How to host a website for free

Can you host a website for free?

Yes, absolutely.

But whether you should… is a completely different story.

This blog will show you:

• How free website hosting actually works
• Where you can do it
• The real limitations no one tells you about
• When free hosting is acceptable, and when it’s a terrible idea

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1. What “free hosting” actually means

Free hosting doesn’t mean someone is being generous.

It means:

• You’re the product
• Your site is heavily limited
• You sacrifice control, performance, or credibility

Free hosting platforms make money through:

• Ads on your site
• Upsells later
• Resource limits
• Locking you into their ecosystem

You’re not paying with money. You’re paying with restrictions.

If you're okay with that, read on.

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2. Ways to host a website for free

Here are the common options people use.

1. Free website builders (Wix, WordPress.com, etc.)

What you get:

• Free subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com)
• Drag-and-drop editor
• Hosting included

What you lose: ❌ Professional domain
❌ Full SEO control
❌ Speed optimisation
❌ Custom functionality
❌ Brand credibility

This is fine for:

• Personal projects
• Hobby sites
• Temporary experiments

Not fine for:

• Serious businesses, brands, or e-commerce

Because if you don't even invest a bit into your website, that just tells customers how serious you are about your business.

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2. GitHub Pages / Netlify / Vercel (static sites)

What you get:

• Free hosting
• Fast performance
• Custom domain support
• No ads

What you lose: ❌ No database
❌ No CMS (unless you’re technical)
❌ No backend logic
❌ Not beginner-friendly

This is great if:

• You’re a developer
• You’re building a portfolio
• You’re comfortable with code

But let's face it, if you're reading this, you most likely aren't very technical.

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3. Free tiers from cloud providers

Some platforms offer limited free tiers.

Sounds good… until:

• Traffic spikes
• Storage limits hit
• Features are locked
• Worse case: you suddenly get billed for a feature you thought was free

Free tiers are meant for testing. Not long-term production websites.

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3. The hidden costs of free hosting

Here’s what free hosting usually leads to:

❌ Slow load times
❌ Random downtime
❌ Poor SEO performance
❌ No backups
❌ No security support
❌ No email hosting
❌ No customer support

And the worst part?

When your business grows, migrating off free hosting becomes more expensive and painful than starting properly.

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4. When free hosting actually makes sense

Free hosting is acceptable if:

✅ You’re learning
✅ You’re testing ideas
✅ You’re building a portfolio
✅ The site has zero business risk

If your website:

• Represents your business
• Needs to rank on Google
• Collects leads
• Builds trust
• Makes money

Then free hosting is the wrong tool.

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5. The business reality

Customers judge your business in seconds.

If they see:

• A weird subdomain
• Ads on your site
• Slow loading pages
• Unprofessional setup

They don’t think: “Oh, smart guy saving money.”

They think: “This business isn’t serious. Not even making enough to have a proper website means no one is buying their products.”

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Final thoughts

Yes, you can host a website for free.

But free hosting is like:

• Free office space in a noisy food court
• Free car with no insurance
• Free tools with missing parts

It works… until it doesn’t.

🚀 At Schuah Solutions, we don’t believe in “free and broken.”

We provide: ✅ Reliable hosting
✅ Proper backups
✅ Security monitoring
✅ SEO-friendly performance
✅ Unlimited edits & maintenance

All for just RM375/month.

Fill out the form below for a FREE website draft.