I am going to be making up a website or blog to advertise a no. of affiliate programs but because at the moment my funds are all tied up I am forced to use one of the free services.

Years ago I heard that FREE web hosting was not very reliable & the host would put their adds on your website – is that the case today ?

In the future would I be able to transfer the domain name into another web host if I wanted to ?

I should also ask (for future reference) which one of the paid web hosts is the best overall ?
Which one is the easiest to use ?
Which one is the most creative /artistic ?
Which one is the most versatile ?

Thanks

Years ago I heard that FREE web hosting was not very reliable & the host would put their adds on your website – is that the case today ?

Pretty much, that's the business model
http://tycoontalk.freelancer.com/web...any-youve.html
http://tycoontalk.freelancer.com/web...-wodpress.html
http://tycoontalk.freelancer.com/web...b-hosting.html

It's designers who need to be creative or artistic not the hosts.

Versatile??
Do you want them to do a bit of gardening or house painting as well?

which one of the paid web hosts is the best overall ?

Hostgator is the best in my opinion.

Unfortunately, the free web hosting market is slowly disappearing.

Originally Posted by MDwebdev85

Unfortunately, the free web hosting market is slowly disappearing.

It is just transforming, IMHO. Stuff like Blogger, Facebook and even Tweeter are replacing the old freely hosted websites that everyday people used to build. They don't need that free hosting anymore (and they don't need to know much about web design either), they have the services above.

Originally Posted by ldcdc

It is just transforming, IMHO. Stuff like Blogger, Facebook and even Tweeter are replacing the old freely hosted websites that everyday people used to build. They don't need that free hosting anymore (and they don't need to know much about web design either), they have the services above.

True. I see so many businesses, especially local businesses that advertise on Craigslist, and link to a Facebook page.

(and they don't need to know much about web design either)

I would say that MySpace stands as testimony to that.

I too have noticed the days of free hosting diminishing in favor of predesignated niche hosting. Years ago you could get free cPanel hosting (with poor reliability but free) and now you can't find it.

but host-gator is not free..you can use word press, blog-spot, Facebook to promote your business

Originally Posted by keralahmart

but host-gator is not free..you can use word press, blog-spot, Facebook to promote your business

It mind as well be because their service is horrendously poor. I have seen countless downtime complaints which makes me feel like a lot of people take uptime for granted a lot.

Originally Posted by SCOBAHCAN

Years ago I heard that FREE web hosting was not very reliable & the host would put their adds on your website – is that the case today ?

It's pretty much still the case these days. Most (if not all) free hosts will place ads on your site.

Nobody wants ads on their site unless they are getting the revenue from them and most free services attract abusers, so you see less and less free hosting providers as time goes by.

Out of curiosity, why not just invest a few bucks per month and go with a reliable hosting provider that you know you will not have issues with?

Originally Posted by XeHSean

Out of curiosity, why not just invest a few bucks per month and go with a reliable hosting provider that you know you will not have issues with?

That would require common sense... people here have a lack of that.

look if you want free hosting service than go for word-press and blogger but i always say that you should go for reliable hosting server like go daddy,host gator etc

Do not know of any good free hosts, free and good do not really mix.

Originally Posted by keralahmart

look if you want free hosting service than go for word-press and blogger but i always say that you should go for reliable hosting server like go daddy,host gator etc

The latter options you mentioned are hardly reliable. And with the SOPA ordeal going on, I find those options even less appealing.

Reliable infrastructure and competent engineers and support staff cost money - so the short answer is no. If you have no need for support and just want a simple online business card type website though, Google Sites is a decent way to go.

There really is no such thing as free - so you will always be paying in some way. With Google, you will never receive support, your ability to customize is limited and who knows who will be looking through and doing what with your data, but they have decent uptime.

Originally Posted by keralahmart

look if you want free hosting service than go for word-press and blogger but i always say that you should go for reliable hosting server like go daddy,host gator etc

LOL Godaddy. Wait until you have to try and navigate around their conntrol panel, or slow server response times, or their Horrible support. I don't know why anyone would recommend Godaddy.

Yes, you are right. Today webhosting is not so good. It disappoints many of users. As for me, Hostgator is the best in the present moment among others.

You all heard about that saying where you get what you pay for but in this case you aren't paying anything so if you can't tolerate the most horrendous service, avoid free hosting.