Free vs Paid Web Hosting
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
What a Good Web Host Offers
The four most important factors for judging the quality of web hosts are: 1) Support, 2) Cost, 3) Reliability, and 4) Features. In this article we will discuss the cost of good web hosting.
Free Web Hosting
There are lots of companies that offer free hosting. All of them offer similar services for creating your website. A free host has no monthly fee for their service but some consider a yearly fee or a setup fee as a free hosting provider. They usually offer smaller amounts of web space and work well for users with simple needs (no databases, music, email, etc.). Free hosts need a way of supporting itself to make their free web services possible. Some may charge for additional services in order to offer free hosting.
These services include: domain email, domain name registration, banner removal, additional web space, and cgi or other scripting support. Users can expect minimal web space and features with little or no customer support. Most provide easy site builder tools along with simple sign-up procedures.
Paid Web Hosting
'Low-budget' hosts are the most similar to free hosts in features, level of support, and reliability. They do charge a small monthly fee for their services which vary between $3-$10 per month for services. These hosts very seldom require placement of banner ads on their sites.
Most paid hosts have a "basic plan" or "starter plan". Although these services are inexpensive, they are not necessarily the best deal you can get for your money. These hosting plans are suitable for the amateur webmaster or beginning web user who is not worried about site reliability or extensive support.
The best of both worlds as far as cost and services offered are concerned is a plan that offers lots of features for a very low price, usually between $5 and $10 per month. If you don't need instant support, these hosts are the best deal available.
High-end hosting is the most expensive group of hosting plans on the market. Most web hosts will have a grand-daddy plan that offers everything with a price just as large. Users with a need for a large web space and specific services or need quality trained support staff can expect a high level of performance from these premium hosts. Prices for these high-end hosting plans can start as low as $15 per month but can cost as much as hundreds of dollars per month.
If your company is large enough and you are paying hundreds of dollars per month for this type of shared hosting package, you should expect very professional and efficient service. Companies or users with large web space needs should consider switching to a dedicated server, co-location hosting, or running their own server.
These companies usually offer a reseller package which can provide additional income providing hosting services to other users. These reseller packages have the most options available including discount multiple domain name registration, and multiple email services.
