{"id":64694,"date":"2021-01-25T12:22:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T17:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/?p=64694"},"modified":"2024-01-23T14:13:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T19:13:47","slug":"free-hosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/free-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Price of Free Hosting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting-1024x538.png\" alt=\"Price of Free Hosting Title Image\" class=\"wp-image-64696 skip_lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting-1024x538.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting-560x294.png 560w, https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re starting a new business, anything \u201cfree\u201d that helps you along can sound like a really good idea. But when it comes to free web hosting, it might not be as great as it seems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Free&#8221; hosting can have strings attached. You may find yourself struggling to move your site data off of someone else&#8217;s computer, or find yourself on the hook for an enormous monthly fee. By the time your site is successful, you may find the price of &#8220;free&#8221; hosting to be much higher than you anticipated!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re going to take an objective look at exactly what free web hosting is . . . and why it may end up costing you in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"#free-web-hosting\">What is Free Web Hosting?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#why-give-it-away\">Why Would They Give Away Hosting?<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#upselling\">Upselling<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#limited-resources\">Limited Resources<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#paid-ads\">Paid Ads<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#proprietary-ecosystem\">Proprietary Ecosystem<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#disadvantages\">Disadvantages of Free Web Hosting<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#basic-features\">Basic Features<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#restrictions\">Restricted Server Customization<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#possible-failure\">Possible Failure<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#backup-restrictions\">Backup Restrictions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><li><a href=\"#free-nearly-free-affordable-alternatives\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Free, Nearly Free, and Affordable Alternatives<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#blogging-service-newsletter\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Use a Blogging Service or Newsletter Platform<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#github-pages\" class=\"rank-math-link\">GitHub Pages<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#subdomains\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Nearly Free: Subdomains<\/a><\/li><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#bottom-line\" class=\"rank-math-link\">The Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"free-web-hosting\">What is Free Web Hosting?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Web hosting can be thought of as your website\u2019s home: it\u2019s where all of the important files and data (everything that\u2019s needed to keep your website running) lives. \u201cFree\u201d web hosting is, of course, when that space is made available to users without a cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does it work? A service allots you space on a server that they own and operate. You are responsible for creating and maintaining your own website, but you don\u2019t have to worry about anything to do with the actual server. Sometimes the host even provides extras, like free site builders or automated installation tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-give-it-away\">Why Would They Give Away Hosting?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems counterintuitive, right? Businesses are meant to make money, but how can they make money if they\u2019re giving out their product for free? This seems especially true of web hosting, which requires an enormous amount of hardware, space to hold the physical machines, bandwidth, power, and people to provide maintenance. That\u2019s a lot of overhead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s why they do it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"upselling\">Upselling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many products or services today, some hosting providers offer a very basic product for free in the hopes that their clients will upgrade to a paid plan later. Paid plans, of course, typically come with more features and resources that can be quite enticing. For example, a free hosting plan might come with email support or chat boards, while the paid version might come with free 24-hour support from live customer service reps. Sometimes these paid plans are a good deal, but you can often get more features for less money over the long term by choosing an affordable, fully-featured hosting plan from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"limited-resources\">Limited Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some plans are &#8220;free&#8221; only as long as a site stays within some arbitrarily defined limitations. If your site exceeds a certain number of visitors, or you use up a limited amount of storage space, you can find your site completely offline \u2014 until you pay for more resources. While many hosting plans will have some limitations in place, these limitations should be clearly stated up-front so you can plan around them and upgrade if needed. You don&#8217;t want your site taken offline right as you begin to gain popularity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"paid-ads\">Paid Ads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some free web hosts make their money through paid ads or affiliate links. That means that when your website is hosted on their servers, you will not be able to control the advertisements that display on the site. The advertisements may include unwanted banner ads, pop-ups that you can\u2019t get rid of, or even advertisements for your competitors! Read the fine print before signing up for anything so you\u2019re not surprised later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"proprietary-ecosystem\">Proprietary Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re new to site design, this is an aspect of free hosting that will take some explaining. The most popular ways to build websites involve using free and open-source tools that anyone can download, access, or work with at no charge. This includes everything from user-friendly Content Management Systems (CMSs) like <a aria-label=\"WordPress  (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/edu\/wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress<\/a> to advanced app frameworks like <a aria-label=\"Laravel (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/server\/server-usage\/how-to-set-up-laravel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Laravel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some companies choose to focus on proprietary platforms. Some of these platforms are even quite well made and easy to use. Here&#8217;s the problem \u2014 if you ever want a feature the platform designers did not plan for, you&#8217;re stuck! This would not be a problem with a more popular tool like WordPress. A WordPress designer could look for a <a aria-label=\"plugin (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/edu\/wordpress\/plugins\/what-are-plugins-and-widgets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">plugin<\/a>, or try to code a solution. WordPress is one of the world&#8217;s most popular platforms, so it&#8217;s quite likely a solution already exists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Relying on a proprietary platform to run your business is an unnecessary risk. If you ever need something outside the scope of that platform, you have no choice but to hope your hosting company decides to change their software. No one outside of your hosting company can change or update the platform. Who knows if your hosting company will want to! Your situation may be too specialized to justify the cost of coding a custom site add-on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s not even the worst thing about these proprietary platforms. If you one day decide to move your business elsewhere, you may find it impossible to do so. Many of these platforms have no easy way of exporting site data. Even if you could export your data, there will be nowhere else you can easily upload it. The exported data will be incompatible with other site frameworks. On the other hand, something like a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/edu\/wordpress\/easily-move-wordpress-site-to-new-server\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"WordPress site is very easy to move (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">WordPress site is very easy to move<\/a> from one server to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"disadvantages\">Disadvantages of Free Web Hosting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to disadvantages of a free website hosting service, there are several things that you need to weigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"basic-features\">Basic Features<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Often, a free service will give you only the most basic features with limits on bandwidth and storage space as well as the limited ability to change and adjust your site. Many of these companies are trying to get you in the door so they can upsell you to the \u201cpremium\u201d services later. Once they get you in, then you will find that your \u201cfree\u201d hosting actually costs. If you want the ability to truly grow and develop your site, a free website hosting service may not be right for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"restrictions\">Restricted Server Customization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With dedicated servers and VPS hosting, you have full control of what goes into or comes out of your server \u2013 software, apps, anti-virus software, and much more. This is all up to your discretion. When you use a free server to host your website, they typically come with default configurations, meaning that you can\u2019t modify the system or tweak files. This can prevent you from making changes to increase the performance of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"possible-failure\">Possible Failure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your website will be placed on a server that is shared with dozens of other websites. This means that if one site on the server gets a traffic spike, it will slow down all the other sites. Also, if one site on the server is breached by hackers, then it could leave your website open to a hack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to the strain of hosting multiple sites at the same time, it is more likely that a shared server can experience a failure. A large spike in traffic from several sites at once, a malicious hacker, or even too many web users trying to download files at the same time, could cause the full server to go down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"backup-restrictions\">Backup Restrictions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to free services, you\u2019re less likely to have backup protection for your website. The \u201cfree\u201d price tag comes at the expense of technical support and space allocation, so backing up your site becomes costly for their services. You&#8217;ll need to understand how to manually setup backup and anti-malware solutions for peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"free-nearly-free-affordable-alternatives\">Free, Nearly Free, and Affordable Alternatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the drawbacks, free web hosting is an ideal solution for certain situations. If you\u2019re just learning to code, running a blog-only page, or you just want to show your boss that you can put words on a screen, then free hosting might be the perfect fit. Here are some forms of free and affordable hosting that are useful in specific situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"blogging-service-newsletter\">Use a Blogging Service or Newsletter Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t actually need a website and just want to get words in front of your readers, consider a blogging service like <a aria-label=\"Medium (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/help.medium.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/225168768-Writing-and-publishing-a-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Medium<\/a> or a newsletter service like <a aria-label=\"Substack (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/support.substack.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360037831771-How-do-I-publish-a-new-post-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Substack<\/a>. These services are free to post on, and some even have opportunities for you to make money off of your work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"github-pages\">GitHub Pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you just need to get a website online for testing purposes, classwork, or to make a pitch before building the real thing, consider using <a aria-label=\"GitHub Pages (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.github.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">GitHub Pages<\/a>. Once you learn how to use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/website\/git\/using-your-github-account\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"GitHub (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">GitHub<\/a> to manage your version control, it&#8217;s easy to extend this further and use GitHub to test out websites while you work on them. You can always upgrade to a real hosting plan after you&#8217;ve done all the work of designing and testing your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"subdomains\">Nearly Free: Subdomains<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, subdomains aren&#8217;t free. You need to already have a hosting plan up and running to <a aria-label=\"add a subdomain (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/edu\/cpanel\/creating-a-subdomain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">add a subdomain<\/a>. Here&#8217;s the thing: subdomains can have everything a full website has, and most hosting accounts allow you to create multiple subdomains for every &#8220;real&#8221; domain you have. They&#8217;re a great way to try out new frameworks or keep one-off projects in one, convenient place. Best of all, there&#8217;s no need to buy a new domain!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"jumbotron\">\r\n<p>Launch your web presence quickly and easily with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/shared-hosting\">Shared Hosting<\/a>. Our user-friendly hosting is perfect for everyone, providing the fastest shared hosting experience possible, all powered by cPanel.<\/p>\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/design.inmotionhosting.com\/assets\/icons\/standard\/check-blue.svg\" alt=\"check mark\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" \/>Free Domain &amp; SSL Certificates    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/design.inmotionhosting.com\/assets\/icons\/standard\/check-blue.svg\" alt=\"check mark\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" \/>Unlimited Bandwidth    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/design.inmotionhosting.com\/assets\/icons\/standard\/check-blue.svg\" alt=\"check mark\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" \/>400+ One-Click Applications    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/design.inmotionhosting.com\/assets\/icons\/standard\/check-blue.svg\" alt=\"check mark\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" \/>USA &amp; European Data Centers<\/p>\r\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/shared-hosting\">Shared Hosting Plans<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"bottom-line\">The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sit down and make a list of your website\u2019s requirements. Do you run an eCommerce store that requires a lot of bandwidth? A simple one-page website? Do you plan on uploading lots of photo albums to showcase your work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you know exactly what type of resources your site will require, you can decide if free web hosting is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High quality hosting is worth the cost for a vast majority of situations. If you want your website to last a long time and create a return on your investment, choose a hosting platform for the life of your business, not just the first few weeks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/15-steps-to-grow-your-business-online\/\" aria-label=\"That way, your site can grow with your business!\" class=\"rank-math-link\">That way, your site can grow with your business!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you\u2019re starting a new business, anything \u201cfree\u201d that helps you along can sound like a really good idea. But when it comes to free web hosting, it might not be as great as it seems. &#8220;Free&#8221; hosting can have strings attached. You may find yourself struggling to move your site data off of someone<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/free-hosting\/\"> Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-and-advice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Price of Free Hosting | Pros, Pitfalls, and Alternatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You want to get your website online without spending lots of money, but is there a hidden price to free hosting? We&#039;ll explore the topic and offer alternatives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/free-hosting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Price of Free Hosting | Pros, Pitfalls, and Alternatives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You want to get your website online without spending lots of money, but is there a hidden price to free hosting? We&#039;ll explore the topic and offer alternatives.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/free-hosting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"InMotion Hosting Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/inmotionhosting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-25T17:22:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-23T19:13:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/priceOfFreeHosting.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"InMotion Hosting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@inmotionhosting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@inmotionhosting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"InMotion Hosting\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Price of Free Hosting | Pros, Pitfalls, and Alternatives","description":"You want to get your website online without spending lots of money, but is there a hidden price to free hosting? 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