Free domain and hosting on a promotion.
Free domain
The right address for your website has a big influence on how your company is promoted online. Beyond the name itself, which should be simple and easy for customers to remember, the extension matters too. In the UK the most commonly used extensions are .co.uk and .uk.
If you don't have a domain yet and you intend to build a new website, you can often take advantage of registering one or more domains free for the first year, together with hosting. Typically the free domain on offer is a .co.uk or .uk.
On top of the domain you may also receive a positioning credit for your site, a free business listing with your company details, a free mailbox with your own domain name, and 24/7/365 technical support.
Free hosting
Many people choose this kind of solution because there are no fees, especially at the very start of a business when there is little budget for promotion. Often, along with the domain, you get extra perks such as a mailbox with your domain name or a free website builder. With it you can easily put together a simple company website without any knowledge of programming or coding. The site is built on ready-made templates that you can choose from.
From our experience we can confidently say that for anyone who treats running a business seriously, free hosting is not the best solution. It often turns out that customers who set up websites take a free service that has poor parameters and low uptime – which causes problems with the site displaying or loading quickly. In that case the website they invested in will effectively scare customers away.
A few examples of providers offering free hosting:
Hostinger
Hostinger has long been associated with free hosting "for free, forever". Such offers usually include a small amount of storage, limited transfer, free subdomains, a free website builder or a script auto-installer. The marketing promises that the provider will never place any ads on your site or start charging any fees. Everything looks good until you want to check the conditions in the terms of service. Often the terms are written entirely in a language other than your own, and if you have questions you may have to contact a support office abroad…
Generic free hosts with branded subdomains
Among the most popular free hosts are providers that only let you choose a domain ending with their own branded subdomains, which unfortunately do not look very professional. In return you typically get limited storage, a couple of free subdomains, a mailbox and an FTP account. The conditions can look reasonable, yet they often do not include backups, which protect you in the event of a failure and the need to restore the site. Be sure to read the terms of service carefully — you may find clauses such as: the host places ads on the user's pages, and blocking those ads is strictly forbidden; the host introduces an additional paid system for removing ads. (To block intrusive ads you unfortunately have to buy a paid plan!) The terms may also reserve the right to add further Paid Options for using the service…
Free hosts with shared resources
Other free hosts offer a domain that can end with several branded extensions. The available disk space and transfer may look generous, with current versions of PHP and MySQL databases, plus ready-made CMS scripts such as Joomla and WordPress. On the downside, expect the standard element of displayed advertising material (audiovisual, graphic, text). On top of that, the terms often include information about specific risks associated with using the service. Listed here are viruses, trojans and spam, which can effectively block your site and jeopardise your security.
Paid hosting on a promotion.
The examples above show the shortcomings of free hosting. A better solution is to use paid hosting at a promotional price for the first year. Even the cheapest option you choose will have far better parameters than the free version with its countless limitations. Once your business grows, you can renew the domain and hosting.
What to pay attention to before buying?
Before buying hosting, pay particular attention to the provider's terms of service. If anything is unclear to you, ask support for an explanation. Also check what the renewal price is in subsequent years and whether you must renew the domain after the first year.
When choosing a domain, make sure which extensions the offer covers – is it .co.uk, .com, .uk, or perhaps another domain?
Also check your access to the domain, as well as the option to hide your private data in the WHOIS service, which lets you check who owns a given domain. If you don't want to reveal your details, you can instead show the details of a company that provides a privacy protection service.
An attractive offer:
For new companies, an attractive proposition is the offer from our partner. With it you can buy suitable hosting very cheaply and register one or more domains for free. By purchasing hosting you will get access to an administration panel where you can manage all of your services in one place. The panel is very functional, clear and easy to use. And if the domain doesn't work out or you close your business, you will still have avoided unnecessary start-up costs.
