Free Hosting

Considerations

When you are considering free hosting, you should consider:

1. How much space is available to you?
2. Will the host require you to display forced ads? This may not play well if you hope to use profit-making ads of your own.
3. Will the host allow you to display your own ads?
4. What types of scripting and other support are available?  Can you use .asp? cgi? php? SSI?
5. Can you upload via FTP? a web interface?  If it is a web interface can you upload multiple files?  If not, it may get old real fast doing one file at a time.
6. Does the host provide any editing tools and are they easy to use?
7. Does the host provide email accounts . . . that match your domain name?
8. Does the host provide spam controls, if email is provided?
9. Does the site integrate with any web 2.0 features like blogs, wikis, discussion forums, etc.
10. Will you be able to use your own domain name?
11. What is the reputation of the host?
12. Does the host provide help pages, tutorials, or a support area .
    . . or are you on your own?

13. Does the host provide any metrics – how many people visited your site? What pages they visited?
14. Find out some of the websites hosted and see whether the pages are fast or slow.
15. What do other people say about the host – check the host out with your favorite search engine.

Free Hosting Reference Material

Search Sites

• 100 Best Free Web Space Providers
• Absolutely Free Hosting
• Free Web Hosting – Reviews of Each Host
• Free Web Hosting Space Finder
• Free Web Hosts
• Free Webspace

Links

• 110mb.com
• 40gigs.com
• 50megs.com
• 2globalmart.com
• Advantagecity.com
• Angelfire.com
• AOKhost.com
• Awesomewebspace.com
• Blackapplehost.com
• Cybercities.com
• 
  Freedomainsite.com
• FreeGBS.com
• Freewebtown.com
• Free-web-hosting.homepage.com
• Freedrive.com
• Freeservers.com
• Freewebhosting.com
• GigaHive.com
• Google Sites – Free Websites and Wikis
• Homestead.com
• Idrive.com
• Ismywebsite.com
• Linuxstart.com
• Lycos – Triopd.com
• MSN
• Netcolony.com
• Oxyhost.com
• Profusehost.net
• Prohosting.com
• Quotaless.com
• T35.com
• Usfaz.com
• Vlexo.com
• Yahoo! Geocities
• YourFreeHosting.net

Many Internet Service Provides offer hosting as part of their services. If you have broadband (cable, DSL, FIOS, etc.), check with your provider to see whether free hosting is available. Frequently, hosting is limited to certain amount of space and without the option of picking your own domain name.

Specialty Hosting

Aside from general free hosting websites, there are specialty and niche hosting outfits that will provide free hosting for an organization that meets the host’s criteria. For example, there are some hosts that will offer free hosting to Boy Scout units, Girl Scout Units, and other non-profit organizations. Some may allow the use of your own domain name.

Registrar Hosting

Many domain name registrars offer hosting as part of a package deal. The terms and conditions may vary.