The Internet is a fun place. Clicking from one web page to another, visiting one site after another is an extremely relaxing hobby. Those who want to buy or sell stuff can go to different ecommerce sites like eBay. Those who want to chat with friends go to social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Those who want to unwind by watching videos can go to YouTube.

And because it's such a great place to be, many would like to build their own "homes" on the Net. Initially, free web hosting services are the providers of choice, especially for those who only want to create websites on their hobbies or interests. After all, who would want to pay for a monthly service fee if you can have almost the same service for free?

The hard truth of the matter is that free web hosting services isn't always free. You can pay a huge price for not choosing a paid hosting service. Here's why:

First off, you're only given a small space to work with. Usually, free web hosting services are only good for personal sites. But if a commercial site is what you have in mind, the space you're allotted in a free host is not enough for all the files and features you wish to put there.

Second, you don't get your own domain name with a free hosting service. You'll get a long address that is only a subdomain of the host. If you wish to build credibility online, going free is not the best route. This is especially true of ecommerce sites.

Third, the hosting downtime and server crashes are going to be a source of much frustration. This is because you're sharing servers with many other sites and are working on an extremely limited bandwidth. In paid hosting services, customer support will keep your server working the way it should. They will immediately address any downtime issues and reboot your system when necessary. You rarely, if ever, get this kind of customer support in a free hosting service.

Fourth, free web hosting providers can just disappear. Yahoo Geocities is an example of a free Web hosting service from a big company that bit the dust. When a free hosting service goes kaput, all the domains there also disappear with them. Even if you've kept a back up of all your files and transfer it to another site, you won't have the same web address and will basically have to start from zero. This can become a painful process especially if you've already built a following for your previous site and have established numerous links. You'll have to climb your way back to search engine rankings inch-by-precious inch, and that again takes time.

Finally, all sorts of banner ads and pop ups appear in your website. This is because free hosting services have to earn somehow through advertising. Since you don't own the domain, the free web hosting provider can and will put all sorts of ads in your web pages wherever they want to place them. Not only does this ruin the look of your site, it also makes it look unprofessional, thus discouraging traffic. Besides, free hosts do not offer the kind of statistics you need to determine if you're meeting the objectives you've set for your site, especially if it's an ecommerce website. Paid hosting services, on the other hand, give you this kind of information.

As you can see, free web hosting isn't always free. You're better off investing in a paid Web hosting provider.