Which web hosting is better? Paid or free?

It’s often said that nothing good in life comes free, but on paper, web hosting might seem to be an exception. There are website building platforms advertising free hosting, sometimes as part of a wider package but occasionally without any costs at all. At first glance, the choice between paid or free web hosting seems like an easy decision.

The best things in life aren’t free

Of course, nothing is really free, and this is especially true for web hosting. Every hosting firm needs to provide customers with high‐performance servers, bandwidth for data transfers and technical support – all of which costs money. Conscientious companies like Westhost also offer international data center networks, packed with the latest technology under military‐grade security and expert supervision around the clock. It would be impractical for us to simply give this away.

In truth, other companies can’t offer a choice between paid or free web hosting, either. They might festoon your website with banner adverts unless you upgrade to a paid model, or provide a basic template which limits what you can achieve. This is often known as a freemium model in that you can only unlock the full benefits of the service if you pay; the free package is generally restricted (and restrictive). Social media sites offering free business pages tend to enthusiastically harvest information you upload while designing your presence, and then resell it around the world, while a Facebook.com/yournamehere address does little to build consumer confidence.

Another way in which companies claim to offer a choice between paid or free web hosting is by bundling the latter into a wider purchase. Cookie‐cutter site building services might charge $100 to create a website, which includes ‘free’ hosting. Conversely, we’re upfront and honest about the costs you’ll incur as a Westhost customer – though we’re also able to offer huge economies of scale thanks to our global reach and shared hosting options.

The host with the most

As part of Westhost’s web hosting packages, we offer every customer at least 50GB of disk space, 1TB of bandwidth, 10GB email hosting and free setup. Our Preferred and Business hosting packs also include a domain name and however many databases or websites you require. Even though our packages cost as little as $1 a month for the first year, it’s easy to see the differences between paid or free web hosting.

It’s also important to consider whether free web hosting platforms will give you the flexibility needed to expand your online presence in future. Identikit site building tools rarely offer the kind of value‐added services Westhost can provide – email hosting, product databases, VPS hosting or bulk domain registration. We can facilitate domain transfers, offer efficient WordPress hosting, support complex ecommerce websites and even ensure your site can be rapidly accessed from anywhere in the world. As your brand or business grows, so will our services…