I would like to ask all free hosting providers a very simple but serious question. I am particularly pointing this question to free hosts who give out accounts without being ad supported or without asking for post to host or link backs.
How Do You Do It?
Like, I tried Post For Host in the past. I ended up selling the domain. I tried Link Backs, people were not happy having our "Hosted For Free By DanEthical Services" link on their site. Now we demand ads placements on headers and footers. And with this, we are extremely strict and show genuine zero tolerance.
I see many requests such as:
I want 500 MB of space
5 GB Transfer
cPanel
Fantastico
CGI
MySQL
Etc
No Ads!
No Posts!
And I see replies like:
Hey. Join Us. *provides link*
No Ads and No Posts. Immediate Signup
Like, Let's Be Honest!
So, let's hear the big secrets to your success?
X3r0X May 27th, 2006, 23:44 Either they are extremely generous, or extremely stupid. The biggest plan that I offer is 500mb and 2.5gb and I know whilst it may seem small in comparison to other hosts, its a genuine offer and I guarantee your website will be around for a long time to come.
I cant see the logic in offering no posts and no ads, unless your Clubhostcity or Zoomcities (right people?) whom are just generous, caring people.
Either they are extremely generous, or extremely stupid. The biggest plan that I offer is 500mb and 2.5gb and I know whilst it may seem small in comparison to other hosts, its a genuine offer and I guarantee your website will be around for a long time to come.
I cant see the logic in offering no posts and no ads, unless your Clubhostcity or Zoomcities (right people?) whom are just generous, caring people.
Yeah my guess is they are stupid.
tshark May 28th, 2006, 03:42 The people who do that could be stupid, or just want their name to be heard, so they give away a few of those kind of "no ads and no post required packages". Also, it all matters if the company already owns their dedicated server and has already paid off the year's fees.
The people who do that could be stupid, or just want their name to be heard, so they give away a few of those kind of "no ads and no post required packages". Also, it all matters if the company already owns their dedicated server and has already paid off the year's fees.
I pay for my servers on a yearly basis and would not offer plans like that. What happens at the end of the year when they have to pay for the server again and they suddenly realise, "OMFG! I have no money!"
tshark May 28th, 2006, 03:47 Like I said, im only guessing they give out a few of these kinds of accounts just to get some publicity.
SZS Network May 28th, 2006, 04:02 Some good people are still alive!
Keagle May 28th, 2006, 05:17 But if you give out the hosting as really cheap paid hosting, you're still getting your name heard, and making money.
But if you give out the hosting as really cheap paid hosting, you're still getting your name heard, and making money.
Exactly. And the only way their name will be heard as the free hosts that have no add or post support will be like "Unreliable" or "The Host That Never was" type thing.
Keagle May 28th, 2006, 08:00 Yup, so they still end up with a reputation, but not the one that they wanted!
Richard May 28th, 2006, 08:04 Hosts like that last about a month.
Not sure if you remeber, but about 2 months ago, a gaming site started offering 1GB diskspace and 50GB Bandwidth with no ad's and no posting required. Are they still here now? Nope. Is their site still there? Nope.
It's simple. The do it, thinking they are great, they get 100 people on their server (or reseller...) and then it's time to pay next months bill... Yeah... Ouch... They just give up and fail.
desbest May 28th, 2006, 08:42 They sell the domain and force ads of they pay for an unlimited space and bandwidth reseller.
It has happened before, but if it does
>) The server goes slow
>) They get forced ads which cover the cost.
>) They sell the domain for big money.
>) There's a small file limit.
>) There's an inactivity limit.
>) The servers are funded.
jiehao85 May 28th, 2006, 09:42 I pay for my servers on a yearly basis and would not offer plans like that. What happens at the end of the year when they have to pay for the server again and they suddenly realise, "OMFG! I have no money!"
That's when we see webhosts start collapsing. I have to say that it's pretty much the case now. We see webhosts going down every now and then without any reasons. They just disappear from the face of the Internet. :P
That's when we see webhosts start collapsing. I have to say that it's pretty much the case now. We see webhosts going down every now and then without any reasons. They just disappear from the face of the Internet. :P
The most common reason for them vanashing is the fact that they have no way of paying the monthly or annually costs or whatever.
jiehao85 May 30th, 2006, 09:21 They are usually young webhosts who lacks understanding and common sense. I doubt we are going to see the end of them yet.
Nah they will always be around
Richard June 1st, 2006, 10:15 Check this one out: http://freewebspace.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2165923
1GB space, Umetered bandwidth, Ad-Free, no posting. lol
TpHost June 1st, 2006, 12:38 I'm one of those link providers you mentioned, the secret is in donations, paid services and ad's on our homepage.
Richard June 1st, 2006, 12:40 So I can really come to your host and use 3.3TB bandwidth?
EDIT:
Another host offering unlimited space and unlimited bandwidth with no ads: http://www.freewebspace.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2165934
I'm one of those link providers you mentioned, the secret is in donations, paid services and ad's on our homepage.
That's different and is completely not what I was talking about.
I am talking about hosts that provide free webspace etc without any ads, linkbacks, forums posts etc.
Richard June 1st, 2006, 13:13 That's different and is completely not what I was talking about.
I am talking about hosts that provide free webspace etc without any ads, linkbacks, forums posts etc.
And he offers: 1GB space, Umetered bandwidth that is Ad-Free and requires no posting.
See my point? :P
And he offers: 1GB space, Umetered bandwidth that is Ad-Free and requires no posting.
See my point? :P
Ah right. I see. :D
Ah sher lad, lookit, tis all good. He will also be one of those guys that will wake up one day all confused and frustrated because he can't login to cPanel or WHM and will be wondering he can't or any of his reliable and pleased clients can't. ;)
James June 1st, 2006, 17:57 Strict, no-nonsense approach. The only way for free hosting.
stuffradio June 1st, 2006, 21:39 I would only provide free hosting for the year if I had enough profits to pay for the server for the year and have some money left over. Than I'd be not very strict at all.
Richard June 2nd, 2006, 06:46 The problem is, people start free hosting, thinking the ad's on their site will cover the costs of all the hosting... But the offer a "One-Time" post and get hosting, after a few months, or a month even, they don't have enought to pay for their reseller... And die...
The problem is, people start free hosting, thinking the ad's on their site will cover the costs of all the hosting... But the offer a "One-Time" post and get hosting, after a few months, or a month even, they don't have enought to pay for their reseller... And die...
Exactly.
And then people who ask for hosting for free will complain because they have to display ads etc and when they don't have ads they will complain when their website disapears. It's a no-win situation for providers.
We have now taken it further where people wanting free hosting will not only have to display a header and footer banner ad, but will also have to post 20 non-spam posts on our forums and will also have to post for upgrades. That simple.
XH-SAM June 2nd, 2006, 13:59 Well free hosting can be given out of the kindness of peoples hearts :D. Lets say the manager, or hosting team have non-virtual jobs, whats stopping them from providing a good free service, without posts or ads?
The people who you are on about are just kids, with no jobs, no other sources of income. I think over generalising like that is a bad thing, you give everyone who does that a bad name or reputation whereas they may have the financial backing to provide such a service.
Well free hosting can be given out of the kindness of peoples hearts :D. Lets say the manager, or hosting team have non-virtual jobs, whats stopping them from providing a good free service, without posts or ads?
The people who you are on about are just kids, with no jobs, no other sources of income. I think over generalising like that is a bad thing, you give everyone who does that a bad name or reputation whereas they may have the financial backing to provide such a service.
If they are willing and able to finance it out of their back pockets then fair play to them. I know I can't so it has to be financed somehow.
Richard June 2nd, 2006, 17:53 Well free hosting can be given out of the kindness of peoples hearts :D. Lets say the manager, or hosting team have non-virtual jobs, whats stopping them from providing a good free service, without posts or ads?
The people who you are on about are just kids, with no jobs, no other sources of income. I think over generalising like that is a bad thing, you give everyone who does that a bad name or reputation whereas they may have the financial backing to provide such a service.
It's a shame not many do tho. If you have another job, your customer will complain that you dont give that much support...
People expect a lot from free hosting... More that should be given... But it's people that offer 30GB bandwidth for 10 forum posts that piss me off, how can they still support that client after a month? Simply, they can't.
They are the host that stay around for less than a month. And 90% of free hosts last only a month or less, and 50% of them 10% that do last more than a month only last more than 3 months.
PaulP June 2nd, 2006, 18:52 They are the host that stay around for less than a month. And 90% of free hosts last only a month or less, and 50% of them 10% that do last more than a month only last more than 3 months.
Then I am happy that I am an exception to this. Another 2 weeks and I am running really FREE webhosting for 1 year already.
No ads, no posts, but they have to respect the terms and conditions, and I do not advertise with bandwith at all, that is simply on "shared" basis.
However I do deliver up to 2GB of webspace since that should NEVER ever be a problem anymore these days. The users that I have are not very demanding, eighter they accept what I provide or they have to search for something else, but it turns out that they like the features and support that I give them.
I do have a fulltime job and as long as that is the case my webhosting will stay...
Support ??? Plenty !! How come ??? I work from home !
The key to success is good communication towards your users, keep them informed is the best thing to do !
Kind regards,
PaulP.
(Making a user happy is easy, keeping him happy is the real challenge)
Chris L. June 2nd, 2006, 20:02 Then I am happy that I am an exception to this. Another 2 weeks and I am running really FREE webhosting for 1 year already.
No ads, no posts, but they have to respect the terms and conditions, and I do not advertise with bandwith at all, that is simply on "shared" basis.
However I do deliver up to 2GB of webspace since that should NEVER ever be a problem anymore these days. The users that I have are not very demanding, eighter they accept what I provide or they have to search for something else, but it turns out that they like the features and support that I give them.
I do have a fulltime job and as long as that is the case my webhosting will stay...
Support ??? Plenty !! How come ??? I work from home !
The key to success is good communication towards your users, keep them informed is the best thing to do !
Kind regards,
PaulP.
(Making a user happy is easy, keeping him happy is the real challenge)
This is the exact thing that I do, except I am only 16 with a part time job (My parrents are the legal owners). My hosting company has been around for more than one year. It was started off of "Lunch Money" before I got a job a month later (I got hungry). I offer support from home and school (in computer class (max of 4 hours support wait time). I also have a friend on the East Coast who offers support for me. I just now started requireing ads. My work (a computer place) is now paying me to put there ads on my free sites:)
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