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Choosing Between Free or Paid Web Hosting

Cheap Web Hosting Provider Tips

Here's a great article about cheap web hosting which should help you find out more about the best ways for finding an affordable host provider, compare server features along with bandwidth usage and storage deals, or just find a cheap place to host your domain.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing between a free or paid web hosting service. Setting aside cost for a moment, lets look at some factors that will help you make an informative decision. The very first thing you must consider is the intent or purpose of your website. Are you looking for a convenient way to share photos of family and friends? Or, are you considering something a little more complex such as adding multiple pages with different content on each? How about a website to promote a product or business? The purpose of your website will act as a key component in determining which type of web hosting service is best suited for you. For example, if your website will be used primarily for personal postings, your file sizes aren't very large and you don't expect a lot of traffic, you won't require a lot of disk space or bandwidth for your hosting. If this is the case, a free web hosting service may meet your needs.

Free web hosting services are also useful if you're inexperienced in creating web pages. This type of service can provide an excellent opportunity for you to learn and practice your html skills. You could even use a free service as a test site before uploading your web pages to your live website. Keep in mind that most free web hosting services provide limited features compared to paid web hosting services, but normally offer enough disk space and bandwidth to host a small website. To help offset costs, though, most free providers will place advertisements on your web pages. With paid hosting, you'll find a variety of available plans to choose from. These plans allow more disk space and bandwidth, and usually include a number of other features such as free domain names, free sub-domains and unlimited email accounts.

TIP: As you can tell by reading this article on cheap web hosting providers, there's a lot of technical stuff to compare when making your choice for a cheap host company. Keep reading for more good tips on getting your site up and running at an affordable provider.

Some of the more advanced common features are a CGI-Bin, MySQL databases and Microsoft FrontPage extensions. Compared to free web hosting, you'll also find that the services provided by paid web hosting companies are much more reliable, not to mention offering a higher level of customer support. Cost wise, there is no charge to register for a free web hosting service, although you may be required to purchase your own domain name. For a basic paid service, you can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $10 per month – a very small price for the improved service, support and features you receive.

About the Author

John Purdy is the owner of 1st Web Hosting Plans. We maintain a current directory of affordable web hosting providers and other website resources for personal internet users, online marketers and business owners. We also have directories dedicated to business and free web hosting. Visit us today at http://www.1st-web-hosting-plans.com

Hosting Decision Factors - Factors to consider in making your web hosting decision - Pay attention to email and image capabilities - Major bandwidth and mySQL databases are a must.

Affordable Web Hosting - Hosting advice on finding affordable web hosting - Look for bandwidth, storage and cPanel as well as low cost - Comparisons of service providers.

Dedicated Web Hosting - Comparisons of managed versus unmanaged dedicated web hosting - Tips on what to look for and where to find the cheapest dedicated hosting prices.

First Web Host - Advice on setting up your first web hosting account - What to look for and what to avoid - First timers should opt for good support, not the cheapest hosting service.