Free Or Not Free -- Its Your Choice

The internet is one of the world's top sources of information, products and just about anything else you could possibly want. And, if you have spent any amount of time online, you must have noticed that much of it is free.

Many home business entrepreneurs get their start online using some of these free resources. In fact, some of them use freebees almost exclusively.

So, just what are these valuable assets that attract so many home business newbies? Here are just a few:

1. Email - one can get free email accounts just about anywhere (MSN Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Google GMail, Lycos) plus tons of others. Actually, free email accounts can be very useful, but that's another article.

2. Autoresponders - there are many free autoresponders (getresponse, and freeautobot, just to name a few). Some are better than others but they are a useful tool.

3. EBooks - You can get free ebooks just about anywhere. These can prove very valuable as giveaways to get people to do some sort of action,like join your mailing list.

4. Web Space - Free web space abounds throughout the internet. Most likely, the ISP you signed up with offers web space for free for you to put up your own personal web site. You can also get free space at places like Yahoo Geocities, Tripod, Bravenet, plus tons of others.

And the list goes on. However, today I would like to talk about Web Space. Free Or Not Free, It's Your Choice.

Many home business entrepreneurs, when first starting out, want to keep expenses to a minimum (I did this myself). Therefore, just after we join one or two affiliate programs and find out that we can't get the affiliate web page into the search engines (because there are probably 5 million affiliates with exactly the same page) we want to build our own site.

Having your own web site is probably one of the most important steps you can take to get your home business off to a fast start. Taking the time to find a good web host should be equally as important.

Read that last line again.

Why do I say that? Just think about this.

You have just spent the past two months learning html or how to use a program like FontPage to build your web site. You've been writing your web pages, putting in images and links to your affiliate web page and maybe even have made a few forms to get people to sign up for your own newsletter.

All is well and good so far, because it's still on your computer.

So now you go to find a place that will 'host' your site. And, being the money conscious person that you are, you look for some place free. Your internet service provider will give you probably 5 megs of space but will only let you put up a personal site.

So you decide to give another place a try. Bingo, you've found lots of places that will let you have space on their servers for free as long as they can put a banner ad on your web pages. A small price to pay you say and go ahead and sign up.

Great, now you have your own web site up and running, it's a little slow loading because of the banner ad but you decide that is OK. Now, in order to get your site closer to the top of your category in the search engines you decide to start doing link exchanges. Very good, it shows you have been doing your homework.

Now it's 4 or 5 months later and your site is on page 5 of the search results, people are joining your downline and signing up for your newsletter. What a wonderful thing this internet is.

One day you decide to log into your hosting account and change a few things on your site. But, what's up, you can't log in. You then decide to go to the search engine and type in the url of your site. Nothing! Error, the page you are looking for is not available!!!

Just like that, it's all gone. All your hard work, your only means of getting affiliate signups and newsletter opt-ins has disappeared. What's up you ask your web host and they tell you that they have changed their policy and no longer offer free web space. You're back to square one.

Think it can't happen? Think again. It happened to me.

That's right, all my web pages, articles, newsletter archives, classified ads, everything gone. And, to make things worse, I have been making changes to the site at the control panel of the web host and therefore didn't even have a recent copy of most of the pages on my computer. We live and learn!

Had I known all along how inexpensive it is to get good web hosting service I would never have gone the free route. To make a long story short, for less than $5.00 per month you can get excellent web hosting services.

I won't make that mistake again, will you?

Randy Justason

Randy Justason is the Owner/Webmaster of MLM Wonders - http://www.mlmwonders.com - A website dedicated to opportunities, ideas and resources for starting a home based business on the internet. Subscribe to the MLM Wonders Newsletter at: subscribe@mlmwonders.com

---

Steps to Becoming a Web Host Reseller

You've decided to get a reseller web hosting account to... Read More

Unique Features that Leading Web Hosts are Now Offering

Some web hosts are offering more than others for the... Read More

Cheap Internet Hosting, Business Web Hosting - Choosing The Right Web Host Package

With literally hundreds of web hosting providers competing for your... Read More

Top 10 Web Hosting Blunders and How to Avoid Them

Consider the following web hosting blunders and do not allow... Read More

A Simple Guide to Web Hosting

Personal Computers, Servers Or ISP?You need a server to host... Read More

What You Should Know About Your Web Host

Yesterday I received a nice email in my inbox, I... Read More

Solving Common Problems with Hosting Companies

For those of you with Web sites, you probably know... Read More

What is a Web Host Reseller Account?

A web host reseller account is a web hosting account... Read More

Choosing Your Web Hosting Package

General rule of thumb is not to sign up for... Read More

Web Hosting Service ? What you Need to Know to Change Web Hosting Providers

When service at your web hosting company is lacking, or... Read More

How to Find Good Web Hosting for Your Site!

When building your first site the main things that you... Read More

Cheap Web Hosting, What To Look For And What To Stay Away From

"Bargains for sale, Unlimited Hosting for only a Dollar.""Get your... Read More

Linux vs. Windows Web Hosting, Does It Make A Difference?

One of the most confusing decisions someone new to web... Read More

Finding a Home for Your Internet Enterprise - A Point by Point List

After much Net surfing and looking at all the offers... Read More

Business Web Hosting: Which is Right for You?

Business web hosting is what you need. You have a... Read More

Choosing a Right Hosting Solution

You must have done all the hard works for developing... Read More

Budget Web Hosting - Are They All Created Equal?

Choosing a budget web hosting company can be overwhelming. In... Read More

Cheap Web Hosting Package? eCommerce Web Hosting? - Choosing A Web Hosting Provider

One of the important decisions you'll make when you decide... Read More

Web Hosting and Development

If you've ever browsed the World Wide Web and wondered... Read More

Criteria of Choosing an Ideal Web Hosting Company

Before we talk about what it takes to... Read More

Web Hosting - Choose Affordable, Cheap Web Hosting

The Basics:Web hosting offers you the opportunity to put your... Read More

Attracting Extra Web Hosting Customers By Targeting Cities, i.e. New York Web Hosting

These searchers are looking for a hosting company in a... Read More

Configuring DynDNS.org in Linux via DDClient

Most Internet service providers do not give you static IP... Read More

Top 6 Ways to Promote Your Web Hosting Business Part 1

Promoting a new company in the crowded industry of web... Read More

Multiple Website Hosting - Subdomains are the Answer!

Many business owners find themselves in a quandary over the... Read More

Effectiveness of Web Hosting Directories (WHDs)

John is very happy today, for the first time in... Read More

How to Choose a Web Hosting Company?

Nowadays, anybody can afford to order a feature-packed web hosting... Read More

Web Design and Hosting - Free Web Hosting Perks That Will Perk Up Your Web Site

If you've got or are considering a web hosting account... Read More

Web Hosting Data Transfer: How Much Is Too Much?

Bandwidth in its simplest terms refers to the amount of... Read More

The 2 Sides of Reseller Web Hosting

In the first case the customer is really looking for... Read More

Beware of the Hidden Perils of Low Cost Hosting

Some folks classify low cost web hosting on the same... Read More

How to Know When It is Time for Your Website to Move On to Dedicated Servers

Knowing when it is time to move onto a dedicated... Read More

Reseller Hosting Explained

Reseller Defined:The term Reseller according to the dictionary means to... Read More