We scoured the Internet for the best hosting that no money can buy. Options abound for the ultra-beginners just getting started on their first website, amateur designers wanting to try out a different hosting company’s service and support, as well as advanced developers looking for a spot to house their new project.
1. Wix.com
A strong, browser-based website builder, Wix.com reigns supreme if you want a simple, drag-and-drop interface for building basic sites (i.e., for portfolios, small sites, etc.).
While it’s not for those who are looking to work out their coding skills, house various video files, or host an app they’ve been tinkering with (If you match these descriptions, read on!), Wix leads the way when it comes to easy setup and robust features. Their support isn’t great, but it almost doesn’t matter. We find Wix.com’s offering to be ideal for beginner site owners:
- Storage: 500MB
- Domain: Wix.com subdomain
- eCommerce: No
Note that email, domain, and eCommerce features are available by upgrading to non-free plans.
2. 000webhost.com
Having hosted websites for nearly 14 million users worldwide, 000webhost has provided free, ad-free hosting since 2007. The feature-rich free hosting plan will support small and medium projects, according to 000webhost’s R&D team.
“We have almost no limits for vital web building and management features,” said 000webhost’s R&D Department Manager, pointing toward fully-functioning FTP accounts and MySQL and PHP support. “We have always been the pioneers of untraditional web hosting models.”
In addition to the unlimited free domain hosting and five email accounts, 000webhost also includes website traffic stats, SEO analysis tools, and guides to help you promote your project. Now with a new cloud-based infrastructure powering the free hosting plan, 000webhost recently became the first provider to offer free SSL certificates to secure your files.
With 000webhost’s free site builder, you don’t need to know how to code to make your own website.
“We provide all major tools for understanding web hosting principles and web building in general,” he said. “For starters, this is probably the best way to start learning web building basics with zero investments. People with good website building knowledge may spare some money and host small or medium websites without any costs and can upgrade to premium plans while growing their website later.”
- Storage: 1.5GB
- Domain: Unlimited, free subdomains
- eCommerce: Not yet, but “major updates coming soon,” according to R&D report
- Bandwidth: 100GB
- Email: 5 email accounts
- Website Builder/Design: Hundreds of templates, plus 1-click installs of other apps
As your site grows, 000webhost offers some of the cheapest upgraded plans around — their premium package only costs $3.50 per month.
3. x10Hosting.com
The veterans at x10Hosting pride themselves on giving their free hosting customers a stable and high-performance environment with the latest versions of PHP, MySQL, and cPanel.
- Storage: Unlimited
- Domain: 2 add-on domains, 1 parked domain, and 2 subdomains
- eCommerce: 1-click installs for eCommerce platforms such as Magento
- Bandwidth: Unlimited
- Email: 3 free accounts
- Website Builder/Design: Website builder with more than 150 templates; other programs available via cPanel installations
Unlimited storage and bandwidth is a major plus for x10Hosting, along with a support community of more than 750,000 members.
4. Weebly.com
The well-known website builder also offers a variety of hosting plans that integrate with their brilliant platform. Weebly’s templates are among the most polished and modern you can find.
- Storage: 500MB
- Domain: Weebly.com subdomain
- eCommerce: No
- Bandwidth: Unlimited
- Email: No
- Website Builder/Design: Free templates; can edit via HTML, CSS, or drag-and-drop
By upgrading to the $8/month plan, you can add an eCommerce store. The free plan has no ads, but Weebly does include their branding in the footer of your website.
5. AwardSpace.com
A pioneer in the free web hosting industry with more than 10 years experience, AwardSpace.com relies on free hosting to grow their customer base.
- Storage: 1GB
- Domain: Hosting for 1 domain and 3 subdomains is included
- eCommerce: No
- Bandwidth: 5GB
- Email: 1 email account and spam filter
- Website Builder/Design: No, but Joomla and WordPress installers are included
Their free plan, which is ad free, allows hosting newcomers to test the service and see if they want to invest in more features over the long term.
6. Freehostia.com
With interesting plan names, Freehostia’s Chocolate flavor offers free cloud hosting. The load-balanced server cluster platform is up to 15 times faster than more traditional shared hosting setups.
- Storage: 250MB
- Domain: 5 hosted domains
- eCommerce: 1-click cart installations of several top platforms
- Bandwidth: 6GB monthly
- Email: 3 email accounts
- Website Builder/Design: Free website templates, plus 1-click installs
While the 250 megabytes of storage is a little small, it’s hard to argue with Freehostia’s 24/7 support and ad-free environment.
7. FreeWebHostingArea.com
Without many of the bells and whistles of the more novice-friendly free hosting plans, Free Web Hosting Area gives the more tech-savvy folks room to explore and experiment.
- Storage: 1.5GB
- Domain: Free subdomain or transfer your own registered domain
- eCommerce: No
- Bandwidth: Unlimited
- Email: No
- Website Builder/Design: No, but 1-click installers are available for forums and blogs
Your free account will never expire so long as your site has at least one visit each month. Free Web Hosting Area guarantees that “small sites” will never have an ad, or you can guarantee no ads for $1 per month.
8. 5GBFree.com
One of the newer free hosting companies on our list, 5GBFree.com focuses on cutting-edge technology and security by recently moving to a top US-based datacenter and using the CloudLinux operating system.
- Storage: 5GB
- Domain: 1 add-on and 1 parked domain
- eCommerce: 1-click installs for Joomla, PHPShop, and ZenCart
- Bandwidth: 20GB
- Email: No
- Website Builder/Design: 1-click WordPress installs; other apps available via cPanel
5GBFree.com stopped advertising on free accounts starting in late 2014. Support is limited to their forums, but you will never be asked to sign a contract for the free hosting plan.
9. Bravenet.com
In addition to a site builder and unlimited storage, the Canadian company is one of the only free web hosters with an email marketing platform.
- Storage: Unlimited
- Domain: Free Bravenet subdomain
- eCommerce: Ecwid shopping cart, product search, and product listings
- Bandwidth: Unlimited
- Email: No
- Website Builder/Design: Free drag-and-drop website builder
Bravenet’s email marketing tool helps you build a contact list and design your messages through templates or customized solutions.
10. WebFreeHosting.net
The eco-conscious hosting team at WebFreeHosting.net guarantees users will never have to pay for hosting if they don’t want to. Their clustered servers are completely powered by wind.
- Storage: 1GB
- Domain: 1 domain and 3 subdomains are included with free hosting
- eCommerce: No
- Bandwidth: 5GB monthly
- Email: 1 free account
- Website Builder/Design: 1-click installs for WordPress or Joomla
With tons of features available at their three paid hosting plans, WebFreeHosting.net keeps costs minimal — even better, there are no forced ads on their free plan.
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