The old saying that nothing in the world is free, is so true. From the time people started getting online they’ve been bombarded by free advertising, scams, unreputable business ventures that try to lure them in with a bait and switch at the promise of something attractive. The offer of free websites is one such offer.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a free thing, just as much as the next guy. However, when you really start to evaluate if something is really free, you must look at the numbers and look at what you’re getting. Don’t look at the promises – look at the facts.
A great tutorial series was done about blogging and how to build one yourself. It was marketed to a variety of audiences. Some of them were targeted because they were looking for a freebie. Others, were flat out told, this is going to cost you money. Guess who was more receptive? The people who knew up front that they would need to pay for a service – in this case, a web tutorial that taught them a specific skill.
Reality vs Advertising
All advertising is deceptive. By its very nature, it is intended to get people to buy into something or part with something. Even free stuff like web hosting, where you get to create a cool web site or blog for FREE. Wow that is awesome, some say!
I don’t even need to hire a web designer, I can just pay nothing, build my site, pay no hosting and no domain fees. Sounds great right? Well, to some people it would be just fine. For the vast majority of folks who are seriously wanting to cash in on their piece of the internet money pie, the free blog is really not free.
Let me explain. I will use WordPress.com as an illustration. So they give you a choice of a subdomain (that is ‘something’.wordpress.com) ok, that seems fine. Even though its unprofessional as hell, you at least get to host your site somewhere.
Next up, customization. Not only can free hosting at WordPress.com not allow you to add your own plugins (code that enhance functionality), but they also limit the uploading any video and you’re severely restricted on customization.
Some templates in that system cost $70! for a basic looking template. It’s not bad, but when you consider, that you still need to purchase an upgrade in their plan for anywhere from $6-25 per month – paid ANNUALLY! you really start to get the picture.
So if we analyze the cost here it looks like this:
Free WordPress
Limited space, unprofessional looking domain name and severely limited functionality – oh let’s not forget that they advertise on your site and there is nothing you can do to change that except to cough up some cold hard cash.
Paid Hosting
So contrast that with a paid host, in some places, you can get hosting for as little as $25 a year! unlimited space, multiple domains hosted on the same server to start. Then you can get the WordPress software for free. It is open source – which is great. So you get a domain name for $9 a year. You buy hosting for $25 a year and you have just invested $34 in your web site.
But, and here is the kicker, if you were desiring to upgrade from the free platform, you would need to cough up at the very least $6×12 =$72 (because you must annually). So you still need a domain name for this (or you can buy it through WordPress directly – $18/year) and if you think you’re being smart and saving, by buying your domain direct from Godaddy or Namecheap, you’re paying half that $9/year, you’ve now spent over $80 and you still lack features and customization options.
I don’t care how simple you think your website needs to be. It always will need to have some new feature added to it. I deal with clients all the time who are frustrated because they invested so much money and time in a free site, they have no identity online apart from the subdomain that they don’t even own, and then they’re in a feature box that allows them to go up only if they pay up.
So, if you’re looking for a free website, it just doesnt exist. You end paying in the end. You can build your own and even then you still pay with your time. I think I’ve shared a tutorial series by webtechtutor.com on this site before, which does use WordPress technology to teach you how to build a site, so check that out if you’re looking to go pro.
Sorry to burst anyones bubble, but nothing in this world is free unfortunately. I hope this will prevent you from making a mistake thinking you’re saving money when in fact you are not.
Happy blogging!