There are a plethora of companies out there willing to offer free web hosting to anyone that wants it. This is not an act of charity. Such companies are not simply acting out of the goodness of their hearts. They, just like the paid hosting companies, are in it to make money. How do they do this? Through advertising revenues - that’s how. Free hosts will often display adverts on the sites of their users. The presence of such advertisements could be detrimental to the success of the site by annoying users or directing them elsewhere, however, this is the indirect price to be paid for free web space.

Whether or not free hosting is for you depends on what you need the hosting for. Most companies would shy away from free hosting as it would make them look cheap and unprofessional. On the other side of things, not-for-profit organisations or hobby sites could not be criticised for not wishing to pay for hosting. Many bands, for example, choose to have MySpace pages rather than having an independent website. This is especially true of up-and-coming bands. As far as I can see, there is nothing wrong with this, so long as MySpace serves their needs. For the most part it does; it allows bands to develop a fan base and gives this fan base access to samples of their music. However, if a band wants to look truly professional it may be better served by having its own .com, allowing them to have their own media player, forum, store and much more. Ultimately, it is a case of weighing up costs against benefits, including the amount you think you can make from your site.

In short, while a free web presence is sufficient for many individuals and amateurs, it is not usually appropriate for a corporate identity. For those that believe the cost of hosting makes having a website impractical, free hosting is a godsend , in such cases the presence of unrelated advertisements is a small price to pay.