This article is about my experience of using different Website Hosting providers via free and paid for services,and the unseen problems and pitfalls that a novice website creator is is likely to encounter. My first step on the website creating ladder happened when I realised that my free email provider provided free webspace (if activated). The condition was that I had to use their dial up service and unique phone number to transfer (ftp) my website files,enabling them to get commision via part of the call charge in exchange for providing my Webspace.
This is what I found :
Webspace was limited to 20MB Individual file size was limited to 1.5MB Tech support FAQ's were next to useless prompting expensive phone calls (strangely "left" on hold for ages) For security and data usage reasons,facilities such as CGI,PHP,PERL,Databases,Frontpage extensions etc were not available,so no forums,counters,tracking,scripts,eshops,etc My webspace had an obscure,odd domain name URL e.g. http://mysite.hosthemost-members.com/mygreatsite.However I still retain this "free" webspace as it serves a usefull purpose for simple website testing and for the storage of ebooks that I sometimes sell as downloadable items.(Ebay etc)
Other "free" webhosting deals involve a period of free usage (usually a year) followed by a pay or leave type situation,quite disruptive and inconvenient