The differences between free and paid web hosting
The idea of free hosting attracts people for obvious reasons. It’s easy to say “Well … I don’t need anything too fancy.” Let’s take a look at some of the differences between free hosting and paid hosting. We’ll look at a few points to consider before committing to a hosting solution.
Domain name
When you sign up for free hosting, the hostname becomes part of your domain name. On paid hosting, you create a unique custom domain name that doesn’t include the host’s name.
Why is this important?
Your business may appear less credible when you use a domain name with a third party on it. Also, this type of domain name will result in a lower ranking in search engines.
Technical support
A free hosted account will most likely address your questions and technical issues by inviting you to send an email. They will respond in 24 to 48 hours. Compare this to a paid account, which generally has 24/7 technical support available when you need it. Free accounts tend to have longer downtime. This means that your site is not available. The paid hosting scenario generally comes with a guarantee of staying up to 99.9% of the time. If you are idle, you can quickly find out what is happening.
Why is this important?
If your site is down, you will lose customers and revenue. If you need help, it’s comforting to get in touch with someone as soon as possible, rather than waiting in an email queue. It is critical for online commerce or marketing businesses to provide a stable and reliable experience for their customers.
Limited bandwidth and storage space
With free accounts, your bandwidth and storage space are limited. With paid accounts, you can customize these aspects of your site or blog. If your blog or business is growing, what happens when your free account runs out?
Why is this important?
You may not be able to move all of your content to a paid account. Starting with a paid account that can grow with you is a better option. Most paid accounts come with a backup element of security that free accounts do not offer.
Other considerations
Business requires planning. The same goes for your online presence. Will you have a large website with many pages? Do you want to monetize your blog to earn income? These are the main considerations when choosing a free or paid hosting site. Paid hosting allows for more plugins to help your site or blog work for you.
You may be starting to test blogging. Does your website have only a few pages? There are circumstances where a free site may be all you need. But … If you are hoping to grow and expand your business, free hosting may not be the ideal path.
If you’re gaming and want to stay small, free hosting can meet your needs. If you’re trying to make a splash and build a business reputation, or income, on the internet, pay for the hosting. You will have room to grow and fewer headaches right from the start.
