With internet as the trend these days, many would like to have an online presence. The millions of people using social networking sites is a proof of that desire for online presence. You seem to be out of the trend and out-dated if you do not have an account in Facebook, Twitter and others. Aside from these sites, you can also find thousands and millions of websites which deals on various topics. Some of them have similar topics but different posts because each one wants to be unique. But despite this, no matter how crowded the internet world is, there are still lots of people who are thinking of making a website, who are just starting to design a website and who are paying to have a website. This happens around the globe for the effectiveness of websites for online business has been proven for years already.
As the number of people who wishes to venture on this field increases, the demand for web hosting also increases. Every person who creates a website would need web hosting so he could be visible and accessible online. There are also many webhosting companies of various kinds with various offers to the clients. Because of this high demand for web hosting service, the hosting market is getting crowded and it becomes challenging to choose a hosting provider. Choosing a webhost is actually not easy but as you get to know certain things which are vital for your site, you’ll be able to pick the right webhost.
Basically, there are two types of webhosting service- the free web hosting service and the paid webhosting service. These days, you could find so many free web hosting and paid hosting services in the internet that uses various advertising tactics to get your attention. There are different web hosting packages and some webhost offer various features. Your choice of a webhost actually depends on the type of website you are planning to make. But as you make a choice, we need to consider first the difference between the two webhosting services. Obviously, the other one is “free” while the other is “paid”. Other than what is perceptible, there are other things that we need to look into. Now let us have a quick yet in-depth look at the two webhosting service.
1. Money matters.
- Free webhosting services.
From the name itself, you can easily decipher that the webhosting service is free of charge. The mere thought of saving a lot of money would encourage you to use this type of service.
- Paid webhosting services.
Of course, you have to pay for a certain amount on this. It is said that cheap webhosting may only be good at first but as you add some features, you will be asked to pay for each of your addendum. What happens is you will still spend the same amount as spending for a more expensive webhost with complete features. The more expensive it is, the more features it has.
2. Type of your web sites.
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- Free webhosting services.
This is good for websites just for your personal use like for your family or your group of friends. This is good for sites that do not expect much traffic. But this is a big no no for business. You wouldn’t like your client to see that you are only using a free webhost for this will greatly affect the credibility of your company. They would think you are fake and wouldn’t like to transact business with you.
- Paid webhosting services.
This is more appropriate for online businesses. This will give more credibility to your site and it has more advantages that could cater an online business. Your client will trust you and would think that you are serious about your business. They wouldn’t hesitate to work with you.
3. Technical support.
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- Free webhosting services.
Since they are offering free service, they couldn’t afford to give you 24/7 technical support.
- Paid webhosting services.
There is an efficient technical support that is available 24/7. So, you can ask for help anytime a problem arises.
4. Storage facility.
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- Free webhosting services.
There are certain restrictions for webspace. Usually, they only offer about 500 mb or less. This is not enough even for personal websites that uses videos and images.
- Paid webhosting services.
If you choose a paid server, for sure all your files will fit in. It can even provide an extended storage if you need it. Of course, you have to pay for that additional space. Well, at least you can make things work better for your site.
5. Web traffic.
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- Free webhosting services.
It provides limited access if we speak of the traffic coming to your site. If there is much traffic, the result is your site will have no display.
- Paid webhosting services.
It gives you the advantage of much greater traffic. Your site will always be up even if the traffic increases.
6. Email accounts.
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- Free webhosting services.
It provides about 2 to 5 email accounts only.
- Paid webhosting services.
It provides a greater number of user email accounts.
7. FTP access.
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- Free webhosting services.
Most free web hosts do not allow FTP access which means you couldn’t add as many files or pages that you want.
- Paid webhosting services.
Most of paid hosts offer FTP access.
8. Advertisements.
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- Free webhosting services.
Many free web hosts place their banner and text ads on the website. This is their manner of earning from you. Since they are hosting for free, they will have their ads on your site but the revenue goes to them.
- Paid webhosting services.
You wouldn’t have unwanted banners and text ads in your site. You can choose your own advertisements and can customize where you will place them.
9. Control panel.
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- Free webhosting services.
Only few free web hosts offer control panel which is very important for your site.
- Paid webhosting services.
Control panel is available in most paid host. This could include cPanel,Plesk and many others.
10. SEO and domain.
- Free webhosting services.
When you opt for a free webhost, they will place your website in a sub-domain with a large number of free hosts. This will result in poor search engine rankings.
- Paid webhosting services.
A better search engine ranking will occur because you will have your own domain and wouldn’t be placed in a sub-domain.
Mentioned above are some comparisons of the advantages and disadvantages of a free webhost and a paid webhost service. You could observe that there are more advantages for a paid webhost. Of course, it will always be more helpful to use the paid ones because the mere fact that you are paying for it means that you will acquire more features and avail of better services. Once something is given for free, there are certain limitations since you are not paying for it.
Anything that is free always sounds appealing. Free webhosting is actually good for non-business websites which do not expect much traffic. But what makes it more risky even for your personal website is that it could shut down or die anytime without notice. An example of that is Yahoo Geocities which closed last April 2009. Most of the data by blog owners were no longer recovered. That is one risk in using free webhost. Your website is actually not yours. You cannot even resell it if you want to. However, the true benefit of a free webhost is it allows you for a free trial run. You can choose another webhost after the trial.
You actually have more freedom in using paid webhost service. You will feel more secured and your business will appear more professional. It comes in different types like shared, dedicated and VPS. It gives you more advantages if we speak of disk space, bandwidth, subdomains, email accounts, web design tools, autoresponder, and many more. Yes, you will really have to spend money if you want things to be okay for your website and your business.
Now that we have laid before you the pros and cons of both types of webhosting, it depends on you which one you would choose. Just make sure that your choice will not jeopardize the success of your online business.
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