Nowadays, very few people know how to get free web hosting. Most people are only too willing to shell out the necessary amount just to get their own paid hosting. The fact that the cost of web hosting in general has gone down these past few years also makes it easier for people to just go ahead and bite the bullet, so to speak.
Unfortunately, this rush to get paid hosting makes people forget that sometimes, they are just wasting money because there are website owners whose needs can be met easily by free hosting. The case is especially true for people who are not planning to make a living out of their website. If you belong to this category, you need to learn how to get free web hosting so that you can make the most out of the Internet, without spending a single dime. Here are a few things that will help you:
1. Look at Content Management Sites/Blogging Services – services such as Blogger and WordPress provide free blog hosting services to users. If your only purpose in a website is to post articles, upload the occasional pictures here and there, both services will suit your needs. The advantage of this is that you’re backed by large companies with robust backends that ensure minimal downtime.
2. Look at Free Web Hosting Sites – there are actually hosts out there that offer free web hosting services to users, with a catch, of course. While the hosting is free and you will never be required to shell out a single dime, there are various limitations, such as limited webspace and bandwidth, and you’ll have to deal with restrictive TOSes. This is understandable, as they’re not getting any money from you and they want to protect their own interests as much as possible. Additionally, these types of hosts will install ads – either banner or pop up, or both – on your website, because that’s usually where they’ll get the income needed to support your free site.
3. Look for Sponsors – there are some paid web hosting services that have programs wherein they sponsor sites that meet their requirements. For example, they may want to sponsor websites of charity organizations or non-profit websites. Or they may sponsor a non-monetized website with high quality content. Other hosts will also offer free hosting on a quid pro quo status, where they will host your website for free in return for advertising (this only happens in cases where you already have a website that is attracting a lot of traffic, though)
4. Take Advantage of Third Party Multimedia Hosting Services – if you’re running your website on a free host, chances are there’s very little bandwidth and storage to go around with. This doesn’t mean you’ll have to resign yourself to pure text – you can go crazy with images and video content, as long as you host it somewhere else. Many image and web hosting sites, such as Flickr and YouTube, allow you to upload your files on their servers and hotlink or embed it to your own website, therefore giving you the ability to offer multimedia content to your readers, without using up your free host’s precious bandwidth and storage.
