It amazes me how many people try to build serious websites with free web host providers. Granted, we all love things in life that are marked "free", but it doesn't always make sense to go that route if it will cost you more in the long run.
And I'm not just talking in monetary terms. Costs can also come in forms of time and energy. I don't know about you, but I don't like wasting those two things either.
Now, don't get me wrong. There are occasions where free websites make sense. Let's say you just want to practice your HTML skills and don't plan to show your website to anyone. Or perhaps you are a minor and cannot register a domain name yet. Your only option is to choose a free host. Those are two occasions where building a free website definitely makes sense, and of course there are a handful of other scenarios.
What I don't understand is when people tell me they want to start a business website, but they want to build their site for free. Wait a sec....starting a business with no start-up costs? Do you know of any successful businesses offline that got started for free? Do you think the founding fathers of Burger King and McDonalds went looking for free space to setup their stores?
Of course they didn't because they wanted people to take them and their business seriously. Even if they had found a free place to setup shop, it would have been evident it was free and they would have paid for it in the long run. That payment probably would have come in the form of lack of sales and eventually a shutdown.
Online business is no different than offline in that respect. Sure there are some cost-saving benefits to starting a business online versus offline, but to begin by taking shortcuts will only prove disaster in the end. A website is the foundation of your business, and if your foundation is shaky it will make it very hard for you to prosper.
Disadvantages of Free Websites
Free Hosts Lack Stability
One of the main problems I have with free web hosts is stability. Often times they grow too big too fast. Even though they aren't charging you anything for your site, they still have to pay their own monthly web hosting fees.
Most hosts have a bandwidth (traffic) limit and if you exceed it, they charge you more. This in turn causes their web hosting costs to increase and if they can't afford it, they are forced to either shut down or begin charging you a fee.
So you either lose your site or end up paying for it anyway. And if you are forced to pay for your site, you must pay whatever they decide to charge. Even if it's outrageous, many people end up paying just to keep from losing their site.
Now you might say there's always the option of finding another host, but that's not usually very convenient. Think about it. If you switch to another host, not only do you have to transfer all your files, but your website address will change since you don't own the domain. So all the people that bookmarked your site will now see a "Page Not Found" error when they try to visit your homepage.
Pop Ups and Banner Ads
There is nothing that screams "amateur website" more than flashing banners and annoying pop up windows. Granted, many users now own some kind of ad blocking software that will prevent some of the pop ups from showing, but you better believe a large portion of your audience is still seeing them. Also, blocking software doesn't always filter out everything.
What's even worse about the banner ads is you have no control over the frequency, placement or content. Here you are trying to be as professional as possible and an ad for Viagra flies across the screen, screaming at your visitors to "BUY ME NOW!" Real professional isn't it? ;)
Search Engines Are Tougher On You
As time goes on, it's getting harder and harder to achieve a good search engine ranking. Even if you buy your own domain it takes some work to even get listed...much less ranked well. So having a free website makes it that much harder.
The free hosts have been given a bad name, primarily because customers often abandon their sites or use spamming tactics in attempt to boost their ranking. Free websites also tend to be smaller and lack quality content so they end up getting ignored by search engine spiders anyway.
Not getting listed in any of the major engines would be extremely disappointing if you planned on getting most of your traffic from places like Yahoo, MSN, Google etc. Many successful businesses rely on this free traffic.
Limited Space and Functionality
Want to build an online store? Sorry, you can't do that on a free site. Want to build a chat room or message forum? Sorry, you can do that on a free site either.
Are you seeing a trend yet? Yup...free sites generally have very limited functionality so they're really best suited for personal websites that only contain text and pictures.
For security reasons they don't usually provide you with the platform that you would need to build additional functionality.
In Conclusion
Those are just a fraction of the issues you have to deal with should you decide to start your business with a free web host.
I could go on and on but hopefully you can see it's really worth investing the small amount every month to get your business off on the right foot. The average web host cost less than $15 per month and many are under $10.
Remember, "free" almost always comes with a price. It may not be monetary, but it could come in other forms that ultimately ruin your chances for success.
Lisa Irby is the author of 2 Create a Web Site -- a site that encourages you to educate yourself before diving into the web site creation process. http://www.2CreateAWebSite.com
How to Promote Websites Popularity?
Once your site is launched, half your battle is won. What lies ahead is the interesting and challenging part of the game.
Learn about Search Engine Optimization for Joomla Websites
Though in many ways search engines are really smart, they dislike the normal Joomla URL because it does not describe any details regarding the web page or its contents. In a way it is Search Optimization Stunted (SOS). SEF URL changing components help by taking the normal Joomla URL and changing it so that it has some meaning to the search engines as well as the internet users. JoomSEF and OpenSEF are two of the best of all the SEF URLs available. The only problem with JomSEF is the hidden advert that lays in the code. However this can be overcome with the ?Joomsef patch? that is available on the internet. The OpenSEF was great when it was introduced, but with no updates since then, the project has lagged behind. Though Joomla URL?s can sti...
How To Use Email Advertising To Grow Your Own Opt In List
Email advertising is a quick efficient way of reaching a large audience with your online marketing or advertising campaign. We are of course talking about legal spam-free email marketing. The sad fact is that there are still too many people out there who think of spam the moment that you mention email advertising. They quickly link this legitimate, respectable and powerful marketing method that is email advertising to illegal, nuisance spam. Email advertising can be used in a wide range of different online marketing campaigns and projects. One of the less-known ways of using email ads is in the building up of valuable opt in email lists. Simply using email advertising to refer folks to a special landing page where you sell the idea of fre...
Web Hosting: Web Accessibility
Deep in the heart of an office complex there lies a room that may be filled with floor to ceiling server cages that house multiple web-based servers. In the back of a storefront you may likely find servers working to keep websites operational.
Money Through Clicks: To Join Or Not To Join A Webmaster Affiliate Program?
The world of the World Wide Web is growing to be noisier and more crowded. There are more and more companies striving to catch the attention of a large number of people. These same companies offer nearly the same products and services, at nearly the same prices, and with differences only in their packaging and names. These same companies also employ marketing tactics that can be annoying and overeager, or boring, tried, and tested.
Fortiva Introduces Data Validation and Audit Features for Maintenance-Free Email Archiving
New features make outsourced email archiving easier to use, more secure and reliable than in-house solutions.
Do You Know Where Your Email Address is Today?
Having people go to your website is not always easy:
remind them with a special business card.Whether you understand it nor not, the web is likely here to stay; those businesses that do not yet have a web presence, or at least email addresses, are likely to get left in the dust.
CGI Web Hosting - 3 Essential Scripts for your Business
If there's one thing that people love it is a web site that has plenty of automated features. Sites that are highly interactive tend to get the most traffic and generate the most business for the companies that run them. Automated features can also play a "behind the scenes" role, making your site easier to use, run smoothly and allow for things like online sales and password protection. There are many ways to get this type of automation into your site, but all involve either client side or server side scripting.
How to Avoid the Devastating Email Marketing Mistakes
We read it everywhere, whether in specialized publications or on our forum that the future of online marketing and customer relationship involves emailing Indeed, email marketing is a formidable tool to consolidate the relationship with the customer, however, this same tool can be devastating if you do not make it right
Woomail Alerts You When Anyone Shares Your Email Address
Woomail, the next generation of online messaging, is an intuitive and highly sensitive communication tool that works in a simple yet effective manner. Woomail totally eliminates spam and puts total control in the hands of the receiver; alerting users every single time an email address has been sold or compromised.
Produce More Sales from your Email Promotions - Part 2
Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written articles do you submit per week to Online ezines? How often do you send thank you's and follow up messages to your different email groups?
If you answered not many, then you need to re-evaluate. The answer to online success is the same as traditional success--promotion, promotion, promotion.
Displaying RSS Feeds on Websites
Displaying RSS
RSS offers webmasters a unique opportunity to display fresh content on websites. While publishing an RSS feed is a great way to generate site interest and increase communication, syndicating and displaying feeds from related relevant sources can also generate interest, increase traffic and improve search engine ranking.
Aspects For Consideration When Comparing Web Hosting Services
Of course now that your website is nearing completion you will need a web hosting service for your website as soon as it is done. If you have already taken the time to scout around on the net for a web hosting service you may have noticed a few things and one of them is that there is a massive quantity of web hosting services available on the Internet.
Five Common Web Design Mistakes
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage or website. Learn about the top five website mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Email Microtargeting
Email marketing is undergoing rapid changes. Now, more than ever, both the creative and demographic selection and targeting of a message must be highly relevant and qualified.