Disadvantages of Free Websites ….
… They often have limited space and capabilities.
… You generally can’t make money from advertising revenue.
… Can’t add useful and interactive features like shopping carts, contact forms, traffic counters, chat rooms, forums, message boards, games, online ordering etc.
… Search engines sometimes ignore them. A HUGE disadvantage!
… Your visitors will probably doubt your credibility and might NOT take you seriously.
… Your FREE site may have banners and/or pop-up ads that make money for the big guys – but NOT YOU!
… Long and difficult to remember web address (like yourname.freewebs.com).
… No guarantees of longevity. If your so-called FREE website disappears overnight, there’s NOTHING you can do about it.
… No branded email addresses (you@yourname.com.au).
… Poor help and support options (if any).
… Might not be free forever. I’ve heard of one example where the host suddenly started charging a fee to stay (which most people paid to avoid the hassle of moving.
… If you want to upload extra pages of pictures, you might get sugged with a charge to do so too.
Advantages of Owning Your Own Domain Name …
… Easy to remember website address (yoursite.com.au)
… No banners or popups that make money for someone else.
… Much easier to get found in google searches.
… You have more control over the look and feel of your website and can add plugins and scripts for useful features like contact forms, shopping carts, forums etc.
… You can often have as many branded email addresses (like you@yoursite.com.au) as you like and usually more than you’ll ever need.
… Plenty of space for expanding the site and storing your photos, documents, articles etc.
… Don’t have to worry about the site being removed unexpectedly.
… Looks more professional and your customers will take you seriously.
… You can implement useful features like automatic sitemap submissions, so the search engines know instantly you’ve updated your content.
… Much more flexibility for design, usefulness and functionality with plenty of themes available, both free and premium.
… Your web host generally has a 24/7 support desk if you get into strife and SOME have superb service records and do much more than required to assist you wherever possible.
