So, How Free Is Free?

Jason Shpik

Whoever coined the phrase "You can't get something for nothing" pegged free Web hosting services correctly. While you're not laying out any cash, you do have to make one concession--advertising banners that appear whenever someone surfs to your site.

You've probably seen them in your travels on the Web either as pop-up windows or ads embedded at the top of a Web page. Other services, like Xoom and WebJump, put your pages into frames and put the ads in the top frame. This makes the pages unfriendly to older browsers that can't render frames as well as to text-only Web clients. Advertisements are annoying but they are a necessary evil: The services rely on the support of advertisers and sponsors to help make them free.

To set up an account, you'll probably have to give the service of your choice some personal information--address, telephone number, age, etc. It's another necessary evil but one with which you may not feel comfortable.

Free Web hosting services give you an excellent opportunity to create a presence on the Web. Not only can't you beat the price, but you'll find that these services offer a number of features that even the best ISPs lack. While there are aspects of them that leave much to be desired, you may find that using a free hosting service is the fastest and cheapest way to get your message out there.

Other Free Web Hosting Services
NAME URL
Tripod http://www.tripod.com
FreeTown http://www.freetown.com/free/index.html
FreeServers http://www.freeservers.com/
HomePage.com http://www.homepage.com
Virtual Avenue http://www.virtualave.net/
NetColony http://www.netcolony.com

Submitted by HostingChecker.com - for help on all your hosting needs.
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