Taking advantage of the services that free web hosts provide can help you get your site up and running with little time and no money. Additionally, these providers allow you the opportunity to learn more about coding and what makes a web site work before you decide to invest in your own domain. It is important to note, however, that not all of these providers are equal. Each one has its list of pros and cons. Some are geared more to novices and don't allow much, if any, custom code. Others allow you more freedom in deciding how you want to present your site. The following reviews are designed to give you an idea of which provider will be best for you.
If you know nothing about html and don't want to learn, Google Pages is a great place to start. Creating a web site here is as easy as using a word processor. Once your site is created it will be housed under the easily-remembered domain http://yoursitename.googlepages.com. Another perk is that your web site will be ad-free unless you choose to create ad links of your own. The ease of use offered by Google Pages does have a few drawbacks. There are very few templates to choose from and it is almost impossible to customize the style and feel of your site. So, while not needing to know any html is attractive at first, it can be frustrating later when you find that you would like to make some minor changes but are unable to do so. All in all, though, this is not a bad place to begin your foray into the internet world. You can easily move on to another host when you have outgrown this one.
Unlike its Google counterpart, the free web sites on Geocities are supported by advertisements. This means that Yahoo! ads will appear on your web site here unless you upgrade to a paid account. However, Geocities offers much, much more in terms of being able to customize your site. There are numerous templates that you can pick and choose from if you don't have the skill or the time to build something from scratch. Yet, if you do want to build your site from the bottom up, you may do so using Yahoo! PageBuilder or by uploading your own files directly to the server. This makes Geocities a great place to experiment with your own designs and really let your creativity shine.
If your web site is more business-oriented, then you many want to try the new Microsoft Office Live. Although it is a bit more complex to set up a site here, you will have complete control over how your site is created and maintained. Like Geocities, you can choose to use a pre-existing template or create your own. There are no advertisements, and you can even choose to create your own domain name free of charge for the first year. Microsoft also supplies utilities to help you build a storefront, manage email accounts, and promote your business.
