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While there is absolutely nothing wrong with utilizing open-source and free content management systems (CMS) – in fact, we highly recommend and personally use WordPress – using a company that provides you with free web hosting for your website can actually be quite costly in the end. It can be seriously tempting to go with a cheap or free option, especially when first launching a website and there are so many ‘unknowns’ as far as cost-effectiveness, failure to complete due diligence here can domino and actually cost you customers, revenue, and even reputation.
The internet is full of companies that offer free hosting even for WordPress. Which leaves many to wonder ‘Why doesn’t everyone just use a free WordPress hosting site? In today’s article, we’ll share some of the top reasons why having a free website is a bad idea and is something that you should avoid at all costs.
What ‘Free’ Really Means
Many aspiring webmasters want to keep costs down, which of course is certainly understandable. So generally they will Google the term ‘free website’ and in turn find numerous companies offering free website hosting services. Of course, as we said earlier, the thought of having free web hosting and building your website without paying a dime is tempting – until you get the rude awakening. Once you signup for one of these ‘free website’ or ‘free hosting’ services, you slowly start discovering the limitations and really that many of them are not quite free at all.
Why You Should Stay Away From Free Web Hosting
- Excessively Slow Website – Most free website hosting providers put hundreds and hundreds of websites on the same server, sharing space and bandwidth. This practice results in all of their websites loading at very slow speeds which are ultimately bad for SEO and creates unpleasant interactions and user experiences.
- Unprofessional Domain Name – Having a company website address such as mycompany.FreeWebHost.com does not look the least bit professional. Potential customers and visitors to your website may find it a little difficult to take your company seriously when you don’t even have an actual domain name.
- Unwanted Advertising – Many of these free website services are supported by advertisements on your webpage. You create the content and do all the work building your website, but the host gets paid for the ads. You’ve likely seen these type of websites and noticed that more often than not that these ads are distracting, intrusive, and just plain look ugly. The worst part is, unscrupulous competitors can simply pay these free hosting services to advertise on your website. Why would you do that on purpose?
- A Trial Isn’t The Same As Free – A majority of those free web hosts very often turn out to only be limited trials and after a short while you are required to pay in order to continue receiving services. In most cases, the final price is way higher than normal WordPress hosting services would be and if you were unfortunate enough to have added a credit card during signup, the company can even charge you without giving you any sort of warning.
- They Can Lock Up Your Data – Many users that start with a free website and then want to switch providers find it next to impossible to move their website data. Because these services don’t offer any tools to easily migrate your site, you can end up paying someone to manually export your content. Which of course can drastically increase your invoice totals.
- Hidden Fees – Just like any other business, those free website companies are out to make money too. Some of them charge users for additional services like FTP access, email accounts, image hosting, etc and of course, these charges are often extraordinarily high.
- They Disappear All The Time – The free website host can decide at any time to shut down and pack up their business. When they turn off their servers, you lose your website and all your data and guess what – their terms of service (ToS) gives them full legal protection to do this anytime they deem necessary.
- You’ll Lose Your Name – If your host does decide to shut down your website or no longer provide services, then you will lose your current website address. If it is an address such as mycompany.FreeHost.com you won’t be able to replicate the address or redirect users to your new website address. Any customers that have learned your website name or even bookmarked it, will no longer be able to locate your site and will have to perform a new search in order to find you.
- They Can Shut You Down At Any Time – The mass majority of these free hosts have terms and conditions that clearly state they can shut down your website at any time without providing any reason. If they do shut down your company website, they don’t generally provide your data or give you any way to save your content.
- They Can Sell Your Information – In the day and age, a good thing to remember is that if you aren’t paying for it, then you are actually the product. These free web host companies use other ways to make money – such as selling your personal information, email address and other personal and company information to other companies.
You Need To Call BionicWP
A professional, secure and affordable WordPress hosting option is just a single phone call away. Providing you with top level domain access, high-speed connections, daily malware scanning, 90-day off-site backups, WordPress support and much, much more – BionicWP has a hosting package that’s perfect for you. Call today to find out how easy and affordable your new web home can be. With 24 hours a day, 365 days a year support and packages available for the smallest website to those with up to 100 sites needing hosting, BionicWP strives to provide you with 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Contact us right now and we’ll provide you with all the tools you need in order to finally make that company website you’ve desired for so long.
