Hey there! If you‘re looking to create a website on a tight budget, you may be wondering: how can InfinityFree offer free web hosting forever?
I‘m here to explain exactly how InfinityFree works and help you decide if their permanently free hosting is right for your site!
InfinityFree Makes Money from Ads
The key to understanding InfinityFree‘s free hosting is that the company generates revenue from advertising to cover their costs. The ads don‘t appear on sites created by users, but rather on InfinityFree‘s own website and control panel that customers use to manage their sites.
So in essence, the ads pay for the web hosting so InfinityFree doesn‘t have to charge you! Pretty cool right?
However, relying on ads does come with some potential downsides compared to paid hosts…let‘s look at the key pros and cons.
Weighing the Pros and Cons of InfinityFree
InfinityFree can be a great starting point, especially if you‘re testing out an idea or on a tight budget. But the free hosting does have limitations to be aware of.
The Good Stuff
No Fees or Surprise Charges: What you see is what you get – web hosting that really is 100% free forever, not just a free trial.
Easy Setup Process: It only takes a few minutes to create your free account and deploy a basic site. Perfect for beginners.
Bring Your Own Domain: You can connect a custom domain name purchased elsewhere to point to your InfinityFree site.
Unlimited Bandwidth: No worries about going over traffic limits and getting overage fees.
No Forced Ads: InfinityFree won‘t inject ads into the actual sites you build, unlike some other free hosts.
Potential Limitations to Consider
Limited Space: Just 10MB of storage is included on the free plan. This only works for very small sites.
No Email Accounts: You won‘t get any email addresses or forwarding with your free hosting.
Minimal Support: No phone support. You‘ll need to rely on their docs and community forums for help.
Performance Questions: Reviewers report occasional lag and downtime on high traffic InfinityFree sites.
Not for Ecommerce: The constraints make InfinityFree unsuitable for online stores and other robust business websites.
The bottom line in my friend‘s opinion? InfinityFree is a good starting point for new websites, but may be too limited for more ambitious projects long-term.
Now let‘s walk through how to actually use InfinityFree‘s hosting for your site…
Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting with InfinityFree
Here is the full process for getting your site live using InfinityFree‘s free hosting:
1. Create Your Account
First, head to InfinityFree.net and click ‘Signup‘ to create your free account. Choose a username and password.
Then confirm your email address to complete signup. Easy peasy!
2. Add a Hosting Plan
Next, add a free hosting plan to your account. InfinityFree will provide a free subdomain (yourname.infinityfreeapp.com).
You can leave it like this or connect your own custom domain later.
3. Install Scripts, Manage Settings in cPanel
Use cPanel to configure settings, install scripts like WordPress or Joomla, manage databases, and more.
cPanel helps you control and manage your hosting account. Pretty nifty for free hosting!
4. Upload Your Website Files
Use the file manager in cPanel or an FTP client to upload all the files for your web pages and site.
This includes HTML, images, CSS, PHP files, etc. Bring your whole site!
5. Set Up a Database (Optional)
If your site relies on a database, like for a WordPress or Drupal site, create a MySQL database in cPanel.
Then use phpMyAdmin to add tables and manage the data. Handy tools for free.
6. Connect Site to Database (Optional)
If using a database, modify your site‘s PHP configuration files to connect to your MySQL database.
This allows your site to store and retrieve data dynamically from the database.
And that‘s all there is to it! Follow those steps and you‘ll have a live website hosted with InfinityFree.
How Does InfinityFree Compare to Other Free Hosts?
InfinityFree isn‘t your only option for free hosting. Let‘s see how it stacks up to some top competitors:
InfinityFree
- 10MB Storage
- cPanel + MySQL
- Custom domains
- Unlimited bandwidth
000webhost
- 1GB Storage
- cPanel + MySQL
- Custom domains
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Forced ads on sites
Firebase
- 1GB data transfer free
- Built for apps
- Excellent uptime
- Limited features
Wix
- 500MB storage
- Website builder
- Free custom domain
- Traffic limits
- Pushy upsells
WordPress.com
- 3GB storage
- Quick WordPress setup
- Limited customization
Freenom
- Free .tk/.ga domains
- Bring your own hosting
As you can see, InfinityFree holds up pretty well for free hosting, with cPanel access, databases, and unlimited bandwidth. But other hosts offer more storage space.
My advice? Try out a few options to see which free host best fits your site‘s needs!
Should You Rely on Free Hosting Long-Term?
While free hosting can be great for getting started, using it as a permanent solution does come with some risks:
Potential downtime: InfinityFree has a 99.9% uptime goal but isn‘t as reliable as paid hosts. Outages hurt your business.
Lack of support: Most free hosts like InfinityFree only provide community forum support. No way to get personalized help.
Fewer resources: The storage limits and constrained resources may slow you down over time.
According to web hosting advice site HostPapa:
"For commercial sites looking to grow, the lack of resources with free hosting often results in slow load times and downtime that frustrates visitors."
Shared hosting plans that cost just a few bucks a month provide more resources and support. In the long run, they are worth the minimal investment for many site owners.
But free hosting can work in the short term for personal sites, testing a basic idea, or launching on a very tight budget. You‘ll just need to plan to upgrade eventually if your site takes off.
Who‘s Behind InfinityFree?
Good question! InfinityFree was founded in 2013 by a company called D2C Limited based out of the Netherlands.
However, InfinityFree‘s founders and leadership team have chosen to remain anonymous. According to their forum, most of their management infrastructure is still located in the Netherlands.
While we don‘t know names, we do know InfinityFree has provided stable free hosting for millions of sites over nearly a decade. Their commitment to free hosting forever is commendable!
Getting a Free Domain for Your Site
Looking to score a free custom domain name too? Here are a few reputable options:
Freenom: Freenom provides free .tk, .ml, .ga, .cf. and .gq domains. These work with any web host.
000webhost: Get a free domain when you sign up for their free hosting plan.
Wix: Get a free domain for 1 year with any paid Wix plan starting at $4/month.
WordPress: Annual WordPress.com plans include one free domain name.
GoDaddy: Score a free domain for 1 year when purchasing select shared hosting plans.
The catch is while these domains are free the first year, you typically have to pay $10-$20 yearly after that to renew and keep it. Paid domains usually start around $12 per year.
Cost Breakdown: Domain, Hosting, and Website Builders
If you do decide to invest in paid hosting or a custom domain, here are typical costs to help you budget:
Domain Registration: $8-$15 per year for a basic .com domain name. Can sometimes be free first year.
Shared Web Hosting: $3-$12 per month for entry-level plans from hosts like HostGator, Bluehost. More resources than free.
Website Builders: Around $3-$15 monthly. Handle hosting and include free domain. Easy setup.
VPS Hosting: $20-$75 per month. More power and resources for bigger sites.
Dedicated Servers: $100+ per month. Full control of a physical server. Overkill for most.
Looking at those numbers, high quality shared hosting really is affordable for most budgets. And splitting the yearly domain cost makes that reasonable too.
If I were starting a new site, I‘d feel good investing just $100-$150 total to get a custom domain and solid shared hosting for an entire year. That small investment gives me the foundation to grow without limits.
The Bottom Line: InfinityFree is Best for Short Term Projects
At the end of the day, InfinityFree succeeds in providing genuinely free web hosting forever through their ad-supported model. This opens the door for anyone to easily create a basic website or blog.
However, the storage limits and potential performance lag may constrain more ambitious sites and businesses long-term.
For a small personal site or testing a simple idea, InfinityFree could be a perfect free solution. But for showcasing your company or professional portfolio long-term, one of the many affordable paid hosting providers likely makes more sense.
I hope this overview gives you a better understanding of how InfinityFree‘s free hosting works, what to expect from their service, and alternatives to consider! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Wishing you the best on your website journey!
