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features.gif (2700 bytes) Free Web Hosting  by Robert Viers

Have you been thinking about creating a web page for yourself, a friend, or a company? Maybe you've even been thinking about starting your own web design business. Creating web pages can be tons of fun and very profitable. The process to create an entire website is simpler than you may expect.

In order to create web pages, you must first learn how to create HTML documents. These documents contain the actual code that makes up the the viewed web page. Then, you must upload your HTML documents to a WWW server. Usually, access to a WWW server is gained through a web hosting company. Fortunately, there are many companies that offer free web hosting. These companies are able to offer their services free of charge by displaying pop-up ads at your website. Most or all of the revenue brought in by these hosting companies is money paid by advertisers.

What does this mean to you? Every time somebody views your web page, they'll also view a pop up window that displays a sponsor's ad. Most hosting companies are pretty strict about the type of advertisements they'll allow to be displayed. For the most part, you won't have to worry about ads being displayed with profanity, controversial issues, pornography, and the like.

I've searched the web extensively in order to provide you with the best free web hosting companies available. The results of my search are listed below:

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1) Net Firms

Net Firms offers free web hosting for business and personal sites. They allocate 25 MB of server space for you, and fully support CGI scripting and FrontPage extensions. Net Firms uniquely displays an ad at the top of each of your web pages, rather than using pop-up ads or frames. Net Firms uses OC-3 lines to connect to the Internet, and claim that their servers are extremely fast and reliable, with a 99% uptime. Ad-free hosting can be purchased from Net Firms for only $5/month.

Click here for terms of service.


2) Hypermart

Hypermart offers free web hosting for business websites. They give 10 MB of free server space, and offer full CGI support and full support for FrontPage extensions. Ad-free hosting can be purchased for $8.25/month, and you can purchase an additional 10 MB of disk space for $5/month. Hypermart also has e-commerce packages available for additional fees. I've found Hypermart's servers to be fast and extremely reliable.

Click here for terms of service.


3) BizLand

Bizland offers free web hosting for business sites. They allocate 35 MB of server space for you and will host an unlimited number of domain names for individuals. Other features include free search engine registration, real-time site visitor statistics, and full support for FrontPage extensions. BizLand boasts about their 99% uptime, and their servers seem to respond to requests fairly quickly. For $30/month, Bizland will give you an additional 35 MB of server space, disable all pop-up ads, and allocate 5 POP e-mail accounts for you.

Click here for terms of service.


4) Xoom

Xoom offers free web hosting for business and personal sites. They allow you to use an unlimited amount of server space. Xoom offers use of their 'Easy Page Builder' program for HTML beginners and free clipart to all Xoom members. Ads are displayed in a frame above your web page, rather than in annoying pop-up windows. Xoom's servers aren't the quickest and most reliable I've found, but who's to complain with a free service? Premium web hosting with CGI support, FrontPage support, and other advanced features can be purchased from Xoom's affiliate company, ICom (http://www.icom.com/), for $8.25/month.

Click here for terms of service.


5) Free-Host

Free-Host offers free web hosting for business and personal sites. They offer 10 MB of server space to you at no charge. A banner ad is placed at the bottom of each of your web pages, rather than pop-up ads or frames being displayed. Free-Host offers a free guestbook and message board to every member. It's unclear if Free-Host supports CGI scripts or FrontPage extensions, and it seems that no 'premium' services, such as ad-free hosting, are available.

Click here for terms of service.


Now you know the truth... you don't need to spend your hard-earned cash to have a company host your website.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get that web page of yours online today! 

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