Is Free Word Press Hosting Worth It? factors to consider
Word Press, the world’s best content management system (CMS) , is free to use but requires a web host. You may find it difficult to choose a web host due to the different options available.
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High-end web hosting services usually charge monthly fees depending on the type of service you will be getting.
But wouldn’t it be handy if there was a way to get a free WordPress hosting service when you’re still new to the platform?
Some hosting providers offer free WordPress hosting with no trial period. Customers are free to try web hosting services as they wish and upgrade their free WordPress hosting plans when the need arises.
Sounds awesome, right?
Keep reading to learn more.
The homepage of WordPress.org. (Image source: WordPress.org )
With WordPress.org software, you can choose to create a self-hosted website by signing up for a hosting plan of your choice.
Many think that creating a WordPress.org account is complicated, but it’s not. Although you can install WordPress manually by creating a database and using an installation script, most hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installer once you sign up for a hosting plan.
Instead of downloading WordPress and going all out to find and pay for a web host, all you need to do to get a website on WordPress.com is create an account.
The outstanding features of WordPress.com are:
Free WordPress hosting is a reasonable option for users who aren’t tech-savvy and just want to share their content. However, we don’t recommend it for knowledgeable users who care about their SSD storage specs or need direct access to their servers or MySQL databases .
We also don’t recommend using free WordPress hosting for professional or high-traffic sites, which we’ll discuss later.
Why Companies Provide Free WordPress Hosting
From a business perspective, it can be difficult to understand why companies offer free WordPress hosting. How do they earn money? What do they get out of it?
Some companies offer free WordPress hosting as part of beta testing.
There are also companies like WordPress, owned by the WordPress Foundation , that can provide free hosting as part of their mission to make software accessible to everyone.
For other businesses, free WordPress hosting is part of their business strategy. Internet startups often offer freemium business models. These companies convince users to try their software by offering free services to build relationships with their customer base.
When customers depend on these free services, they try to sell extras like domain registration, additional storage, and search engine optimization (SEO) services that are outside of their expertise and scope. core business.
Typical inclusions of free WordPress hosting
One of the essential functions of web hosting is disk space as it provides storage space for web content. Without this storage space, you cannot access your digital files, such as photos, videos, code or text.
WordPress hosting providers store offsite content on a web server which is either physical network or cloud storage.
Another important feature of web hosting is bandwidth, or the capacity of data that can be transferred between your website, users, and servers.
With free WordPress hosting, users have limited disk space and bandwidth. Some free hosts also display advertisements on your website and only offer branded subdomains.
The most obvious benefit of free WordPress hosting is not having to pay for a web hosting service. This lets you try out the service because it’s free and you’re not bound by a contract, allowing you to walk away when you’re unhappy.
Check reviews on reputable websites and forums. Always read the Terms of Service (TOS) and fine print to avoid ceding control of your content. Even if you think you’ve found the best free WordPress hosting, you might end up not legally owning your website content.
It is wiser to choose your web host based on the ten factors that we will discuss next.
Permanence
Paid hosts tend to stick around longer. Be careful when signing up for free WordPress hosting because the host could be there one day and disappear the next, taking all your data.
Permanence doesn’t just apply to the disappearance of the host – it could also mean that your website could suddenly be deleted or archived
For example, when checking out 000webhost’s support forums , users share cases where their website suddenly got archived.
Most free WordPress hosts try to save their resources, which is why they regularly perform mass purges of inactive websites. Your website could be affected by one of these purges, even if your site is not active.
