Free Web Hosting v Paid Hosting

website hosting
Share

The standard way to create a website is to register a domain name and then pay a web hosting company to host the site, but many internet newbies often consider using a free hosting service as an alternative. It’s a cheaper option, and it may seem like there is nothing to lose, but that is not the case. Free website hosting services are notorious for disappearing as fast as they appear. When this happens the sites hosted on their domain are lost, along with all the hard work that has been put into their creation.

Sites that are hosted for free are usually created as a subdomain of the hosting company’s domain. If the free host company was called freesite.com, for example, and the webmaster wished to call their site Online Wealth Platform, the site’s address would be www.OnlineWealthPlatform.Freesite.com. By registering their own domain though, and paying for hosting services, the webmaster could have a shorter, simpler, and more professional-looking address: www.OnlineWealthPlatform.com. It would be easier for people to remember, and—most importantly—the address would be permanent and portable between hosts. If the owner of OnlineWealthPlatform.com wished to change their web hosting company later on, or if their existing hosts went out of business, the site could be easily moved to another host and the website address would always remain the same—www.OnlineWealthPlatform.com.

If the site was hosted at Freesite.com things would not be so easy. If FreeSite went out of business Online Wealth Platform would need to find another hosting service and their address would change accordingly. It may become www.OnlineWealthPlatform.FreeHostingForAll.com, or www.OnlineWealthPlatform.DontPayForHosting.com. All inbound links to the site would be lost because the address would have changed. If the original site had a good page rank that would be lost as well, and regular site visitors would discover their browser returned an error message when they tried to visit the site. This would result in a loss of traffic and a loss of traffic usually results in a loss of revenue.

These days, webmasters can often register a domain for just $10, and webhosting can be purchased for under $4 a month. It’s a small investment, but it can be big on returns; so buying a domain name is always the sensible way to go.

Take your Digital Marketing to the Next Level with ePresence

If you are looking to expand your business, reach more customers and improve the impact of your marketing, ePresence can help. We will work with you to understand your business needs, challenges and goals. Our Digital Marketing Agency in Cork and Kerry is an experienced and results-driven organisation serving companies and national brands throughout Munster and all of Ireland. We will help lighten your load and provide access to our quality digital marketing team. Get in touch with us today on +353 (0)21 2362901 or email us on info@epresence.ie.

About Author

John Brennan

John Brennan

John Brennan is director of ePresence Internet Marketing. He is an experienced management consultant, specialising in Digital Marketing, Business Development, Product Development and Innovation Management. Owner/director of ePresence, John also lectures in Digital Advertising and Analytics at Cork Institute of Technology. John has an Electronic Engineering Degree from Cork Institute of Technology, MBA from University College Cork and Executive Training at Kellogg Business School, Chicago. Before setting up ePresence, John held various roles such as Software Engineer, Director of Engineering, Director of Product and Program Management, Vice President of Product Development and General Manager in world leading organisations such as Apple, IBM, Snap-on Inc. and FMC. John combines his technology know-how, management experience and customer focus to help his clients achieve online success.

Profile Link

Author's Articles

Recent Posts

Share This News