Free WordPress Hosting: How to Choose a Free Hosting Provider?
If you’re looking for a free WordPress hosting provider, where do you start? It’s a common question and a frequent topic of discussion on social media. There are a variety of options to choose from, each one boasting unique features and upside. Before you make the switch, it’s important to consider the various pros and cons of each plan.
What Is Free WordPress Hosting?
If you’ve been following the news in the tech industry, you might have heard of WordPress hosting growing in popularity. WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that’s used to create websites. It was originally created in 2007 as a blogging platform and later evolved to become a full-blown CMS. It’s user-friendly and flexible which makes it ideal for beginners. Additionally, the content is easily accessible via a web browser no matter what device you’re using.
WordPress is free to download and use, as long as you comply with the license terms. To keep things simple, WordPress offers two different types of plans, the basic and the premium one. The free version has a trial period of 30 days where you can use the service without any restrictions. After that, you’ll have to choose either the basic or premium plan.
Which One Should You Get?
If you’re looking to grow your business or want to keep up with the latest news, you should opt for the premium version of WordPress. It comes with additional features like a free domain, free backups, and free website scaling. The basic version still offers all the features mentioned above but lacks some security features that the premium version provides. Additionally, you’ll have to choose a specific plan when you sign up (1GB or 2GB RAM, for example).
Despite its limitations, the free version of WordPress is a great choice for bloggers and content creators who want to try out the platform. It’s fully functional, so you won’t have any problems using it to create a blog or website. Plus, you’ll have all the security features you need to keep your content safe and private.
Why Are Blogging Platforms Popular?
While WordPress grew in popularity because of its simplicity and ease of use, other platforms like Blogger and Medium also gained a significant following because of their convenience for bloggers and content creators.
Blogging platforms allow you to create and manage multiple blogs from a single dashboard. This makes it much simpler to keep up with your blog content since you don’t need to check off a box each time you want to post something new. If you have a specific theme or layout in mind, you can also find tutorials to help you build the perfect blog.
The Pros And Cons Of Each Version
Each version of WordPress comes with its perks and quirks. Let’s take a closer look at some of the advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
- Premium Version: All the features you’d expect from a premium version, including automated backups, which help you save time. Additionally, you get free domain privacy, free automated spam detection, and free HTTPS connections.
- Basic Version: All the features you’d expect from a basic version, including free domain privacy, free automated spam detection, and free HTTP connections.
- Pros: Easy to use and understand. The WordPress community is open and available for help. Developed by a team with nearly 20 years of experience in web development. Widely supported across all platforms (web, mobile, and desktop).
- Cons: Limited storage space. For a professional blog or a business website, the 1GB or 2GB RAM plan might be too limiting. If you want to use certain plugins (ad blocks, for example) or want to store large media files (like images or videos), then you might need more space. Additionally, if you’re on a shared hosting plan, then the amount of space you have might be limited. In that case, you can increase the storage space by paying a little bit extra. Finally, the free version doesn’t offer all the security features the premium version provides. So, if you’re looking for a fully-fledged blogging platform, then the premium version is your best bet.
In case you’d like to run a test drive of either version before committing to a purchase, you can use their respective trial versions. Simply search for the website name you’d like to try out in the WordPress.com website and click on the link to visit their front page. From there, you can click on the Try WordPress button to launch the free version. Alternatively, click on the Get Started button to launch the premium version. Once you’ve launched the trial version of either WordPress, you can click on the Upgrade button to make the necessary changes to your account before continuing to the full version. Just remember to cancel the upgrade once you’re back on their front page.