If you’ve been looking for web hosting, you've probably seen large banner ads and classifieds that proclaim loudly the merits of free hosting-and wondered if this is a good idea for your business web site. After all, marketing is expensive, and couldn't this be one way of cutting down costs?

Before you make a decision, though, it's important to understand how "free" web hosting works, and why it could ultimately destroy your marketing efforts online. Or, in the words of the famous quote, "There's no such thing as a free lunch". This is especially true in the world of online hosting.

First, it helps to understand what web hosting is, and what they offer online businesses.
 

What Webhosts do
Every business site on the World Wide Web has a special address, known as its domain name. Most web hosting companies will register your domain name for you, for a fee. They then "host" your pages by allowing their server to store your web site files in their directories (the host server). This server is normally online continuously, and handles requests from other computers to view your pages; the host server sends data to visitors to your site, and allows their browsers to view your web page.

The larger the hosting server, the more requests for data (data transfer) it can handle.
 

You get What you pay for
Web hosting prices can range from free, to very expensive. But price is definitely linked to the quality of service that you receive, as we will discuss below.
 

Annoying ads Drive Visitors Away
For instance, if you go with a "free" web host, visitors to your site will see banner ads or annoying pop ups each time they visit your site (which brings into question the term 'free' since the hosting service makes money off those ads). In other words, you are advertising services for THEM, and the "free" host ensures that THEIR ads are displayed first, before any for your business are seen.

Of course, for a fee, you can pay the "free" service to stop the ads, which often drive visitors AWAY from web sites.
 

Domain is Important
Free hosts also won't register domain names. Not having your own domain name looks unprofessional, though, and sends the image of a "fly-by-night" operation that doesn't want to invest a few dollars into its own name. Instead of a great name like 

a free host will give your pages a name such as 

Not only is the nondomain name longer and harder to remember, but the larger directories such as Yahoo, Google and DMOZ won't list them under businesses (they only accept businesses with their own domain name).

Also, site rankings will fall with free hosting directories, since they often won't allow you to list metatags, or the tags aren't picked up, since the "free" host's tags always come up first. In other words, marketing a business site listed on a free hosting service is difficult, if not impossible, online, and any gains from the free service are offset by the extra cost of marketing and revenues lost.
 

Traffic to Your Site: The Price of Success
Normally "free" hosts will only handle a very small volume of visitors to your web site. If in spite of the difficulty marketing your site, you do start getting significant traffic (visitors) to your site, they will ask you to upgrade your service and pay. In other words, if your site becomes successful, and plenty of visitors come looking for you, your "free" hosting will no longer be free, since the hosting server must pay for data transfer that occurs. They WON'T lose money on your site; instead they will charge you for this service.

For instance, many free web hosts will give you up to 20 MB of transfer per month; BUT if you go over this rate, you pay a penalty rate (it's in the fine print) that is very, very expensive.
 

Going Down is Expensive
Suppose you DO find a free web host, you're okay with it as a start, and your business starts growing. All too often, over time free web hosting services will do one of two things:

• Go out of business: this means that all of your hard work and marketing efforts go down the drain, and that your web pages are no longer published online. You CAN scramble to find another hosting service, but this will mean another new address, since THEY will assign you a domain name with their address in it (unless you decide to register your own domain and PAY for hosting this time around.)

• Start charging for services. Many formerly "free" hosting services online allowed customers to host pages for months, then sent notices stating they were no longer free. Again, changing web addresses to avoid the fees means losing months of marketing efforts. 

E-mail: Letting Customers Communicate
Paid hosting services will often offer several emails with the account. These may include a POP3 account, email forwarding (linking the business web-based email account to your normal email account), and even an autoresponder that sends a friendly message to customers who ask for information or order services from your site.

Needless to say, with free hosting, you must have your own email address. And which email address looks more professional:

or another one like:

With free hosting, you have to settle for the second one. Besides, with a "free" email address, it looks like you work for that business. I mean, with an email like jsmith234567@hotmail.com, doesn't it seem like you work for Hotmail, instead of your business?
 

Security: Keeping Customers Safe
If you plan to take credit card payments online, then you need an encrypted, secure system that protects your customer's data (and yours) from hackers. Paid web hosting services will help you set up merchant accounts that are protected with SSL (Netscape's Secure Sockets Layer) as part of a package. Free web hosting services will not only not support this, but will often classify your site as "professional business" and charge for hosting with them if you want this option.
 

Keep Your Content Safe
Many "free" Web hosting services have you agree to a contract that gives them full rights to the content on your site. In essence, you aren't allowed to publish the content on your site anywhere else once you contract with them.
 

Support is Crucial
Another problem with free hosts is that normally they don't offer any kind of technical support if problems occur. Their "tech support" is composed of an automated email message, or a telephone tree that tells you to call back later. Getting hold of a real, live person for tech support is expensive, which is provided by PAID web hosting services.
 

As you can see, “free" doesn't always mean "a good deal" in the world of web hosting. If you are serious about succeeding with your own business, you would do well to invest the money in a reliable web hosting service that offers the options and support that your business site needs. It's money well spent, and will reap dividends in the long run, as your site is perceived as reliable, and here to stay.
 

Here’s all you Need to get Started
Just click here to order your own domain, with annual hosting, unlimited email address, 999 autoresponders, 999 email lists and much more. Including a totally free webdesign software program.