can easily add an image, theme, plugins, songs, etc.
CPU usage is also limited to free hosting services. Free hosting plans have a very low load limit because only one server has a huge number of users. Since the CPU usage is limited, your website might not function properly if many visitors browsed through it simultaneously. Using a free hosting plan is not the best option if you plan to have a business website. If you expect a lot of traffic on your website, choose a paid plan, maybe a shared hosting plan or a virtual server.
Services Will Also Be Limited
Since the service is free, it’s pretty clear that some services will be limited. Here are some services that are limited by the free hosting plan:
- You won’t get backups: If you delete anything, you can’t retrieve it because free hosting plans don’t come with a backup. This means that if you accidentally delete anything, you’ll have to rebuild it again from scratch. Some free web hosting companies offer backups, but the backups are very limited.
- You won’t get outgoing emails: free hosting plans don’t come with email service. Another disadvantage is that since the companies don’t require identity verification, your website can be abused by spammers. Some free hosting companies offer email services for a one-time fee, but by paying the fee, you’ll still be stuck with the other limitations.
- No cron jobs: A free web hosting plan will not work if you ever need to set a cron job.
You’ll Have Domain and Subdomain Limitations
Most free web hosting plans limit the hostnames users can add or create to an account. You would need to use only the service subdomains the host provides, and you won’t be allowed to use your domain name.
Lack of Tools
Free web hosting services may be good for beginners but lack various tools. Here are some tools and features that you won’t be getting with a free hosting service:
- Website builder: there is no free web hosting plan that offers a website builder. A website builder is an excellent tool for creating incredible websites.
- Server-side caching: this feature speeds up websites, but no company offers this feature with a free plan.
- Script installer: adding a script installer to a hosting plan costs a lot of money, and not one company includes this tool in their free hosting plans.
Conclusion
If you want to build a small personal website or if you want to explore the hosting web world, signing up for a free hosting plan is an excellent idea. Yes, you would need to make some compromises regarding the speed and performance, but the plans are good since you won’t be paying a dollar.
Getting a paid plan is better if your website has a business or other purpose. Free hosting plans have a lot of limitations, so it’s better to pay some extra money to get all the benefits a web hosting plan offers.
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