Free Web Space

Free web space is no longer hard to find these days. Reading the fine print behind offers of free space, however, is as important as it always has been and will be. Web space comes cheap in large part because hard drives are inexpensive. Most Internet service providers, in fact, include 10 or 20 megs of space with an annual contract. Earthlink, Yahoo, and AOL are good examples, though there are others. There are also scores of low-cost shared hosting providers once you're game to shoulder a monthly tab of from $5 to perhaps $30.

Free Web Space: Pros and Cons

The downside of free website offers, however, is that they carry no extras. For a start, you don't get your own domain--that is, www.yourname.com--to go with the space, nor can you use a domain name you already have. Many of the features that make websites so valuable also come at more of a premium. Equally important, 24/7 technical support and live customer service are too often conspicuous by their absence.

If you want simple web-based forms--which require CGI scripting--or any server-side scripting, free web space offers usually don't accommodate them. Features as simple as server side includes (SSI), which make updating and redesigning a site easy and efficient, are also not available. These might seem like they might not be important. Sometimes they aren't.

Maybe you're just thinking about sharing photographs with friends, or posting your family genealogy. It's true enough that a web presence doesn't require advanced features. Making the most of the Internet, however, even on a personal site, does. Free web space can be a great introduction to website design and management. For greater flexibility and security, however, paid hosting with 24/7 support, full scripting, greater storage space, higher bandwidth, and other features is a better bet.