In any business, the most simple way to make a profit is to spend less and earn more. That is why when choosing web hosting, potential business people will consider free web hosting. After all, why pay for something when you can get it for free. But the free things we get in life tend to be the most expensive. So those thinking about opting for free web hosting should know the inconveniences involved. Here are five major reasons for avoiding free hosting.

1. Limitations

There are limitations with free web hosting and the first issue is the limited storage space for your files. Most free hosting service providers offer storage space less than 50mbs; a modern website for business purposes will need at least 100mbs to successfully run a website. That means with free hosting, you will have to reduce the amount of data you have to upload to the server.

The second limitation is in terms of the bandwidth, which can be compared to the road leading to your business. The wider the bandwidth the easier it is for people to access your website. But free web hosting imposes a limited bandwidth for your site. What then is the use of a website if people cannot access it all the time?

2.  You must accept advertisements  on your website

Free web hosting providers pay themselves through the advertisements they post on websites they host. Hence you will have to deal with lots of ads on your website without your knowledge. The host will not seek your permission to do that because they are doing you a favor. If you are in business, these ads will become a nuisance since they will distract your clients and cause some of them to move away from your site. You should be surprised to find the ads of a rival business on your site. They have chosen to pay.

3. Poor customer support

Most websites that are hosted freely experience a lot of downtimes and the hosting company does not care too much about that. They are not obliged in any way to prevent or rectify that. There are a lot of other websites available on their network and so a few websites down does not affect their income levels much. In addition, most free hosting companies cannot afford to hire a lot of support staff who will be there to solve problems in time. The best they offer mostly is a FAQ page that may not solve your problems all the time.

4. Longer domain names

When you are setting up a website, you want a domain name that is unique to you. But with free hosting, your domain name gets modified by them to allow the name of your free web host service provider. So instead of having let’s say “www.yourdomain.com”, you will have something like “www.yourdomain.freehost.com”. In certain cases, you could have something like “www.freehost.com/yourdomain/1234/abc.html. Clients will find it difficult keeping such long names in mind.

5. Poor search engine ranking

Most websites that are hosted freely do not perform well in terms of search engine rankings. If you are in business, you certainly want your website to rank high in search engines to improve sales. But free hosting prevents that from happening.

The bottom line is that if you are not expecting too much from your website, then a free website host is worth considering. But if you mean business with your website, then you should try some free hosting without ads service.