A website hosting service is a kind of Internet hosting service that enables people and organizations to create their websites accessible through the World Wide Web. Website hosting services can either be for single pages or multiple websites. A person can either have his domain, or he/she can use a website host that offers free domain registration. However, this option is not always available.
A lot of people think that a free website hosting service offers poor quality service. However, they are not aware that the same servers host free websites and host corporate and business sites. Hence, a company like Yahoo! or Microsoft will use the same servers that host their corporate and business areas. You may experience slow loading, frequent server crashes, unexpected downtime, and unsuccessful website hosting performances in such cases.
Shared hosting
A shared hosting plan allows you to install the software on a server owned by other companies or organizations. You can visit any other site hosted on the same server as you. This is very common in small businesses or individuals who do not need to run a site on their own. The cost of shared hosting plans is generally less than the price of a dedicated website hosting. You may face a reduced level of security as compared to the safety offered by a dedicated server. If you are unsure whether a shared hosting or reliable web host is suitable for your website, you can opt for a VPS or Virtual Private Server (VPS).
Uptime Guarantee
Many websites hosting providers provide a one-year guaranteed uptime for the first month free. Some companies even offer an additional thirty days with a thirty-day money-back guarantee. If the site does not come online after the specified period of time, you can contact the provider and request a refund. Many such companies offer a money-back guarantee only for a specified number of days. So it is very important to check if the hosting provider’s guarantee will be effective for the specified time frame.
Hidden Costs
The cost of managing a website is not reflected in the hosting services’ cost. There are various hidden costs associated with website hosting services that the users ignore. Such expenses include application and maintenance fees, which are non-refundable and are incurred irrespective of the operational results. Also, there is the cost of setting up the servers, electricity, data center rental, which is not reflected in the charges. These hidden costs associated with website hosting are not made clear to the users and end up causing financial stress and frustration.
Domain Name
You would need to buy a domain name when you start a new website from scratch. However, most of the hosting companies offer domain names at no cost for the first year. This means that you could get your desired website name for a free web hosting service and could, later on, opt for the paid web hosting services if you want to have more domains. So the motive behind this free web hosting is not to profit the owner but to provide a platform for business people to own multiple websites.
Domain Registration
The registered domain name is the root key of the website. The web hosts offer domain registration service free for the first year and charge for three years. This implies that the users do not pay any amount for the first year and have to shell out a nominal amount for the subsequent three years.
So the motive of this free hosting is not to benefit the owner but to make money for the owner through the domain name’s registration process. This is not the case for the paid hosting providers, who make money either from the advertisements or through space’s sale. The domain registration process is very simple, and you could register your company’s name in just a few minutes. Therefore, it would be beneficial for the online entrepreneur to have the domain name registered with a reputed hosting company.
