Free Hosting

With A Lil' Effort

Finding a host for your project may not be so hard as it would seem at first glance. Finding it for free may be another question--but that is the objective. If your need is for a host for a commercial venture, most probably you will end up paying for the service*. However, if your project is educational, entertaining, or personal, it is likely that you will find a free home for it if you are willing to put out a little effort.

Below are some suggestions:
  1. You may already be entitled to server space through the service provider you are now using. Many Internet Service Providers include hosting a small number of documents for you in your basic monthly fee. Ask them. Even if it is not included, competition is fierce in the business--especially in major markets. They may be willing to make you a deal in order to keep your account.

  2. If your employers have Internet access you may be able to use one of their machines. (If they don't yet have a web server, volunteer to become the webmaster and make them famous!)

  3. Many educational institutions will allow you to use their server at no cost if you have some affiliation with them (student, alumnus, docent, contributor, etc.) and your proposed project is in harmony with their goals. High quality local content is a valuable commodity in the academic web-world.

  4. The same goes for local government and non-profit organizations' servers.

  5. Keep an eye on usenet groups in the "comp.infosystems.www." series. Often there are cheap or even free offers of server time posted. Some are "limited-time-only" offers, or start-ups trying to build some content to show off, but they may be just what you need.

  6. If you end up buying space, shop around. If you are happy with your current provider but for some reason can't arrange host service from them, buy it from someone else. You don't need to do all your business with them just to use their server. Check out prices in Montana or Mexico City for web service. You can administer it via the Internet using ftp just as easily as if it were next door. Remember, "prices may vary."

* (For a commercial venture, consider trading advertising space. Find an existing advertiser with his own underloaded server and offer to link his advertising to your pages if he provides the server space for both of you. He then gets exposure to people looking at your pages and you get a host.)