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Guest post by: David Hurley Become an Author

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For anybody thinking about setting up a free website there are a number of factors to take into consideration.

For starters, it is important to note that there are several free providers and it is advisable to choose one that matches up to your needs rather than go for the first one that you come across.

The next step is finding a domain name that will meet your needs, and in this case it is important to consider your options carefully.

By choosing a name that is easy to locate using search engines, it also becomes comparatively easy for other people to find it - and to find your website. You will have to pay about $10 a year to own such a domain if it is one that has not been created by anyone before.

While there are free website services that offer "free domains" all you will probably end up with is a free sub-domain. It is important to understand the difference between a domain name and a sub-domain name. A domain name might look something like this:

thisismybusinesswebsite.com

A sub-domain will include your choice of name at the beginning then a "dot" and then the name of your free hosting provider:

thisismybusinesswebsite.myfreewebsite.com

That's fine if you are running a personal or hobby site and have no big ambitions for it, but if you are planning to run any kind of business then using a free sub-domain will not give your website the professional look that it needs if it is to convince potential customers that you are a serious and genuine business.

In addition to this, it is also advisable to research the features that free website providers offer to ensure that the product works in your favor. Some of the most important ones include web space, bandwidth, the control panel capabilities, and the number of extra features you are allowed to use such as photo galleries, video, interactive features, file types and so on.

After researching the pros and cons of a range of free websites you could well find that a free website is really a false economy as far as your business or personal aims for your online presence is concerned. Free websites may sound attractive at the outset, especially for cash-strapped small business start-ups, but the limitations that free websites place on your activities, plus the lack of control you have over the web site (because you are not the owner) means that free websites are not for everybody.

By following through with these steps it should be easier to decide whether or not a free website is for you. If it is - great! You will have an excellent resource on your hands for zero cost. But, if it is not for you, there are plenty of low cost, reliable web hosts out there for you to set up a powerful website of your on a shoestring budget.

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