Yes, it is true that getting something – anything – for free is great. But like with most rules, there is an exception. In this case, it is free web hosting.
Ok, this might still sound a bit odd when we look at it as first-time website owners or those of us without money to spare. Those of us that created their first website on a free server will never forget the joy of seeing our content published for the very first time. We will be forever thankful.
But, if you were to put yourself in the shoes of a blogger, you would have a totally different perspective and understand why they hate free web hosting. This is especially true for bloggers whose livelihoods depend on their blogs – or for those that aspire towards that dream.
To clarify things, let us point out why bloggers hate free web hosting and also why they would rather signup with blog hosting providers like HostGator – a blogger-friendly hosting provider that is almost always the first choice for beginners because of its easy-to-use features.
Here are 10 reasons:
- Poor reception by Visitors: let’s all be frank, we would all rather read posts and content that’s served on a webpage under a professional sounding domain name. If the same content were served on a free hosting site and then again under a paid domain name, it would be the latter we would all eventually gravitate to. The former would seem too “unprofessional” or “unreliable”. Free web hosting kills credibility and trust.
- Unavailability of Tools: blogging today is made easy with a number of tools that help create and promote blog posts. There are content management systems that allow for instant, formatted postings and there are SEO tools that boost the post’s ranking with a click of a button. Good luck finding them included in a free blog hosting plan.
- The Annoying Ads: some (not all) free blog hosting providers might not charge bloggers directly for their services but, instead, indirectly earn revenue from ads placed in their clients’ sites. As the popularity of your blog grows, so too does their revenue.
The only problem is that some hosts take it too far. Apart from their ads being displayed on every available space on “your” page, they make visitors navigate a maze of pop-pups before they can get to your content.
Apart from it being annoying, it looks unprofessional.
- Here today, Gone Tomorrow: there’s absolutely no guarantee that a free blog host will still be running when you wake up tomorrow. They could close down, plain and simple.
- Limited Everything: if “beggars can’t be choosers” then, neither can bloggers who choose free blog hosting. They take whatever disks pace, bandwidth, tool and feature they are offered and have to do so with a smile on their face. They set the rules, you tag the line. If you choose to even go over your limits by a single MB, they make you pay for it.
- Never Having Full Access: when you opt for free blog hosting, you are signing over the configuration of your site to the host. While you might have a simple file manager to upload your content, you will pretty much not be able to do anything else. You will miss out on the great control panels that hosting providers like BlueHost offer their clients – their clients have total control over their blogs.
- Non-Existent Customer Support: if you aren’t prepared to pay to have your blog hosted on their servers, you should also accept they will not give you any support. And like any free service, you should brace yourself for regular crashes, slow page-load times and weak security features – on top of poor customer support.
- No Respect from Search Engines: search engines make it a point to rank any content on free hosts, blog posts included, lower than those that are hosted on paid servers. If you are serious about your blog’s ranking you will move it away from a free web host ASAP.
- No Respect from WHOIS: WHOIS is a tool used to find information about a domain. A person using it on your blog’s URL or domain name will find the details about the server your site is on. If your site happens to be sitting on the same server as a spam site or one used for illegal activities, your reputation will simply go down the drain.
And that’s not it; your site might be blocked by firewalls and antivirus software because you share the same IP address as the spam or malicious websites.
- Suspension of an Account is at the Discretion of the Free Host: they do not need an excuse to shut you down. They can do it, and there isn’t much you can do about it. If they choose to, you can be asked to download all your content before it happens – but they are under no obligation. You might end up losing your content for good.
