Free Web Hosting Tips

Here are some tips to keep in mind as you look for a free web
hosting account online.

1. Content Ownership - You might not own the space, but it is
your content. That means that you should expect some sort of
notice if the service is going offline so that you can make
alternative arrangements or save your information to your
computer.

2. Tools - Surprisingly many free web hosting accounts come with
lots of tools that you can use to enhance your site. The larger
the hosting provider or hosting community, the more tools you
will have in your control panel.

3. Free domain names - Usually you are getting a subdomain or
even a subfolder for your files. Typically free domain names
only come with a paid hosting account. The reasons is that
bandwidth is very expensive and no one wants to build up a free
web hosting service unless they have access to cheap resources.

It is not surprising then that the free web hosting market is
dominated by companies like Yahoo, Google, and Bravenet. They
are large organizations who have figured out ways to balance
paid services and free services without going broke.

4. Search engine optimization - Some free hosting communities
are so large and so fluid that it takes some time get new pages
into the major search engines. People abandon their pages at
such a high rate that is hard to keep up with the live sites
versus abandoned real estate.

Also, any page rank you get goes to the hosting provider and not
to you that is one of the perks of having your own domain name.

5. Tracking - It always helps to know who is coming to your
website and how they got there. You might have to search around
for some type of free tracking service. This is very important
if you plan to make money off your free web hosting account.