There comes a time while you are venturing online when you find yourself in need of a domain for either your own blog or website. There are many places online where you can secure yourself some of the internet real-estate but few of them compare to 000webhost. 000webhost (pronounced “zero web host”) is an online platform that offers free web hosting for the interested parties. It’s a good option for anyone new to web design and development as well as the professionals. It’s an option worth considering if you are looking for a place to host your website at no cost. But how do you know it’s good for you? Let’s go through what this online hosting platform has to offer so that you acquire all the necessary information you need to make an informed decision whether this is the place for you.
Let’s Open the Package and See What’s Inside
Free Stuff – The first thing you’ll notice about 000webhost is that it offers web hosting for free. And this free web hosting comes with a lot of amazing things. You could think of it as a lot of cool free stuff. They offer you 1 GB of free hard disk space to store your website assets, 10, 000MB bandwidth – that’s a good speed for data transfer for free, 5 email forwarders, 2 MySQL databases, and 2 website domains. Theirs is so much you can do with all these free stuff, especially if your needs are not that demanding. This is also an ideal package if you are just trying out your site to see how it will do in the real world. And the best part of it is that it’s free for life. Not free like free for a limited period, but free for as long as you need it. And that’s not all.
No Ads – The free website you’ll get from 000webhost comes with no ads. If you were to look for free web hosting from other online web hosting platforms, chances are that you’ll be offered free web hosting with ads. It’s understandable that the companies offering these services have to pay their bills, but don’t you think it’s a bit weird for your site to have ads that don’t even relate to the content you are offering? 000webhost gives you a free domain and doesn’t interfere with your content by not including ads on your site. This is an offer you’ll find in very few online web hosting platforms.
Website Builder – Moreover, you’ll also get a free website builder. If you are a web designer or developer, chances are that you’ll already have built your own site and will just need the free domain either as a lab or a place for the real deal. Be that as it may, there is a chance that you may not have created a site yet, or you may have your own site mockup and intended to create the site after acquiring a domain. With the free website builder, you can create your site from scratch and have it up and running in no time. I must admit that it won’t be easy for someone with absolutely no web design skills. That’s why it’s beneficial if you already have some web design basics. That knowledge will make it easier for you to create something concrete. But if you are a complete novice, I’m not saying that you should give up. Everyone has his beginning. Dive in there and drag, drop, and move things around till you get something that you like. It may look like it was created by a 5-year-old at the moment, but with time, it’ll look as professional as you intended it to be. After all, that’s why the free website builder is there; to make things easier for anyone willing to make use of it.
The cPanel – If that’s not enough, you’ll also have access to an administrative area called the cPanel, where you’ll be doing all your administrative tasks like uploading site assets, managing your databases, handling PHP, and deleting bad comments from your blog or website. Yes, you’ll get to be an admin – no strings attached. This section of your free account is very powerful and easy to use. You’ll get to know your way around it in no time. 000webhost has good tutorials that explain how to do things on the platform. You won’t even need to call anyone to figure out how things are done. It’s very intuitive.
000webhost also has paid plans or accounts (if you may) that offer you more features and options. They provide more hard disk space, better security, among others. There is a Premium – Silver Hosting Plan that’s meant for those with a tight budget. This plan is ideal for someone with a blog or a small personal website. It’s secure for the normal website management stuff like data transfer, database security, and even email security. But it’s not recommended for e-commerce websites because there is no SSL support. Anyone dealing with e-commerce websites understands how significant SSL support is when it comes to the security of funds and transfer of data related to those funds. With the Premium Plan, for $3.49/month, you’ll have access to:
- Unlimited SSD Disk Space
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Unlimited MySQL Databases
- Unlimited number of websites
- Unlimited bandwidth
- A free domain name
- Unlimited FTP Users
- 3x WordPress Optimized Speed
- Simple Website Builder
- And more
There is also a better plan if you feel the Premium plan isn’t enough or if the part of no SSL support touched a nerve; it’s the Business – Gold Hosting Plan. This plan is ideal for those dealing with e-commerce websites, business based websites, as well as those with a website dealing with a lot of traffic. For $7.50/month, 000webhost will give you access to the Business – Gold Hosting Plan where you’ll enjoy:
- Everything from the Premium – Silver Hosting Plan plus
- Deluxe Live Support
- Daily backups
- Free SSL Certificate for securing the data of your clients and to boost your SEO rankings
- 2x Processing Power and Memory
- 5x WordPress Optimized Speed
Is that affordable or what?
Make Money – 000webhost also has an affiliate program. They give you a free account to host your website or blog and they also give you a chance to make some money as you enjoy your stay. It’s as simple as this, once you secure your free account for whatever purpose, you’ll also receive your own affiliate link. They also have custom made banners that contain your link that you can also use in place of the affiliate link. Just place either the link or the banner somewhere in your site, or other online places like your social media accounts like Facebook and the likes, and when someone opens a 000webhost paid account through one of your links, you’ll have the potential of making up $100. What a way to attract more clients.
Pros
- Quality web hosting for free,
- 000webhost offers a forum where users can share ideas and advice.
- The platform is intuitive, user-friendly, and provides an amazing user experience.
- There are good tutorials on how to use the cPanel and other features.
- The paid plans are affordable for anyone interested.
Cons
- The domains in the free accounts are shared domains
- There is no SSL support in the Premium – Silver Hosting Plan
- Free accounts will often go offline for an hour within every 24 hours. It’s not cool for any site to go offline for more than a minute.
- Free accounts can be deleted at any moment without notice.
Conclusion
000webhost is one of the best places to get a free web hosting plan. You now have all the information you need. Look around and see whether you’ll get better features anywhere else, for free. If you find somewhere else with better offers, I don’t need to tell you what to do. But the thing is that now you know what 000webhost can offer you and you can determine whether it’s the best place for you.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
