Paid Hosting vs Free Hosting

inspirohost

New member
Free web hosting allows users to upload text files and pictures to a web hosting server at no cost. Bandwidth, disk space and other system resources such as CPU and RAM are shared between a large number of users hosted on the server. As a result, disk space and bandwidth resources available to a free web hosting user are quite limited. This type of hosting is best suited for individuals who are new to web hosting or businesses and non-profit organizations that are just starting out and need to put up a website on a tight budget. Free web hosting usually provides users various tools to easily upload their content apart from ready to use templates and site builders to create web pages quickly and without much hassle. In spite of these advantages, free web hosting does have several drawbacks. The major drawback of this type of hosting is that the provider usually requires banner ads to be place onto your web pages. As these providers offer a service free of charge, they do not have any other source of earning revenue and in turn use ads placed on the user’s site to generate the needed funds. This can in turn deface a perfectly designed website and become quite annoying for visitors because ads can also appear in the form of popup or popunder windows, besides having a negative impact on the credibility and integrity of your business since you have no control over the nature of the ads that appear on your website. Free web hosting users also need to compromise on security. Servers which are used to provide such a service do not offer adequate protection against hackers and unauthorized access to a user’s files unlike paid web hosting. Another disadvantage of free web hosting is that the shared servers tend to become overcrowded which in turn negatively affects server performance and can result in slowing down your site. This is also why free web hosting servers aren’t very reliable. Support is non-existent, so individuals cannot turn to the web host for technical assistance in case of any issues with their site. Users who opt for free web hosting are required to use subdomains which include the name of the provider, such as yourdomain.freewebhost.com or freewebhost.com/yourdomain which has an unprofessional and unattractive appearance. This can also make moving to another provider problematic and the user runs the risk of losing her data. Free web hosting providers can also cancel their free service offerings and require the user to pay a monthly fee in order to continue using their service without providing adequate notice.

In contrast, paid web hosting customers enjoy 24/7 technical support for their accounts. Their sites are hosted on reliable servers and they need to worry less about server uptime. Paid web hosting customers can use domain names which they personally register apart from being able to use a large number of subdomains and parked domains depending on the service they subscribe to. Disk space and bandwidth is allotted to these customers based on their requirements and can be increased at the user’s request. Paid hosting servers are much more secure compared to free web hosting servers as providers dedicate more time and resources to ensure that their customers are safe from hackers and intruders. Users also do not need to worry about banner ads being placed on their sites by the provider. Paid web hosting provides its users a large number of easy to use tools and features such as the ability to install third party scripts, manage MySQL databases and email accounts, add subdomains and parked domains, reset account passwords, view traffic stats, etc and the ability to secure their websites using SSL certificates. Paid web hosting is the only option for individuals, organizations and businesses that want to project a reliable and professional look to their visitors, particularly if they wish to run e-commerce websites and want to make sure that their sites run smoothly.
 
In contrast, paid web hosting customers enjoy 24/7 technical support for their accounts.

Their sites are hosted on reliable servers and they need to worry less about server uptime.

Paid hosting servers are much more secure compared to free web hosting servers as providers dedicate more time and resources to ensure that their customers are safe from hackers and intruders.


Those are some pretty broad generalizations.
There are a lot of paid hosts out there that would offer far worse service than a lot of the free providers.
 
Paid hosting is recommended. Free Host you can run into issues and interruption of service without any real support or alternatives.

When you pay for your host your allowed to have expectations, and if the business wants to stay a business it will stick to them. These days you can get a web host for any budget, even as low as $1.00 lol.

& I agree with Blue :)
 
Those are some pretty broad generalizations.
There are a lot of paid hosts out there that would offer far worse service than a lot of the free providers.

I do agree with that. Several paid hosts don't provide the level of support that is expected of them, however, IMHO it's still better to signup with a paid host because that way you can at least expect your host to provide support. If you sign up for something which is free, you can't really complain if the end result is crappy, can you? ;)
 
I also agree with Blue. As a rule of thumb, there are usually more risks with free hosting though.
 
...Another disadvantage of free web hosting is that the shared servers tend to become overcrowded which in turn negatively affects server performance and can result in slowing down your site. This is also why free web hosting servers aren’t very reliable. Support is non-existent, so individuals cannot turn to the web host for technical assistance in case of any issues with their site...

Can I say that the original thread looks a little bit meaningless. It is a waste of time to compare things which is impossible or at least hard to compare. The "free hosting" is not a service. It is a giveaway! Someone might find a way to make some money out of it, but it is not a serious business.
 
Perhaps that would be better said in a PM to the OP.
Otherwise I don't really see the point of your post if you didn't even to bother reading the original post.
 
Both own a server.

Both give you hosting services on possibily cpanel.

Both try they're best to provide the best service possible.

Free has people everyday signup just to do spamming... illegal files ... Rapidleach etc.

Paid hosting has other paid clients giving real hard earned cash to do they're web etc.

would someone giving they;re paid money waste it abusing the server? no

so there is some thoughts
 
There are some benefits to paid hosting. As shinehost said. Paid hosting customers have the same goals as you do on a server. They do not want to abuse it or they could be down. They also want to make sure that they are up and running 100% of the time. Paid customers pay for services.
 
I have got to say, I agree completely with what has been said, Paid hosting, is much more reliable generally than Free Hosting. The majority of Free Hosts don't tend to last for more than a year I have found.
 
I am trying the free hosting ,and I know it is just for fun .
Indeed, free hosting is boring when you are in trouble but there is no technical support available.
 
I will never vote for free web hosts. The biggest disadvantage of free web hosts is that when you sufficiently promote your sub-domain, it becomes popular and drives good traffic. At this point of time, the free hosting provider may get tempted and removes your sub domain using it to shift traffic to his own site, I have seen practically happening this.

And if your business was on free host, it is gone forever. You put efforts to promote it and free hosting provides reaps the benefits. Hope you understand what I say.

You can make a search on Google and find some cheap but reliable web hosts and your site remains safe forever.

Remember free web hosts promote their business by offering free hosting. Nobody thinks of you.

I have made this comment as I experienced what I wrote here.

Please don't waste your time and money after free host.
 
Hello,
Best for experiments:
Free hosts provide a good environment to experiment different webmaster techniques. You can learn and experiment many things before switching to paid hosting.

Disadvantages:

Placing Ads and Banners on your website:
Free doesn't means free at all. You have to pay something in return. Mostly free hosts put ads and banners on your websites to generate revenue. You have no control on quality of ads and placement.

Limited Features:
Free hosts cannot offer rich features. Usually they have limited features because of poor revenue model.
 
There are still some free web hosting companies that aims to keep their users happy with their services, usually because the owners are interested to earn traffic and good reputation while offering free hosting.
 
Hi every one,

I think paid hosting is more reliable as compare to Free hosting.

Paid hosting will always try and provide you with 99.99% of uptime and any quarry placed by you will be answered in minimum response time.

If uptime is a key concern you you then paid hosting is the Best :)
 
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