Article: Free Web Host Hunting
Updated:
Back
in the mid to late 90s, free web hosts offering large amounts of disk
space and unlimited bandwith came a dime a dozen. Then the Dot Com Bust
happened, and the pickins were slim. Nevertheless, many of them still remain,
but often with nasty surprises and strings attached. If you're still looking
for a free web host, find out in this article what to look for when scouting
for one.
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Once upon a time, it used to be very easy to recommend free web hosts to people. During the height of the Dot Com Boom, it wasn't unusual to come across many of them offering unlimited bandwidth, outstanding features, and good, reliable service.
However,
everything changed when the Crash happened. All of a sudden, free web hosts
became extremely unreliable; it wasn't unusual for many of them
to close shop overnight without warning (along with your web site).
Of those that remained, many of them unpologetically began taking a hard-nosed approach to their "freebies", by dramatically changing their TOSes and web hosting packages on them. Before long, customers used to unlimited bandwidth and other perks suddenly had to deal with incredibly shrinking bandwith, drive space, and other account limitations that saw their popular sites being shut down or suspended until upgrading to a pricey, fee-based account.
To this day, many free web hosts tend to still do that-- hook
newbies into signing up for accounts offering tons of space and bandwidth,
then drastically lower their offerings afterwards to force their freebie
customers into paying accounts. Other web hosts do try to legitimately
offer service with nice packages and such, but usually they go in over
their heads and before you know it, they go belly up. So right now, you're
pretty much taking a chance when you sign up for a free webhosting account.
However, I understand that for some reason or other, some people will have
to go with freebie web hosting. If that's you, here's a handy guide to
choosing a free web host without getting burned in the process.
TIP #1: Know exactly what the web host is offering!
Many
free web hosts are very clever. Some of them will hook you in with
a very brash promo, claiming that they will give you lots of something
(like oodles of bandwidth). Meanwhile, they will neglect to tell you
that
there is a file size limit or some other limitation that cancels
out the perks of having massive bandwidth. Sometimes the opposite is true.
Some of them will brag that they can give you a huge amount of disk space--
like, say, 100MB worth-- but neglect to tell you that you only get a paltry
amount of bandwidth a month, barely enough to deal with more than 50 visitors
within that time period.
Before signing up with any freebie, always read the fine print, especially in terms of bandwidth, disk space, and file size limits, because the area of limitations is where free web hosts snag unsuspecting newbs into signing up with them. They hope you will get pulled in by the generous "50MB" of disk space, and fail to notice the other more stringent limitations they have. That way, if you go over your bandwidth or file size limit, this gives them the opportunity to take advantage of you by shutting down your site or suspending your account until you upgrade to a very expensive account.
So remember, always read the fine print before signing up with a free web host.
Tip #2: Beware of "Newbie" Free Web Hosts
I'm sorry to say, but you are better off going with a long established free web host like Geocities or Tripod (no matter how much you dislike the idea!) than a recently started outfit that is touting tons of bandwidth and disk space. "Newbies" are often the least reliable hosts out there and tend to disappear as quickly as they appear-- and often with your web site! So once again, be aware!Tip #3: If it sounds too good to be true...
Beware of freebies that claim to give you exhorbitant amounts of disk space and "unlimited bandwidth" (immediately, a red flag!!). If major players like Tripod and Angelfire can't dole out unlimited bandwith, there's no reason to believe that a barely known free web host can.Tip #4 Read the Forums
Before joining up with any free web host, make a beeline to its forums for two reasons:- One, to see what members are saying about it.
- Two, to learn about any negative or positive trends that have been happening at the web host.
Do they feel that support is responsive or that it lets members fend for themselves? Does the free web host give them ample warning if they're about to go over a certain limit, or does it just suspend their accounts without notice? Do web sites have a habit of disappearing at this web host, due to stringent rules?
Sometimes good free web hosts go bad. Has the host made a few moves in the past couple of months that is making everyone nervous? Or is it still maintaining decent support and service?