If you ask 100 people what they think about free web hosting then over 75% will tell you it’s a waste of time trying to use free web hosting. Is that true ? Well I don’t think they are completely correct about it. There good free hosting providers out there among all the rotten eggs. Find one of these good free web hosting providers and you will happy just like at a paid hosting provider. The problem is finding a perfect free web hosting service among all these thousands of free hosting services.
First you have to understand this and always keep it in mind. It’s FREE ! don’t expect everything you want from a free hosting provider. Also you can’t made demands either. If you want things happen fast and less problems then have to use paid hosting where they must provide you a good service and on time customer support. That doesn’t work same with free web hosting.
Second thing is what you will be hosting. Never host anything important at a free web hosting unless you are a starter who have no other choice. If that is the case you need to take backups everyday of everytime you make a modify. Not even paid hosting providers take responsibility of taking timely backups. It’s your job. There are hosting providers who let you host WordPress and other CMS but most of big free hosting providers like Free Hostia has restrictions where you can’t run a WP blog. Also never ever try to run a forum in a free hosting provider. Even cheap paid hosting packages won’t good for that.
Make sure to do a research before settling on free hosting provider. Do a Google search and see what people tell about them. Don’t believe in every negative review you find there but you will get an idea. If the provider has been around for years then its good. Also if they offer paid hosting and also have other ways to cover their server costs it’s good too because service will last longer. Some free hosting providers like YouHosting are blackListed by some IPS providers in USA, Canada and UK. You should check if everyone can view your site by checking with people living in those countries.
Don’t host your main sites on free sub-domain offered by free hosting provider. Because it’s their sub-domain and one day if they decide to close the service or you get kicked out you would loose all your hard work. These days it’s not hard to find or buy a top level domain like a .com. At Godaddy you can get one for less than $5. You have one whole year to renew it so you have year to start make profit from your web site.
So you can see free web hosting is not bad. Just don’t expect too much. It’s good they let you use it for free. But see what methods they offer for support. Live chat or ticket systems are not great when it comes to free web hosting. Forum based support is lot better because even users can help each other. You don’t need to wait for staff.