Is free web hosting really free?

We could be debating and writting about this for hours, but instead we decided to take another approach and get straight to the facts.

Free hosting is not free! At least not in the form in which it exists on the internet today. There, I said it. We have yet to find a free host that is a real charity and as strange as it might sound, run away as fast as possible from hosts that seem to be completely free (charity-like), especially if you want to host anything you intend to devote your time to. Like anything else, a host must have funding in order to stand on solid fundations! Ask them how do they cover or plan to cover their costs. Is there a foundation behind that host? It's highly unlikely, but hope dies last...

Why are we so sur ethere is no such thing as free hosting? Here's why: All hosts have to pay for the servers, bandwidth and staff. If they don't have a good plan to cover the costs, the future for them is dark and services will soon degrade due to under funding.

The best option if you don't want to spend money for hosting is to barter for it with a respected, serious, honest web host. But don't ever trick yourself into thinking that you're getting something for nothing, just because you are not paying straight from your wallet. Ads are a form of payment so you are payin'. :-)

Web hosting today is much cheaper than it used to be. You also get tons and tons of options with the plans these days, so $5-$10 per month for even budget hosting is money well spent. Don't be cheap when it comes to hosting... don't.