Web Hosting – Should You Go For Free Or Paid?
The quest to find the best web hosting company for a business website continues to be a tough one especially now that there are millions of providers worldwide. The Internet is the modern day meeting ground for thousands of businesses who reach millions of their prospects from all over the globe virtually. This very reason makes online presence a must for every business wanting to establish a sound reputation online. Web hosting companies are the front runners of these businesses and thus they weight more than one can imagine.
Basically, a web host is simply a dedicated computer system configured to store and feed website information to whoever needs it. This computer must be able to run 24/7 to prevent service interruption to visitors of the site. Running this type of computer in an office can cost a company more than acquiring a service from third party providers. Thus, many organizations find web hosting companies a relief to their needs.
There are two types of web hosting services: free and paid. Anyone with the intention to establish an online site can use any of these types and have their site accessible over the Internet in no time. For the record, paid web hosting services are far better than those services offered for free.
Free web hosting is mostly added to other services provided by a company to its clients. Examples of these are those given by internet and cable service providers to their customers who own online sites. Some domain registrants or companies offering domain name registrations also provide free hosting. However, free hosting does not always mean free of charge. One has to pay the other services included with the free package before enjoying it.
Paid web hosting, as the name implies, are services offered with a corresponding price tag. Like most subscriptions, paid hosting comes with monthly bills that go from as low as $4.95 to around $19.95 per month.
As compared to the paid service, free web host come with less privileges and features. This type of hosting is suitable for new webmasters, students, and small scale enterprises that do not expect massive impact from online consumers. First of all, domain names used are mostly embedded with the provider’s domain name making it inconvenient for business purposes.
Another disadvantage of free hosting is the limited storage capacity that goes along with the account. Most free hosting services are configured with a maximum of 25 to 50MB storage space. This allocated space is insufficient for most sites since a good site needs more than this. Free hosting providers often charge their clients for extra storage space.
Apart from the limited storage capacity and messy domain name, the lack of database management system, email accounts, and domain parking features are few disadvantages of free web hosting facilities.
On the other hand, paid web hosting services offer businesses competitive advantages against its competitors. With the ability to host multiple domain names and use numerous email accounts, a business certainly has control over its online system. Storage capacities that go along with the package can reach as high as 150MB to 500MB which should be large enough to hold numerous transactions in terms of shopping carts and e-commerce sites. This allocated capacity can be extended to fit the desired storage needed by a business.