Web Hosting, to pay or not to pay ?

A web site host is a company that provides computers connected to the Internet. On these computers are web sites that can be accessed by web users. There are hundreds of different hosting companies out there ranging from free ones who make their money through advertising to companies offering specialist hosting services and charging hundreds of pounds to users. Many Internet service providers also offer free web space as part of your account.

Perhaps the most common question we get asked is 'Why should we pay for web hosting ?' Whilst it is tempting to save a few hundred pounds a year and use a free hosting company this is not recommended for commercial web sites.

*  Speed - Many free hosts are very slow. Your customers will not wait long for web pages to download, they will move along.

*  Advertisements - Free hosts use advertising to make money. Usually they will require web pages to display banner ads, logos, popups etc. This will hardly present a professional image to your customers.

*  Domain Names - Most free hosting companies do not allow the use of domain names. Usually a free web site address would be something like (often much longer)

A domain name such as http://www.ellipsedesign.co.uk present a far more professional image to your customers and clients.

*  Services - Most free hosts will not have many of the services you may require to run a commercial web site. For example they may not provide web site statistics or secure servers for credit card processing. They may even place a limit on bandwidth use limiting traffic to your site. If you site is database driven using a scripting language such as ASP or Coldfusion then almost certainly a free host will not have a web server supporting such languages.

In conclusion free hosting is ideal for personal 'home pages' or hobby pages but will inhibit the successfulness of a commercial site. What impression will your customers have of your company when they see you cannot even afford the £200-£300 a year it might cost for professional hosting ? When choosing a web host it is better to look to the future. It can be a real problem moving a web site to another host once established and can actually result in lost traffic.

Ellipse Design can help you identify and choose a suitable web hosting company for you present and future needs.