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So, you want to create a website. Good for you! If you are a tech-savvy person who knows the ins and outs of website creation and hosting, things will be easier for you.
You know exactly what all steps to follow. But, if you are a novice who’s probably building a website for the very first time, things might not be that easy for you.
You have a lot of things to figure out and a lot of questions might pop in your head. After all, creating, maintaining, and running a website can be a costly affair. You may have to invest money in-
- Buying a domain name (If you want a professional sounding website name)
- Templates and Themes (If you want a feature-rich, premium website)
- plug-ins
- SSL certification (for added safety and security of transactions)
- Hosting services
- etc.
Although some hosting companies provide SSL certificate (to safeguard the website and online transactions); you might want to buy one separately if it’s not included in the hosting package.
With all these costs involved, you might be wondering –
“Can I create a website without buying a hosting?”
The answer is – yes, you can.
Thanks to the providers of free web hosting; you can create, build, and run a website without spending even a penny.
Who should use free web hosting?
Perhaps you’re a blogger who just wants to publish weekly posts or perhaps you just want to launch a static website meant for a singular purpose. In that case, free hosting will serve you well.
Most free hosting companies should give you access to -
- Cpanel
- Website builders
- PHP, MySQL support
- approx 10 GB bandwidth
- 1000 MB disc space
Mind you, this is what you can typically expect from them but not all companies may necessarily cover these features.
So, if yours is a small scale website that is not too demanding in terms of requirements and doesn’t demand a lot of investment for maintenance, you can easily go with the option of free website hosting. But, the good thing is that there’s always the option of going premium. So, in case you ever feel like opting for one of the premium packages, you can upgrade things.
All and all, the short answer to that question is – yes, you can build a website without buying a hosting by registering for free hosting services. But, let it be known that the same may have certain limitations in terms of SSD disc space, number of websites you can create, access to e-mail accounts, FTP users, etc.
List of companies that provide free web hosting
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Let’s now take a look at which companies provide this service for free. You will be surprised to know that a lot of companies do that.
But in this post, we will cover the top brand names in this niche. Take a look –
1. 000Webhost
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Here’s what you get-
- 10 GB of bandwidth
- 1000 MB of disk space
- Free domain name
- Free Cpanel web hosting admin panel
- User-friendly website builder
- Easy Auto-installer for Joomla, WordPress
- Full PHP & MySQL database support
- Instant activation
About the company
000Webhost is one of the most reliable web hosting companies in the world. The company offers hosting at $0. Yes, you read the right, situated in the United States, the company has been offering free hosting services since 2007.
At the first glance, you may view it as another free web hosting company that come with limited resources and support but it’s free service packs quite a punch. Along with features mentioned above, the company is known for offering 99% uptime and feature-rich Cpanel which you can’t expect in other free hosting services.
2. Byethost
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Here’s what you get –
- 10 GB of bandwidth
- 1 GB disk space
- CPanel access
- Number of websites – 1
- Email accounts – 5
- Inclusion of FTP
- Ads free experience
- Domain hosting included
About the company
Based in the USA, this is a part of the company – Byet Internet. It provides domain name, hosting, and reseller services. In terms of the websites that are currently hosted on ByeT – the number is a staggering one million. In fact that hosting services by this company are touted as – “among the powerful network in the world of free hosting.’’
If you want to host a single website then this is a good platform. What’s more you get free technical support available round the clock which is a huge plus. Additionally, there is a vast knowledge base and access to Byethost to make sure clients can get their queries resolved as soon as possible.
3. U Host Full
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What all you get in the free hosting package by U Host Full -
- 1 GB disk space
- No ads
- 2 MySQL databases
- E-mail accounts – 2
- Free domain name
- FTP – yes
- spam filter
About the Company
With instant sign-up and instant activation, U host full is another promising name in the world of free web hosting. The process of getting started is fairly simple. If you look at the company website, it claims to get you started within 5 minutes. Users get to choose from one click installers for WordPress, phpBB, Zen Cart, Joomla, etc.
The company also promises an amazing uptime of 99% where you get unlimited server space and unlimited bandwidth every month. This whole thing may sound too good to be true, but it is definitely one of the finer options out there.
As an added bonus, the company has put no limitations on what type of files you can upload on the server. If you’re a photographer who is heavily invested into HQ images, this is the ideal platform to host their photography website.
4. freewha
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What you get-
- One click auto installer
- 5 MySQL databases
- 1500 MB space and unmetered traffic
- FTP support
- Ad free experience
- access to account manager
About the company
FreeWHA is a web hosting company that has been functional since 2005. It’s a long standing and one of the most promising names.
FreeWHA provides services across all the countries. You can upload content in all languages provided it’s legal. Websites related to adult content, those providing storage space or downloadable files is not allowed to be hosted. The activation of the account is instant and the registration is automatic. It takes only a couple of minutes to get the account up and running.
Looking at the list of options you get for free, it’s evident that one should not have any trouble running and managing a website as long as it’s not complex.
5. Awardspace
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What you get
- Bandwidth – 5 GB
- Ads free
- Proprietary panel control
- 1 MySQL database
- No. of websites -1
- 1 email account
- Free domain hosting included
About the company
One thing that makes this company standout from the competitors is that all the servers run on wind-generated electricity and happened to be CO2-neutral. With 15 MB file size uploading limit and 1 GB of storage space, 5 GB bandwidth, 5 databases, and one email account. There is support available 24/7 easy access to documentation online. The servers of the company are located in Keil, Germany.
6. Freehostia
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What you get -
- Bandwidth – 6 GB
- 250 MB of disk space
- Elefante Panel
- MySQL database
- Number of websites hosted- 1
- 3 email accounts
- FTP
- Free domain hosting
About the company
Freehostia is the provider of free web hosting that is popular for its association with bizarre names like Supernatural, Wildhoney, Lovebeat. The free plan the company is known as chocolate. Under this plan you get everything and more needed to manage a simplistic website. The hosting serves are compatible with MySQL and PHP. Availability of 24/7 support is a great plus point for those who don’t know much about the world of hosting.
This is another great option for those who want to host a website without spending money on hosting alone.
7. 5GBfree
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What you get -
- Bandwidth – 20 GB
- Panel – Cpanel
- 3 databases
- 1 website that can be hosted
- Free domain hosting
- FTP included
About the company
The name gives it all away. Of course, you can expect 5GB worth of free hosting space by enrolling with this online web hosting company. Additionally, you get 20GB worth of bandwidth every single month and the hosting is PHP friendly. You can build a beautiful, functional, and modern website.
You don’t get any email account with the free hosting service so that might be a negative point for some. But other than that, it’s a one of the most promising names in this niche. The company takes great pride in the technology that it houses. In fact, it has gone so far as to claim that while other companies charge $20 a month; 5GB offers that same kind of superior and cutting-edge technology for a free. The company secures extra points in terms of security certification, hardware, etc.
Sure, you can opt for free web hosting, but in case you want to go pro, there’s always the option of going premium. The premium package starts as low as $2.95 per month where you get phone support, unlimited bandwidth & disk space.
Limitations of free web hosting
When you’re getting something for absolutely free, there’s usually, if not always a catch involved. So, if you’re wondering what’s the catch in terms of free website hosting then keep reading.
Basically, free website hosting is absolutely possible and like we already discussed it’s as perfectly fine option for a small scale and simplistic website.
However, if you plan on managing multiple sites or have a website which might suddenly be faced with a large traffic inflow, this kind of hosting option may not be most ideal.
Take a look at the limitations of free web hosting
- You can only host 1 website – Of course, this will not be counted as a negative point if you don’t plan on having more than one website. But, if plan on having multiple sites, then you will have to go for paid hosting services. While freelancers, small-scale enterprise, and bloggers won’t have any trouble with this, bigger enterprise might not find this option most reliable.
- Limited disk space – By now we know that most free hosting companies provide free disc space of upto 1 GB. Although, one might never run out of this disk space as long as they don’t plan on uploading a lot of heavy files, it’s not ideal for graphic-rich websites. For example, if you are a photographer who wants to display high quality images or if you want to upload a lot of heavy videos, then you will run out of this disc space very soon.
- Lack of phone support – In most cases, you will find that the support is either available via forums, online communities or through email support. Most providers of free web hosting do not offer phone support. So, if that is your preferred go-to option when it comes to support, you might not find this option promising. But, again you can’t ask for much especially when you’re paying literally nothing.
- Lack of flexibility in terms of functionality and design – At times you may have limited options to play with in terms of design, display, and functionality. Template features may also be limited. With free hosting, you may have to settle with the layout and the features you get by default. There’s not much room to experiment with the look and feel of the website. Additionally, you may not be able to add interactive features like forums, carts, chart rooms, plug-in, etc.
- No automatic back-ups – Daily backups are usually part of the premium/paid packages where the hosting company makes it their point to take backups everyday just for good safety measure. But, the same is absent in most of the free hosting services. You may have to manually take the backups. But, if you’re okay with that, then this point will not seem like a limitation.
Final word
It’s 100% possible to launch, create, and run a website without investing in hosting. But, like we mentioned repeatedly, it is not best in every scenario. It is good for small scale website where you can work with limited functionalities and options.
For added features and functions, you will have to invest in paid hosting services for sure. So, weigh the pros and cons accordingly.
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