If you are considering free hosting for your web site, you need to weigh the pros and cons of this decision to be sure it is a good idea for you.  This article will explore the best and the worst things about free hosting, and what options you may have for hosting your site.

The best thing about free hosting is obviously the price.  This is especially true if you are starting out online with a limited budget.  So if you are starting an online business, you can test the waters without having to spend any money, which can be crucial when you are just starting out.

Additionally, even if you are already using paid or free hosting for other purposes, you can get the benefit of diversifying the IP addresses of your sites without having to pay for dozens of hosting accounts by using the services of many free hosting providers.  And since your information will not show up as the owner in public records, it will be harder for your competition to spy on you.

There are, of course, some problems with free hosting.  Probably the most important, especially if you are starting a business, is that there will be no customer service.  If the server goes down you’ll have no one to call, and if you have problems you’ll have to figure out the solution on your own.

Another problem you may encounter is that many providers put advertising on your site.  These ads may or may not be relevant to your page, and any income from them will go directly to the hosting company.  This is not true with all free hosts, but it is how many support the service.

And with free hosting, you may not be able to use your own domain name.  This may not be a problem for you if you are just starting out, but having your own domain will help build your credibility with your visitors, so if this is important to you, make sure you find out up front if you can use your own domain name.

What option would be best?  That will depend on your situation, but one option you have is to start out using free hosting and then move on to paid hosting as your web traffic grows.  Or, you may want to look for a host that provides both paid and free hosting, and start with their free service.  This will allow you to upgrade more seamlessly to a paid host when you are ready.

Since you’ll never really know if free hosting is right for you unless you try it out, you may want to consider testing it.  After all, the price is right, and you can always switch later.