Should you use free webhosting?

Simple. No.

Let's get one thing straight, you absolutely can not run a business web site using a free web page such as those offered by Angelfire, Tripod, GeoCities, HyperMart, Homestead, FreeYellow, etc. No matter what you may think, it just isn't going to work. As they say, you get what you pay for.

There is no bigger turnoff than visiting a web site that is hosted on an obviously overloaded web server. We won't mention any names, but a few of the free services are just terrible. Your web site is the most important asset you have, and it must give a good first impression.

Besides, nothing is really free anyway. When you get "free" web space you are normally required to show the hosting company's banners and advertisements in prime locations on your web site. This is absolutely insane if you really think about it from a business standpoint. And potentially embarrassing. Consider this: one church we know tried to host their website with one of those free hosting services. Imagine their horror when they found out that website visitors were getting treated to an 'mens adult magazine' offering a trial subscription, via a banner ad!

These days you can find a good web hosting company that will provide what you need for as little as $10 a month. Let's be real, if you aren't willing to spend $10 a month on a good web host how serious can you be? Many good prospects are immediately turned off by this blunder.

And while we're on the subject of web hosting, be sure to get your own domain name. Again, if you aren't willing to spend $70 to claim your stake on the web ... what are your potential customers going to think? This obviously also applies to using an email address that has the obvious ISP provider name at the end, like AOL, CompuServe, or AT&T WorldNet. If you hand a prospective business customer your business card with an email address of myname@aol.com, you better believe that you are creating the absolute worst impression in their minds. They will think you are not seriously in business. Besides, a URL like this doesnt fit too well on a business card:

http://www.xyzoom.com/member/123566/shtml/index.html

Take your business seriously, or you will ultimately fail. After all, you want your potential customers to take your business seriously, shouldn't you?

Daniel Ramos is the President of Genesislogic Inc., a New York City based ebusiness that helps companies massively profit from the Internet. As both a designer and marketing strategist, he has been involved with technology since 1984, working with both small business and Fortune 500 firms including NBC Cable Networks, First Union, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Alliance Capital, The Trane Company, Abraham Publishing, On the Rise Records, Pitney Bowes, and others. He moderated The Small Business Forum for one of the earliest large-scale internet service providers in the mid-1980s, Delphi, which now boasts over 2 million members, as well as moderating the Music Business forum on CompuServe. If you want to learn how to massively profit from the Internet, vist WWW.GENESISLOGIC.COM and download from an extensive online library of resources, or send an email to INFO@GENESISLOGIC.COM. Thank you.

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