In the current era of digitization, there has been an explosive growth of the number of websites by almost 1/3 in 2013 alone and as of now, the approximate number of websites on the internet/web is 2 billion websites. The growth is said to be at 252,000 websites being developed every day.
Now you should be wondering how much money is being earned by companies that provide web hosting services for example IONOS charges starting from USD 4.5 per month, HostGator from USD 2.64, BlueHost, Hostinger, and many more.
Even though the above companies do charge for web hosting, many more sites provide free web hosting services, “You don’t have to pay a coin in 2024 for Web Hosting Services”.
In this article, we shall explore and analyze these various sites and by the end of your reading, you will have at least one as your choice for Web Hosting.
But before we get into the most important part, someone could be wondering what Web Hosting is, how it works, and why even hosts websites, let’s dive into the basics of Web Hosting for you first.
What is Web Hosting?
According to Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s leading cloud computing arm of Amazon Inc., Web Hosting is a service that stores your website or web application and makes it easily accessible across different devices such as desktops, mobile, and tablets.
As an individual or organization, you will need to host your website so that it can be accessed by other individuals or organizations on the internet as it has a good number of advantages as we shall see in the coming sections.
How Web Hosting works
A website or web application is made of many files, such as images, audio, videos, text, and code that need to be stored on special computers called servers. The web hosting service provider provides these servers physically and they need to be rented to store all the above media files.
Below is an image sourced from Hostinger showing how Web Hosting works.
Image source: Hostinger
There are many types of Web Hosting but the main ones include Shared Hosting, Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting, Cloud Hosting, Wordpress Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, etc.
The choice of the type of Hosting in most cases is dependent on the traffic you expect to have on your website but I do advise that one should always start with the less complex types until when traffic surges then turn to the recommended or better type that can handle the given traffic.
Why do you need to host your Website?
There are several reasons why you as an individual or your organization should host their websites. Some of the most important reasons are discussed below:
Improved site performance. When it comes to benefiting from the web it is of great importance to know that the site performance is a major influencing factor. Sites that take forever to load are very annoying and once you get a visitor once, I am very sure he will never return. So to overcome this problem, you will have to host your websites with the best service providers to have a higher website loading speed.
Outstanding Technical Support. Imagine your website going offline at a time when many users are actively on it, the feeling at this time is related to how you would feel when music is suddenly turned off when you are at a disco dance, or party. Hosting your website with good service providers enables you now to handle other important things and leave the issue of your site’s reliability and customer service to the host.
Data storage services. How would your data be accessed if there were no physical servers of the host, well knowing it’s expensive for a single individual to maintain such servers, it is thus advisable to host your sites with companies that offer these services hence your data can easily be accessed by your clients on the web. As well in cases of sudden shutting down, data stored on servers never gets lost.
Improved web security. Web hosting companies usually provide high-end security systems to ensure that your data is ever safe from hackers and unauthorized users. Thus your website is at least secured from unnecessary hacks and data loss.
Domain-associated email address. In case you love to look professional, you will need a branded email address that uses your domain name i.e. if your domain is “yourdomain.com”, you can be given an email address like “ajika@yourdomain.com”. Obtaining such branded emails is only possible when you host your sites with good service providers.
Top 10 Free Web Hosting Sites for 2024 Analyzed below
In case you are a Website developer, Project manager, Engineering Team Lead, or anyone who would love to host websites for free in 2024, this is the right section of the article for you. As from the above section, we have looked at all the advantages of why you would need to host your site, those advantages not only apply to paid services but also do apply to these free service providers as we shall see from each of them below;
Netlify is a platform that offers Netlify Connect, a data unification layer allowing web teams to create websites, online stores, and applications using data from various sources.
The features provided by Netllify include rollbacks, Continuous Integration/Continuous delivery (CI/CD), edge functions, and collaborative deploy reviews. It also simplifies the process of shipping e-commerce sites with features such as easy project setup.
It is a very common web hosting service among Frontend Website Engineers. It is unique in that it provides in-built authentication functionality, in-built form handling, supports very many, over 30, web-fronted frameworks, supports serverless functions, etc.
This is a free cloud hosting service specifically designed for modern web development workflows, focusing on static site deployment and serverless functions. Some of the key features provided by Vercel include Serverless architecture, leveraging a global Content Delivery Network(CDN) and edge network provided by cloud services like AWS, seamless integration with git repositories thus enabling deployment directly from a repository, continuous deployment, and so on.
This is a free web hosting service provided by GitHub that allows users to host static websites directly from their GitHub repositories. Users can create a website by publishing static HTML, Javascript, and CSS files from their Github repos. The process involves creating a GitHub account, setting up a repository, configuring Github pages in the repos settings, and accessing the hosted website through a provided URL. This web hosting service provider is ideal for showcasing portfolios, blogs, or simple websites. It offers an easy-to-use platform for hosting websites without the need for complex server setups or configurations.
This is a free web hosting service provider related to Github pages in how it operates. The free tier includes features like TLS certificates, a global CDN, private networks, and auto deploys from Git. However, there are limitations on this tier such as free instance types for web services, PostgreSQL databases, and Redis instances which are designed to help users test out technologies, work on hobby projects, or preview Render’s developer experience. The free web services support many features available to paid instance types but they have limitations.
Surge is a free web hosting platform that specializes in hosting static websites. It offers a simple command line interface for deploying websites, providing custom domains, HTTPS support, and a straightforward hosting platform without unnecessary features. It allows users to deploy static websites from the command line in minutes, offering subdomains on surge.hs or the option to use custom domains. The deployment process is simplified, making it easy to host personal projects or hobby websites hassle-free. Surge provides features like free SSL certificates and automatic scaling, enabling users to bring their ideas to life quickly and efficiently.
Firebase Hosting is a service provided by Google that offers fast and secure hosting for web apps, static and dynamic content, and microservices. It is a production-grade web content hosting platform that allows developers to quickly deploy web apps and serve both static and dynamic content globally through a Content Delivery Network (CDN). Firebase Hosting includes features like serving content over a secure connection with built-in SSL, support for hosting static and dynamic content as well as microservices, fast content delivery through caching on SSDs at CDN edges worldwide, and the ability to emulate changes before going live. Developers can deploy new versions with a single command using the Firebase CLI, easily manage their projects, and benefit from lightweight hosting configuration options for building sophisticated Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Firebase Hosting also supports domain management, custom domains, SSL certificates, auto-provisioned CDN for fast access globally, and effective scalability backed by Google Cloud infrastructure. The service is designed to cater to modern web developers by providing the necessary infrastructure, features, and tooling for deploying and managing websites and apps efficiently.
This is a free web hosting service that offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth. It supports PHP and MySQL, making it suitable for hosting WordPress websites. Users can create a subdomain for free or use their domain name. The service includes a Soft automatic script installer to install applications like WordPress with a few clicks. InfinityFree does not display ads on users' websites and is ad-free in the control panel. However, it does not provide email accounts and has limited support options.
InfinityFree is suitable for personal websites, blogs, or testing purposes but may not be suitable for serious projects or high-traffic websites
AWS Amplify Hosting offers a free tier for 12 months, which includes full-stack CI/CD workflows, pull request previews, custom domains with free SSL certificates, monitoring, redirects, custom headers, and password protection. This free tier allows users to host static websites and web apps securely, reliably, and quickly without requiring cloud expertise.
Cloudflare Pages is a JAMstack platform that offers free web hosting for front-end developers to collaborate and deploy websites. It provides features like effortless Git integration, advanced collaboration with unlimited seats, unmatched performance on Cloudflare's edge network, and dynamic functionality through integration with Cloudflare Workers. The service supports automated deployments through Git integration, making it easy to build and deploy websites quickly. Cloudflare Pages offers a generous free plan for users, allowing them to host static websites and web applications without cost for a specified period. Additionally, it provides features like free web analytics, real-time insight into website performance, and seamless collaboration within development teams
This is a free web hosting service that offers a range of features for users looking to host websites without incurring costs. Here are some key aspects of 000WebHost's free hosting service:
Control Panel: 000WebHost provides a custom control panel with essential tools like a one-click WordPress installer and free domain parking for a user-friendly experience.
Uptime and Speed: The platform boasts a 99% uptime guarantee and optimized servers for fast loading speeds, ensuring that websites remain accessible and responsive.
Latest Technologies: 000WebHost regularly updates its platform with the latest versions of PHP and MySQL to provide a safe, reliable, and quick hosting environment for users worldwide.
Free Domain Hosting: Users can host their domains for free with features like international domain support, nameservers, FTP addresses, and mail server addresses.
Features: The free hosting plan includes 300 MB disk space, 3000 MB bandwidth, support for one website, a control panel, PHP support, MySQL databases, free website builder, WordPress auto-installer, FTP support, web file manager, instant backups, and more.
Overall, 000WebHost's free hosting service is suitable for beginners, small projects, or individuals looking to establish an online presence without incurring hosting fees. It offers a range of features to help users get started with their websites effectively and efficiently
How to choose the best Hosting service provider.
Wow!
Congratulations mate for coming this far with me!
From the previous section, you must have noticed that most of the free hosting services offer 2 kinds of services, one is free and the other is paid. The free services have some limitations and only work for small projects. Now in the case of hosting websites for large organizations with much data, some investment has to be made to get the best for your organization.
You can use these same service providers or go on and use some of the few that I mentioned in the introductory section of the article.
We have come to the end of this article and in case you know of any other free web hosting service provider, you can add in the comments, thanks.
Resources
How many websites are there - Siteefy