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Many free web hosting accounts are free to use, however they will cost you a lot of money, time, and customers as well if you have a site that is meant for business purposes and is more than the simplest site imaginable.
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Consider the following items as to why free web hosting might cost you more than you had bargained for when you signed up.
Consideration #1 Bandwidth Frequently, free web hosting providers offer you little bandwidth which means it will take longer for your page to load. When your page takes more than 10 seconds to load you will lose visitors because they will simply move on. Because of this, you might lose a lot of customers and sales from your free web host.
Consideration #2 Advertising Many free web hosting companies are "free" to you, however, you will have advertising posted on your website as well as pop up ads. Most people do not like this and will not visit your site because of it. Be careful about signing up with a free web hosting company that uses advertising. It might not bother you, but it will probably affect your traffic and sales.
Consideration #3 Web Space Since the web host is free, you cannot expect a whole lot of web space. Frequently people do not have the space they need to upload their web page and include all of their information. Be sure to check with your free web space provider or the ones you are considering to make sure you will have enough web space to host all of the required elements of your web pages.
Consideration #4 Reliability Another consideration with free web hosting companies is reliability. Often times limitations are put on your traffic flow and if you exceed this, your site may be disabled for a period of time or you may even receive a bill. Find out what the rules are for traffic and what the consequences are for exceeding your limits.
Consideration #5 Limitations More often than not, your free web host will have rules regarding the size of photos, icons, and more that you can upload. You will want to check into this before you sign up for free web hosting because if you cannot upload what you need, it is time to look at other options.
While free web hosting is technically free, it frequently costs websites more money in the long run because it limits activity and business from occurring at the rate set by consumers. Because of this, if you have a growing site it will eventually be too big for the free account and you will have to make some changes. Instead of dealing with the hassle, figure out if a free server will really be worthwhile and make a plan for change and growth ahead of time.
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