• Products and Solutions
    • I.T. Support
    Partek 360 Managed I.T. Services
    Help Desk
    Projects and Consulting
    • Infrastructure
    Servers & Networking
    Business Continuity
    Business VOIP Solutions
    Wifi
    Managed Print Solutions
    • Cyber Security
    Ransomware Protection
    Managed Threat Response
    Email Security
    Endpoint Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • Cloud Solutions
    Microsoft 365
    SharePoint
    Private and Managed Cloud
    • Web
    Website Development
    Website Management
    Hosting and Security
    Email Marketing
  • Company
    We’re always up for a chat!
    Get in Touch
    • About us
    Meet the Team
    Careers
    Contact Us
    • Stories
    • Case Studies
    • Client Success Stories
    • Website Portfolio
    • Blog
    Latest Articles

    Topics

    • Cloud
    • Cyber Security
    • Email
    • Information Technology
    • Website Design
    • Wifi
    • Recent News
    How to detect a phishing email?
    24Jun

    How to detect a phishing email?

    Are your staff your biggest security risk?
    09Jun

    Are your staff your biggest security risk?

  • Contact
Support

Why Free Websites Are Bad News

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Website Design
  • Why Free Websites Are Bad News
User Education to Protect Your Network
July 22, 2017
Cyber Security Awareness Month
October 18, 2017
August 13, 2017
Categories
  • Website Design
Tags

Most people starting a new business, or building a website for the first time (where have you been?), typically want to keep the cost low, which is understandable. So you typically Google the term “free website” and up pops a host of companies offering free websites. The thought of having free web hosting and building your site without paying anything is tempting.
Until you get a reality check. Once you sign up to these so-called “free website services”, you slowly start discovering the limitations and many of them turn out to be not free at all.

If you’re thinking about getting a free website, take a moment and read the below list of 5 reasons why free websites are almost always a bad idea.

1. Really slow website
Most free website providers host hundreds of websites on the same server.  Sharing your site with others can make your website load at very low speeds. Slow websites create a bad user experience and can harm your search engine ranking: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2010/04/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html

2. Unprofessional web address
Having a website address like mybusiness.freewebsites.com does not look professional at all. Visitors to your website and potential customers aren’t going to take your website seriously, and your business for that matter, when you don’t even have a proper domain name. You can ask these companies for a custom domain, but you usually have to pay a monthly fee to upgrade to a  premium plan. Compare that to paying ~$10 a year for a domain name.

3. Unrelated ads on your website
Most free website services are supported by advertisements. You create the content and build your website, but they get paid for the ads that appear on your site. Often these ads are distracting, intrusive, and look ugly. The worst part is, sometimes your savvy competitors can then pay these free website hosting companies to advertise on your website. Talk about sabotaging your business.

4. They own your data
Many people who start with a free website and then want to move to a paid service, find it impossible to move their data. Free website providers do not offer any tools to easily migrate your site. The result is you end up paying your new web design firm to manually export your content, which can quickly increase your bill.

5. Limited design options
Unlike a custom designed website from a design firm, the free website builders utilize pre-packaged templates that are extremely limiting. You end up with a canned looking website that doesn’t match your brand, and looks unprofessional.

So what do you do? Take a moment and figure out the value of your website. If you want to attract customers and appear legitimate, it’s probably worth investing in your web presence. Talk to us about our custom website design. The cost might be lower than you think, and the end product will certainly provide more value in the long run.

Share

Related posts

March 9, 2022

Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?!


Read more
February 14, 2022

Why every business should own a domain name


Read more
September 26, 2021

Always bet on the Home Team.


Read more
January 18, 2020

Rooted in Freshness.


Read more

[email protected]
[email protected]

Medicine Hat

202 – 132 4th Ave SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta
T1A 8B5
(403) 488-3333

Swift Current

101 – 140 2 Avenue NW
Swift Current, Saskatchewan
S9H 0P2
(306) 437-0803

Get the latest from Partek

Email updates on the latest tech, cyber-security advice, best business practices, and Partek news.

  • Open a Support Request
  • Remote Support Portal
  • Make a Payment
  • Partek Client Portal
  • Careers
© 2022 Partek I.T. Solutions | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy