Hi Everyone! I am George Pierce, this post is about free and paid hosting and a my recent misadventure and HUGE SCARE! A few days ago, I opened a new web site, I have several free hosts that I use, and two paid hosts. I started creating my new site with the free hosting, with the idea that I would share my free experience, as a way of giving back. I began with Webador, then went to Wix, and then 1 2 3.
Why 3 free hosts?
At each free host, I ran into TWO new snags. You can create the site for free...but, then...in order to publish, you need to purchase a 'domain name', and/or upgrade, no more adding your site name to their domain name ( for example yoursitename dot Wix dot com). OK, I am a fan of purchasing a domain name which typically costs $10 to $20 per year, but not until the site has proven itself. The second catch is that you and I need to upgrade our hosting when we have a domain name...free hosting had just become paid hosting. In addition, the hosting ranged from about $8 to $100+ per month, our consolation is that the domain name would be paid for. Perhaps my experience with these free hosts was because I already have several sites with them, but I am not so sure.
My Groove Pages Dashboard (above)
So I went to my one of my paid hosts, Groove. Groove is lifetime hosting, it has EVERYTHING you need and more, but it is not for beginners, because the cost is presently $897. I have been with Groove since 2020, they are worth it!
My other host is Hostinger, and I have been with them for around 20 years. I highly recommend them because of service (virtually zero down time) and support and price.
At Groove, I was unable to login! I tried to change the password, which was correct, according to my password manager. My account was showing as Not An Existing Account. I have lots of sites on Groove and videos and more. So, I sent Groove Support an email. Most of my Groove info (support, email, etc. was from 2020).
The next day my email service informed me that the email was not able to be sent. I have had a few lifetime online purchases suddenly 'disappear', but Groove is a product by Mike Filsaime, one of the best. It took two days, but all is well with my Groove sites and my login is fixed...WHEW!
Hostinger is the main reason for this post.
What I want you to be aware of, is that a free site can be created with AI, which will be highly recommended, and the AI will do a superb job. In other words, you will love your site, and be very tempted to upgrade. DO NOT! (in my humble opinion).
Hostinger also has AI that will create your dream site, you will love it. The reason for sharing Hostinger with you, is that your hosting starts at $1.95 per month! Hostinger is highly ranked in price, performance, ease of use, and features.
If you run into a snag with free hosting, as I did, take a look at Hostinger.
Thank you for reading.
Much success,
George Pierce
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