Free Web Hosting Types

Article on Free Web Hosting Types

There are many different kinds of web hosting. When someone creates a free hosting service, it is usually because they can get something out of it. Hardly anybody gives truly free hosting, and the services that do give truly free hosting usually don't last very long.

Most free hosts have a specific reason for giving away "free" web hosting. I have seperated these reasons into 6 major groups which are Application Based Hosts, Advertisment Based Hosts, Promotion Based Hosts, Link Builder Based Hosts, Forums Builder Based Hosts, and Other Hosts. I'll go over each type and explain why people would want to give free hosting.

The first type is application based hosts. Application based hosts are usually small and only accept a limited number of hostees who have higher quality websites than normal. Application based hosting is usually higher in quality and more personalized because of the low number of hostees.

The next type of hosting is advertisement based hosting. This is probably the most common type of free web host, because the advertising on the pages can create profit for the hosts. Although there are exceptions, advertisement based hosts will usually try to give you as little as possible by way of features and still attract hostees. This ensures a healty profit for the host.

After advertising comes promotion based hosts. These are usually very limited in features or limited time offers. Hosts use free web hosting to attract potential customers who want more features than free hosting can offer.

Moving down the list we reach link builder based hosts. This is a relatively new type of host, and is due mostly by the development of search engines which use link popularity as a major factor in the rankings. The host will most likely require a discreet text link to a web site of his/her choice. The large number of links from your site will increase the targetted web site's link popularity. This can lead to profit due to potential customers arriving from search engines.

The last type of host is forums builder hosts. This type of free hosting is used to start off or increase the popularity of forums. They usually ask that you either refer a certain number of members or make a certain number of non spammish posts.

Although these are the main types of free hosts, there are more, and even more will develop. The symbiotic relationship between free hosts and hostees is ever changing.