If you’re like most people, you appreciate the convenience of having a website hosted by a reputable provider. However, sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. That’s why we put together this guide on how to get started with free web hosting. We show you how to research providers and find the best deal, offer helpful advice on setting up your website, and give you tips on how to improve the look and performance of your site.
3 Months of Free Web Hosting
1. Hostinger
Established in 2004, Hostinger is an employee-owned Web hosting and Internet domain registration company. It has steadily built an international user base that’s spread out across 39 countries from risk-free beginner hosting to advanced VPS cloud infrastructure.
Key Spec: Free SSL Certificate | Easy to Use Website Builder | Weekly and Daily Backups | 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Cheap Pricing
- Reliable uptime and fast speed
Cons:
- Limited Features with Cheapest Plan
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing
The three most popular Hostinger shared hosting plans are:
- Single Shared Hosting -$1.99/mo (Renews to $3.99/mo)
- Premium Shared Hosting -$2.99/mo (Renews to $6.99/mo)
- Business Shared Hosting – $3.99/mo (Renews to $8.99/mo)
Besides shared hosting, Hostinger also offers Cloud, WordPress, and VPS hosting.
All the hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Features
Hostinger offers many useful features. For example, their cheapest Single Shared Hosting plans come with 30 GB of storage, 1 website and email account, 100 GB of bandwidth, and two databases. This is more than enough for a small website. Also, you can always upgrade to a premium plan and get more use of the features.
Here are some more features:
- Easy to Use Website Builder.
- Auto Installer (WordPress, Joomla, etc.)
- User-Friendly Custom hPanel
- Free SSL Certificate
- Weekly and Daily Backups
- Free Domain (starting from Premium plan)
Customer Support
Hostinger offers 24/7/365 support in the form of:
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Live Chat (available only for registered users)
Uptime and Speed
Hostinger strives to maintain 99.99% uptime for your website. They run CloudLinux – one of the most popular operating systems for hosting companies. Their systems are regularly updated, shielded from DDoS attacks, and optimized with the latest LiteSpeed technologies.
We started tracking Hostinger in March 2022. Our test site hosted at Hostinger scores above 99.95% uptime constantly. Their last 30 average uptime was 99.98%.
When it comes to the response time test of Hostinger, the software is able to get the score of a TTFB (Time-To-First-Byte) of less than 600 ms and an A+ on the speed test. This is excellent compared to other hosting services.
Datacenters
- Europe (the Netherlands, Lithuania, the United Kingdom)
- Asia (Singapore, India)
- North America (the USA)
- South America (Brazil
Hostinger also offers a data center location change as self-service. Change your data center location once a month to make your website load faster for your visitors.
2. Wix
Wix is also a brand that has made its name in the website-building business and was one of the earlier new-generation of web tools. It’s great for newbies and is easy to use, plus offers enough for the starter-offs to get interested before they hop on to any paid plans.
Features
- Free website builder (Wix!)
- Online Store
- Free templates
- Wix Apps
Specifications
- Disk Space: 500MB
- Bandwidth: 500MB
- Database: Proprietary
- Control Panel: Proprietary
Free Powerful Web Editor but with Advertisement
Reliability and Uptime Guarantees
You get what you pay for, and aside from an extensive knowledge base, for free accounts, you can email them and take your chances. Only premium accounts get ‘faster responses to any question or issue they may have.
Wix Upgrade Options
Because its plans are designed to scale up functionality to websites, Wix at the higher levels can get expensive. Those prices include functions such as form builders, email campaigns and even site reviews by professionals.
At the lowest Wix clocks in at $4.50 per month, going up to $24.50 per month.
What’s the Catch with Wix Free Website Hosting?
Again, Wix is another proprietary engine which means it’ll try to hold on to you almost any way it can. The good news is that it plays better with other tools compared to Weebly, so is compatible with some tools such as Caspio, a free database platform.
Also like Weebly – your free website domain will be in form of wix.com subdomain (ie. yourdomain.wix.com). To move your website into a custom domain, you will have to subscribe to Wix paid plans.
Oh yes, and Wix is not ad-free. If you’re not on a paying plan, it will plaster Wix ads on your site with alacrity.
3. HostPapa
HostPapa is a Canadian-based hosting company that was founded in 2006. They provide shared, reseller, and virtual private server (VPS) hosting.
Key Spec: Free SSL Certificate | 100 GB of SSD Storage | 100 Email Accounts | 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Free Website Transfer
- Reliable uptime and speed
Cons:
- High Renewal Prices
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing
HostPapa comes with three shared hosting plans:
- Starter -$2.95/month (Renews to $10.99/month)
- Business -$2.95/month (Renews to $15.99/month)
- Business Pro – $11.95/month (Renews to $25.99/month)
Besides shared hosting, HostPapa also offers Managed WordPress, VPS, and Reseller hosting. However, opting for the latter options, expect to pay more. For example, their Managed WordPress cheapest plan starts at $19.95/month.
All HostPapa’s hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Features
HostPapa’s shared hosting plans are packed with many handy features – unlimited bandwidth, free domain registration, and even a website builder.
Here are some more notable features from their cheapest “Starter” plan:
- Free SSL Certificate
- 100 GB of SSD Storage
- Offers cPanel control panel
- 100 Email Accounts
- Free Website Transfer
Customer Support
HostPapa provides customer support using:
- Live Chat
- Phone
- Support tickets
- Knowledge Base
However, if you submit a ticket, you will get your reply within 30 minutes.
Uptime and Speed
HostPapa promises fast page loading speed and reliable uptime. They’re backing up their promise with enhanced SSD drives, Cloudflare Content Delivery Network, fewer accounts per server, etc.
Moreover, they come with a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This means they ensure that your site’s uptime will never drop below 99.9%.
Datacenters
They have data centers at:
- Canada – Toronto
- Europe (Global) — UK, France, Germany, Spain, etc.
- US – Los Angeles, Chicago
- Asia: India, Singapore, Hong Kong
They also help you select the Data Centers at the checkout time.
4. Weebly
When I first looked at Weebly, I was evaluating it as a site building tool and when I hit this article I realized it was in essence, an up-sold web host. Weebly is one of the new generation of site-builder-slash-web-hosts that is doing fantastically well, in fact holding an SimilarWeb Global Rank of 1,200+ now.
However, I had to re-look at it this time round since there are different plus points for web hosts and site builders.
Features
- Free website builder (Weebly!)
- Free SSL security
- Apps for your Weebly-built site
- Ad-free web hosting
- Mobile app builder
Specifications
- Disk Space: 500MB
- Bandwidth: Unknown
- Database: Proprietary
- Control Panel: Proprietary
Easy to Use but Host in Weebly.com Subdomain Only
Weebly is well supported through a vibrant community and you can also reach out to them via email or live chat.
Weebly Upgrade Options
Weebly tried hard to sell its online store builder, and as such tends to focus on transactional key points. Upgrade plans increase basic features, but the highlight is on how many products you’re allowed to sell at a time. Of course, if you’re just looking for hosting plans, it works that way as well. Prices range from $12 per month up to $25 per month.
What’s the Catch with Weebly Free Website Hosting?
Weebly is big on… well, Weebly, and doesn’t really play nice with anything else.
For example, it doesn’t support server-side scripting (such as PHP), nor database integration. And your free website domain will be in form of Weebly.com subdomain (ie. yourwebsite.weebly.com). To connect to a custom domain, you will have to move up to a paid plan.
True, it’s extremely powerful on its own, but this also means in terms of flexibility, you’re likely stuck with Weebly for good once you start using it.
5. Bluehost
Bluehost is a privately owned Web hosting company. They offer shared hosting, virtual private servers (VPS), reseller, and dedicated servers.
Key Spec: Free CDN and SSL Certificate | WordPress integration | FTP account and File manager | 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Free Website Transfer
- Free Domain Name for 1st Year and SSL Certificates
Cons:
- High Renewal Prices
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing
Bluehost comes with four shared hosting plans:
- Basic – $2.95/mo (Renews to $9.99/mo)
- Plus – $5.45/mo (Renews to $14.99/mo)
- Choice Plus – $5.45/mo (Renews to $18.99/mo)
- Pro – $13.95/mo (Renews to $28.99/mo)
Besides shared hosting, you can also choose VPS, WordPress, and dedicated hosting.
All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Features
Bluehost’s cheapest plan comes with 1 website, a free domain name for the 1st year, 10 GB SSD storage, custom themes, unlimited bandwidth, and 24/7 customer support. Higher tier plans come with unlimited websites, storage, free domain privacy, and automated backups.
Here are some more additional features:
- FTP account and File manager
- MySQL databases & PHP support
- cPanel as control panel
- WordPress integration
- Free CDN and SSL Certificate
Customer Support
Bluehost offers 24/7 support by:
- Live Chat
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
Uptime and Speed
Most of Bluehost’s shared hosting plans come with a standard CPU performance which is suitable for most websites that receive low to moderate amounts of traffic. Their Pro plan comes with an optimized CPU power that helps to achieve faster page loading times and better processing power.
Datacenters
- The US (Utah)
- India (Mumbai)
- Europe (London)
- China (Shanghai, Hong Kong)
Best Free Website Hosting
1. Wix
Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder – similar to tools like Weebly or Squarespace; and yup, you don’t need the knowledge of PHP like you do with solutions like Joomla.
However, we’re featuring Wix on this list because it’s kind of an all-in-one solution for both a website platform and server space to host that website. Since Wix does come with a free plan, this makes it a free website hosting service as well. This free website builder is a unique way to enjoy awesome site-building features backed by enterprise-grade reliability. On that free plan, you get:
- Wix.com subdomain
- Beautiful templates
- 500 MB disk space
- 500 MB bandwidth
- Global content delivery network
- Free SSL and security monitoring
- Knowledge base and customer support
- Decent load time
Unfortunately, if you’re expecting no ads, you will be disappointed. Just like most of the free web hosting providers, Wix places their own ads on free plan sites. You can only connect a Wix subdomain and would have to move to a paid plan for connecting a custom domain.
The eCommerce functionality is also unavailable in the free version, but you can still set up things like bookings, events, forums, and fill in your site with SEO-friendly content with just a few clicks. There’s a free SSL certificate as well.
2. HostPapa
HostPapa is a Canadian-based hosting company that was founded in 2006. They provide shared, reseller, and virtual private server (VPS) hosting.
Key Spec: Free SSL Certificate | 100 GB of SSD Storage | 100 Email Accounts | 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Free Website Transfer
- Reliable uptime and speed
Cons:
- High Renewal Prices
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing
HostPapa comes with three shared hosting plans:
- Starter -$2.95/month (Renews to $10.99/month)
- Business -$2.95/month (Renews to $15.99/month)
- Business Pro – $11.95/month (Renews to $25.99/month)
Besides shared hosting, HostPapa also offers Managed WordPress, VPS, and Reseller hosting. However, opting for the latter options, expect to pay more. For example, their Managed WordPress cheapest plan starts at $19.95/month.
All HostPapa’s hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Features
HostPapa’s shared hosting plans are packed with many handy features – unlimited bandwidth, free domain registration, and even a website builder.
Here are some more notable features from their cheapest “Starter” plan:
- Free SSL Certificate
- 100 GB of SSD Storage
- Offers cPanel control panel
- 100 Email Accounts
- Free Website Transfer
Customer Support
HostPapa provides customer support using:
- Live Chat
- Phone
- Support tickets
- Knowledge Base
However, if you submit a ticket, you will get your reply within 30 minutes.
Uptime and Speed
HostPapa promises fast page loading speed and reliable uptime. They’re backing up their promise with enhanced SSD drives, Cloudflare Content Delivery Network, fewer accounts per server, etc.
Moreover, they come with a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This means they ensure that your site’s uptime will never drop below 99.9%.
3. InfinityFree
InfinityFree is a free hosting initiative powered by iFastNet. It offers users:
- An autoinstaller with more than 400 different apps, including WordPress
- Free subdomains
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 400 MySQL databases
- Knowledge base support
You’ll have access to the Softaculous Script Installer to install WordPress. This hosting service provider doesn’t offer domain registration, but you can use one you’ve acquired from another registrar.
Once your website is published, your visitors won’t see ads. However, there will be ads in cPanel on the back end. Your site is also limited to 50,000 hits per day.
4. Hostinger
Established in 2004, Hostinger is an employee-owned Web hosting and Internet domain registration company. It has steadily built an international user base that’s spread out across 39 countries from risk-free beginner hosting to advanced VPS cloud infrastructure.
Key Spec: Free SSL Certificate | Easy to Use Website Builder | Weekly and Daily Backups | 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros:
- Cheap Pricing
- Reliable uptime and fast speed
Cons:
- Limited Features with Cheapest Plan
30-day money-back guarantee
Pricing
The three most popular Hostinger shared hosting plans are:
- Single Shared Hosting -$1.99/mo (Renews to $3.99/mo)
- Premium Shared Hosting -$2.99/mo (Renews to $6.99/mo)
- Business Shared Hosting – $3.99/mo (Renews to $8.99/mo)
Besides shared hosting, Hostinger also offers Cloud, WordPress, and VPS hosting.
All the hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Features
Hostinger offers many useful features. For example, their cheapest Single Shared Hosting plans come with 30 GB of storage, 1 website and email account, 100 GB of bandwidth, and two databases. This is more than enough for a small website. Also, you can always upgrade to a premium plan and get more use of the features.
Here are some more features:
- Easy to Use Website Builder.
- Auto Installer (WordPress, Joomla, etc.)
- User-Friendly Custom hPanel
- Free SSL Certificate
- Weekly and Daily Backups
- Free Domain (starting from Premium plan)
Customer Support
Hostinger offers 24/7/365 support in the form of:
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Live Chat (available only for registered users)
How to Get started with free web hosting.
Free web hosting is a service that allows you to use the internet without paying for a hosting account. This means that you can access your website or application from anywhere in the world, and there are nominimums required.
There are a variety of free web hosting options available, but the most popular ones are Bluehost, HostGator, and WP Engine. Each of these hosts has its own set of features and benefits, so it’s important to choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.
How Does Free Web Hosting Work
After signing up for a free web hosting account, you will be given a hostname and password. You will then be able to create an online account with one of these services and start typing in your website’s URL. Your site will then be automatically registered with the hosting company and will begin serving traffic!
Once you have registered your site with a free web host, all you need to do is follow some simple steps to get started: 1) Type in your website’s address (URL) into the hosts panel on your website; 2) Click on “Create Site”; 3) Choose an HTML/CSS style; 4) Click on “Upload Content”; 5) Click on “Save Changes.”
How to Get Started with Free Web Hosting.
In order to get started with free web hosting, you’ll need to sign up for a free account on one of the online hosters. Once you have an account, you can use the tools provided to set up and use your site. You can also find helpful information about using free web hosting on websites like HostGator or Bluehost.
Use the Hosting Tools to Set up Your Site
Hosting tools make it easy to set up and use your site. They include a variety of features that make setting up a website quick and easy. These tools include hosts, domain name servers, and Plesk Web Server.
Learn How to Set Up and Use a Free Web Hosting Site
To use a free web hosting site effectively, be sure to learn how to set it up and use its features! This includes finding out the different types of pages that can be created, setting up your database, and creating files and folders in the correct locations. By following these tips, you’ll be on your way to having an effective website that meets all your needs!
Tips for Startling Success with Free Web Hosting.
Setting up your website the right way is key to making sure your site is successful. To get started, follow these tips:
1. Choose a good host: Your site will be more reliable and efficient if you use a reputable host such as IIS or WP Engine. Make sure your host has a good range of features, including security, bandwidth, and customer service.
2. Use common web hosting services: Many people choose to use free web hosting services like WP Engine or IIS instead of paying for more expensive options with extra features and restrictions. These services offer low prices, great selection of hosts, and easy online billing.
3. Use search engines for better results: By using well-optimized keywords in your domain name and on your website, you can increase traffic and reach potential customers from a variety of sources.
Conclusion
Getting started with free web hosting is a great way to get your online presence up and running. By using the hosting tools to set up your site correctly, adding value through your content, and maximizing your traffic, you can create an online presence that will be successful.