Website Servers: Why not Free?

Would you dare put your new Internet business on a free server? Think about it before you answer! Things change, new factors and attitudes have been introduced and you could be cheating yourself if you don't examine them.

There was a time when the differences between free and paid webhosting was so distinct, that there was no doubt about the answer. If you wanted a server that allowed you to use a domain name, cgi or secure server forms, shopping carts, chat room or any other form of interaction with the public, you needed to pay for it.

If you wanted to look respectable and have a secure and stable platform for your business you had to pay for it.

Times change.

Attitudes change.

People expect advertising these days. It's on their browsers, its on their email and its on almost every website they visit, so they view the banner on your free website no differently then they view any of the others.

The free host itself is making a lot more money from their banners then some paid hosts are making from their customers. This means they have a vested interest in making sure they remain stable and reliable so you will stay with them. Some free services even take this a step further by helping you promote your site. Their reasoning is that the more people that veiw your site, the more people that view their ad campain.

There is one company in particular that gives you the option of taking either a free or a paid account with them. They host only business accounts and they do it very well. Both types of accounts can use domain names, cgi, shopping carts, most anything an efficiant Internet business may need.

The difference between the two accounts, is that the free account has a banner or popup window on each page of your site (your choice,) one autosponder and a limited amount of server space (10megs). The paid account has no advertising, unlimited autosponders and more server space. Your account can be upgraded from free to paid without interuption by just sending an email, so as you can see there really is very little difference between their two accounts

I don't mention the name of this provider because I am not trying to do an ad here, and there may be more then one provider that gives this type of deal. I mentioned their features only to illustrate that there is no longer any real difference between paid and free webhostings.

I suggest you take a good look at your business, what you want and need for it, then take a good look at what is available to fill those needs. Free servers are no longer only good for hosting doorway pages and personal sites, and if you are one of those people that are judging them just on the basis that they are free servers, then you may be cheating yourself more than you realize.

I urge you to have a look around, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find. I was!

About the Author

James Thomas own's three Internet business websites and is the publisher of Succeeding 101 - lessons from Cyberspace.
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