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There's one more step to take when you're through with designing your website: put it online. And for this, you need to have web hosting. But there are basically two forms of it. One is free, and the other is paid. So which of the two you should go for? Before you decide, read the following main differences between them.

There's one more step to take when you're through with designing your website: put it online. And for this, you need to have web hosting. But there are basically two forms of it. One is free, and the other is paid. So which of the two you should go for? Before you decide, read the following main differences between them.

The name itself suggests that you don't pay for anything when you go for a free host. This can be very beneficial if you don't have a budget for putting up a site online. Additionally, it's recommended for websites that are personal or private in nature. But if it's business in nature, you might want to think twice. Customers might not take your business seriously upon knowing you're signed up with a free host.

Paid hosting, on the other hand, comes with a price, depending on the package you choose. However, this can be beneficial if you're an entrepreneur. You get to have your very own domain, making it simpler for potential customers to find your business' site online. The URL may have your business' name in it.

Having a unique domain name like such isn't possible when you go for a free server. What you can have is a subdomain, which carries the server's name as well. This can be confusing to surfers, as they may remember your business' name, but not the server name. If you're putting up an online site for private purposes only, having such is fine. Besides, your friends could always ask for the domain in case they fail to remember it. But having a unique one is essential for a business site to have. In addition, in case you wish to transfer to another host, traffic won't suffer.

Forced advertisements are another thing that should be considered in choosing the kind of server you need. A free host may place banners and pop up windows on your website. And all these things oftentimes irritate web surfers. But if you go for a paid one, what goes into your site is under your control. There will be no ads that can turn off potential customers.

If your webpage contains a few photos and videos, then it's fine to have limited bandwidth. But this also means that loading time of the page can be slower, depending on how many people are sharing the server. This is not much an issue when it comes to a paid host. You pick and pay for a plan, which is basically about the disk space, bandwidth, e-mail account and other useful features.

With regards to technical support, a paid host usually provides a more satisfactory service. The host will do its best to keep their customers happy, which is a way of keeping money pouring in. Technical support is usually done via phone, e-mail and even live chat. If you're serious about your business, excellent site maintenance is one of the things you should look for. A free host seldom offers support to webmasters.

These are just some of the key things that separate free and paid web hosting. Of course the choice relies on you. Just remember to consider what features suit your webpage, so you can pick the right type of server.