Looks like the truth has come out about free host providers

Hi everyone,

I recently made a post on this forum, about finding free web space for my music group, but ended up going paid. If you have tried looking for free web hosting yourself, you may want to read this article, which I found by accident the other day. Maybe the person who wrote it initially had a bone to pick, as the starts a little ragged, but the article puts forward a brilliant business model toward the end.

I'm interested in seeing if anyone else has read it, and what they think about the material put forward, particularly in POINT 5, Constructive Criticism.

The entire article certainly hits the nail right on the knocker, about free hosts, and tells why they are not worth one minute of your time.

I could relate to it very much, as tripod had really messed me, and my radio station around quite a bit back in 2002. If you ever wonder why the internet is littered with half finished web-sites, then you might find some of the pointers toward the end quite interesting too.

Heres the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Web_Hosts

I'm mainly interested in getting some feedback about the business model, suggested toward the end of the article, in relation to free host providers.

Chuw

 

That page starts as a rant and descends into what I see as basically drivel.

The 'business model' in para 5 reminds me of the term 'pipe dream' as it was originally coined - from the thinking of folks who smoked opium.

Other than that, it wasn't bad.

 

True to a point, but think about it,

I've gone to a book site to purchase some books on space flight. The main section shows books on the Apollo and Gemini missions.

a: ) Theres a bar on top that advertises video on demand services and history videos. I've seen the books I'm looking for, and have also seen the video adverts. As they are placed within the same browser window, both the content and the adverts have got my attention.

b: ) Going to the same book site, i am hit with several popups. Because you don't know which browser has the original book site, you aimlessly close all the browsers in annoyance, thus none of the adverts would have been read.

The person who created the site has lost a visitor. The adverts were unread, and the free provider has also lost out. This is how I browse the internet? don't other people get the same annoyances when they browse?

 

Hmm, I know, wikipedia's not exactly gospel kind of stuff. but thanks for the input. When I first read the points at the bottom, at first it didn't seem such a bad idea, and wondered if any web-company ever did it. But judging by the response, it must of been some airy-fairy stuff. Besides I'm using webmasters.com (http://www.webmasters.com), and they have been pretty good, at a reasonable price too.

I only started the discussion, as I heard an article from a beamed BBC broadcast in Australia, that many web-advertisers were loosing out, because people were switching off adverts that appeared on the net. I use fire-fox as my browser. bad luck for all the online advertisers!

I've used amazon.com for getting my stuff, but sometimes you'll find small publishers will use their own sites.

Thanks, and have a nice day.

 

Mmm, they have a lot for the price. I mainly went for them, as when compared to other hosts, they update your account features every year. Apparently I've seen complaints from people who signed up to a web-host three or four years ago, and their account hasn't been updated. They also seem to have one of the best back-up systems too.

My radio station site is pretty large now (http://www.2prfm.com), and is to cumbersome to suddenly switch hosts (again). I started with free-hosts like Yahoo in 1999 and then Tripod. In 2002 I went paid with IpowerWeb, now I'm with webmasters, and couldn't be happier.

I'm trying to get my UK friend to switch over, as he recently had a large chunk of his 500 page website deleted with Tripod, but have not heard from him (http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk/remember.htm) He has many UK top 40 charts on his site, if your interested in retro chart music!.

 

I agree with Newt, but I'd put it another way. With a free web site, you get what you pay for, nothing! And the Wikpedia entry, is not one of its best.

 

Just a last note on webmasters.com. They are also a "bricks and mortar" company. This is important, as many providers rent disc-space from larger companies, only to pass the "middle man costs" on to you. Many companies are nothing more then a few individuals, who buy disc space in bulk.

A fantastic resource for checking out web-hosting, and what others think is Webhosting Unleashed. This is how I found out about webmasters.com.
(http://www.webhostingunleashed.com) THIS IS A BRILLIANT RESOURCE. BEFORE YOU PAY FOR ANY PROVIDER, LOOK AT THIS SITE FIRST. totally unbiased, totally honest, as all reviews were posted by actual users.