Free Web Hosting and Free Website Hosts

Many free web hosting companies are available, and with free hosting, you don't need to buy a domain name, however the catch is that free hosts will litter your webpage with banner ads and/or popup ads.  This will cause your site to be slower than without the ads, as well as not very professional looking, and in some cases downright annoying.  For personal websites it may not be an issue.  Free Web Hosts also don't offer as rich of features as paid hosting.  Free web hosting is not a bad way to test out your webpage, the price is right !

Another drawback to free web hosting is that you will not have a very clean and simple domain name to tell your friends/customers about, and the domain name is not owned by you, thus you cant change to a different host without changing your domain name (and having to tell all your friends and customers the new domain name).

Domain names are typically about $5-$15/year but can be as cheap as $2 for the first year.  It is well worth it to nail down your own domain name if you plan to maintain a web domain presence for the future. Here is a list of the:

             Cheapest Domain Name Registrars

An alternative to free hosting, for a nominal charge, is Budget web hosts which are typically $3-10/month and worth it for a small business or professional website. Here is a list of the best and cheapest Web Hosts.

            Best Budget Hosts, Prices & Reviews

• Your own domain name will give you credibility and looks more professional
• A domain name that is descriptive of your business will usually rank higher in search engines
• Can be much easier for your customers to remember
• You can take it with you from host to host*
• If/When you change hosting companies, you wont have to inform customers of a new website name.

For example would you rather tell your friends, check out my website at:
        www.angelfire.com/randomword/yourname/home.htm

or have your own domain and say:
        www.yourname.com

Some Popular Free Web Hosting Companies

• Facebook
• Youtube
• Angelfire

After you have completed one of the following:

    Signed up with a Free Web Host
    Bought a domain name and Web hosting package

Your now ready to design your website and publish your webpage and register it with search engines.