Comparison between Free web hosting and Paid Web Hosting

[zerox]

Free web hosting Facilities
It's for free. You don't need to pay for domain name.

Free web hosting Limitations
Your URL will be something like http://merchant.50webs.com or http://www.50webs.com/merchant. As I noticed above, the advantage is that you don't need to pay for domain. But note that if you move your website to another provider in the future you can loose some or all your traffic.
Your provider will probably include ads to your pages - usually 1 or 2 banners, sometimes popup windows. If you plan to use banner exchange on your site read carefully their Terms and conditions. Some free hosts doesn't allow it.
Free hosts usually allow lower bandwith then paid hosts and a lot of them don't offer futures like PHP and MySQL.
A lot of free hosts change their Terms and conditions during some time. If your free host offers hosting without ads now, don't be surprised when banner or popup appears on your site in the future.

Paid web hosting Facilities
You can host your own domain. If you decide to change the web hosting provider in the future, you easily transfer the domain to the new provider and don't loose your traffic.
Most paid hosts offer 24/7 support via email or live chat and some of them provide toll-free phone support.
You can expect better uptime then on free host. Some paid hosts offer uptime guarantee.
Paid hosts usually offer enough disk space and bandwith. Futures like PHP and MySQL are standard. Even if you are not programmer you can download plenty of free PHP scripts from internet.
Web Hosting, Free Web Hosting
Merchant Account, Find Merchant Account

 

[FrameShift]

These guys AwardSpace.com offer features just like a paid service... they launched their site recently and though still in beta, they are doing great...
1. You can add up to 2 domain names to your account!
2. php and mysql supported
3. no ads
what can i say...
and this is an onder service of the same company: AtSpace.com
again - domain hosting, and no ads (but no php and mysql)

now, AwardSpace.com is worth checking on a regular basis - these guys are continuing to improve the control panel and are worh monitoring =)

 

[gprime]

Obviously its wise to get paid hosting when finances permit it. But most of the points zerox made are pretty weak ones, as I'll explain:

Your URL will be something like http://merchant.50webs.com or http://www.50webs.com/merchant. As I noticed above, the advantage is that you don't need to pay for domain.

Yes, but many free hosts will allow, and some even require, that you get your own domain when hosting through them. And since domains can be gotten for under $5 (even less for .info) from some registrars, saving money on it is not of substantial impact.

But note that if you move your website to another provider in the future you can loose some or all your traffic.

That's rediculous. Any time your site is down for a transfer, be it between paid hosts or between free hosts traffic is lost.

Your provider will probably include ads to your pages - usually 1 or 2 banners, sometimes popup windows. If you plan to use banner exchange on your site read carefully their Terms and conditions. Some free hosts doesn't allow it.

Yes, but there are many free hosts that don't put up ads. It all depends on the company. And as to the TOS, you should read them, since some say they can't magically change. As to allowed/disallowed, there are paid hosts which disallow many things too.

Free hosts usually allow lower bandwith then paid hosts

Fair enough. Not always the case, but it is often enough that you could make the arguement. Of course, that practice makes sense, since in the latter circumstance, you're paying for the added bandwidth.

and a lot of them don't offer futures like PHP and MySQL.

There are plently of free hosts that support things like php and mysql. And by the token, there are many paid hosts that are weak on features.

A lot of free hosts change their Terms and conditions during some time. If your free host offers hosting without ads now, don't be surprised when banner or popup appears on your site in the future.

Reading the TOS, you'll notice that just as most free hosts reserve the right to change them without notice, so too do many paid hosts.

You can host your own domain.

Make that required. So anybody budget concious has another expense to take care of.

If you decide to change the web hosting provider in the future, you easily transfer the domain to the new provider and don't loose your traffic.

There are many paid registrars and hosts that make it very hard to transfer. Moreso than most free hosts, since they have a vested financial interest in continuing to recieve payment from you

Most paid hosts offer 24/7 support via email or live chat and some of them provide toll-free phone support.

Most hosts don't offer 24/7 support. And many paid ones have terrible, slow support.

You can expect better uptime then on free host. Some paid hosts offer uptime guarantee.

Not necissarily true. Several paid hosts have horrid uptime rates, while many free hosts have great ones.

Paid hosts usually offer enough disk space and bandwith.

Then you've not seen what some hosts charge nowadays. Many are overpriced and offer pathetically sized packages.

Futures like PHP and MySQL are standard.

This is the second time you've said futures when you meant features. But that is irrelevant. As said before, there are many paid hosts that don't offer "standard features" and many free hosts that do offer such features.

Even if you are not programmer you can download plenty of free PHP scripts from internet.

You can do that regardless of your host. But if you mean through something like Fantastico, there are a number of free hosts which offer it too.

 

[weblord]

:imho: its still better to get paid hosting or a free hosting that allows addition of domains, in the first place the catch of most free hosting site is to drive traffic and pr increases such as activities of day to day login to their domains thus giving credit to all their domains rather you having traffic to your domains. remember you're here for the business not just them dominating or monopolizing the traffic. though im speaking from experience because my first sites are also hosted either in 8m.com and geocities before but now i know better and even became a free hosting site before offering free hosting with 2 options for use of my domain as their subdomain or add their domain.

 

[Ozzy]

The main advantage of paying for a host, is that your website won't disappear over-night, and that the 15 year old people that give away free hosting don't steal your popular website one day.

 

[edwinfelix]

Great. rep added.

For domains, you can get free domains with DNS support at http://freeDNS.afraid.org/ But CPanels may not support it.

Most free hostings with PHP support have a common problem - downtime. Sometimes their server's killed my stupid scripts, sometimes their servers get so slow that they need to intentionally reboot to get rid of the deadbeats.

Anyhow, I support the spirit of people who provide free hosting. Internet cannot be as massive as today without those people. I mean in the early 1990s, nobody would want pay for an E-mail address because nobody is using it, and no individual would want to pay for hosting when there's very few people visiting it.

Back then I had some sites hosted on free servers, one site, with merely a few hundred uniques a day, was considered to be an extremely popular site.

IMO those who provided free services were great heros.

 

[Camron]

This is excellent Theory. I hear great things about e10host.com, providing just like an paid provider does. Not too sure, never tried them. There #1 in alot of directories.

Although the banner ad's would anoy me. Also the transfer part, you could use a .be domain for free without paying and therefore transfer without loosing traffic.

Regards,

 

[edwinfelix]

This is excellent Theory. I hear great things about e10host.com, providing just like an paid provider does. Not too sure, never tried them. There #1 in alot of directories.

Although the banner ad's would anoy me. Also the transfer part, you could use a .be domain for free without paying and therefore transfer without loosing traffic.

Regards,

Are you having a co-location at Layered Tech? how is it? I'm hearing both positive and negative info about them.

 

[matty005]

Free cpanel hosting - 150 mb space
1GB Bandwidth
20 Mysql Databases
20 Email Accounts
support within at 1 - 10 hours
PHP/CGI/Perl/Python/MySQL

http://www.affordable-host.info
http://www.affordable-host.info/forums - request here

most requests are being accepted since we are a new host!

Free Cpanel Hosting- 150mb, 1GB Bwidth, 20 sql dbs + php/cgi

 

[euk-Alex]

I think the main advantage of paid hosting is the support provided by them is 24x7x365 and 99% uptime as compared to free hosting.