Building a website is an exciting step for any business, hobby, or personal project.
However, the cost of web hosting can be a challenge, especially if you’re just starting.
If you’re looking for free webspace for website hosting or affordable options in the UK, you’re in the right place.
This article will explore some of the best free web hosting options available, plus introduce you to Truehost UK, a budget-friendly alternative with excellent features.
Why Truehost is an Affordable Hosting Alternative in the UK
Free hosting can be great for testing ideas, but it often comes with restrictions like ads, limited storage, and slower speeds.
If you need reliable performance and professional features at a low cost, Truehost is worth considering.
- Cost-Effective Solutions: With plans starting at just £1 per month, Truehost UK makes web hosting accessible for individuals and small businesses.
- Scalability: As your website grows, you can seamlessly upgrade to higher-tier plans to accommodate increased traffic and storage needs.
- User-Friendly Control Panel: Manage your website effortlessly with an intuitive control panel, even if you’re new to web hosting.
- 24/7 Customer Support: Receive round-the-clock assistance from a dedicated support team ready to help with any hosting issues.
Why Choose Truehost Over Free Hosting?
Free hosting is great for beginners, but as your website grows, you’ll likely need more storage, bandwidth, and reliability.
Truehost bridges the gap by offering affordable hosting that scales with your needs.
Free Webspace for Website Hosting Options
If you’re not ready to invest in hosting, there are several free platforms that provide webspace.
These are ideal for testing projects, learning web design, or hosting small personal sites.
1) InfinityFree
InfinityFree is a free web hosting service that offers a range of features suitable for various types of websites.
Key features
- Disk Space: Provides 5 GB of storage for your website files.
- PHP and MySQL Support: Supports PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0 / MariaDB 10.6, enabling dynamic website functionalities.
- Free Subdomains: Allows you to choose from over 25 domain extensions for your site.
- Custom Domains: Enables you to use your own domain name with their hosting services.
- SSL Certificates: Provides free SSL certificates to secure your website.
- Softaculous Installer: Includes an installer to set up over 400 applications, including WordPress, with just a few clicks.
- Site.pro Website Builder: Offers a website builder to create sites without coding knowledge.
Benefits
- No Advertisements: InfinityFree does not place ads on your website, ensuring a clean and professional appearance.
- No Time Limits: The hosting service is free forever, with no expiration or trial periods.
- High Uptime: Committed to providing 99.9% uptime, ensuring your website remains accessible.
Considerations
- Support: While InfinityFree offers a support forum, there is no dedicated customer support team for immediate assistance.
- Resource Limits: Specific resource allocations, such as CPU and RAM, are not publicly disclosed, which may affect site performance under high traffic.
- Backups: InfinityFree does not create or store backups of free hosting accounts; it is the user’s responsibility to regularly back up their website data.
For more information or to sign up, visit InfinityFree.
Who It’s Best For:
InfinityFree is great for personal projects or static websites like portfolios, simple landing pages, or information sites.
Pro Tip: If you’re a beginner, pair InfinityFree with a website builder like Mobirise for a hassle-free setup.
2) Medium
Medium is not your traditional web hosting platform, but it’s an excellent option if you’re a writer or blogger.
It lets you create and publish content for free, with the added benefit of reaching a built-in audience.
Features:
- You don’t need to manage hosting, domains, or updates.
- A simple editor allows you to focus on writing without distractions.
- Articles are automatically optimized for search engines and shared within Medium’s community.
- Ability to earn from your writings with their Medium Partner Program.
Limitations:
- Limited design and layout options.
- Your content will be hosted on Medium’s domain, which means less branding control.
- To host your blog on your own domain, you will need to be a Medium Member. Membership costs $5 a month or $50 a year, which is way more than you need to get your own hosting at Truehost.
Who It’s Best For:
Medium is ideal for writers, bloggers, and thought leaders who want to focus on content creation rather than website management.
3) GitHub Pages
GitHub Pages is a free service that allows you to host static websites built with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, directly from your GitHub repositories.
It’s an excellent option for personal blogs, project documentation, or portfolios.
Key Features
- Free Hosting: Host your static websites without any cost.
- Custom Domains: Use your own domain name for a professional touch.
- Automatic HTTPS: Secure your site with HTTPS encryption.
- Integration with Jekyll: Easily transform your plain text into static websites and blogs.
How to Set Up GitHub Pages
- Create a Repository: On GitHub, create a new repository named username.github.io, replacing username with your GitHub username.
- Add Your Website Files: Upload your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to this repository.
- Publish Your Site: Navigate to the repository’s settings, scroll down to the GitHub Pages section, and select the source branch.
- Access Your Site: Visit https://username.github.io to see your live website.
For detailed instructions, refer to GitHub’s official documentation.
Considerations
- Static Content Only: GitHub Pages is designed for static content. Dynamic server-side processing is not supported.
- Usage Limits: There is a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB per month and a maximum site size of 1 GB
By leveraging GitHub Pages, you can quickly and easily deploy static websites without incurring hosting costs, making it an ideal choice for developers and content creators alike.
4) Netlify
Netlify is a comprehensive platform that streamlines the process of building, deploying, and managing modern web applications.
By integrating a variety of tools and services, Netlify enables developers to focus on creating dynamic web experiences without the overhead of traditional web hosting complexities.
Key Features
- Continuous Deployment: Netlify automates the deployment process by integrating directly with your Git repositories. Every time you push changes to your codebase, Netlify automatically builds and deploys your site, ensuring that your live website is always up-to-date.
- Global Edge Network: Your content is delivered through Netlify’s global edge network, reducing latency and improving load times for users worldwide. This ensures a fast and reliable experience for your site’s visitors.
- Serverless Functions: Extend your site’s functionality without managing servers. Netlify allows you to deploy serverless functions alongside your frontend code, enabling features like form handling, authentication, and custom APIs.
- Deploy Previews: For every pull or merge request, Netlify generates unique deploy previews. This feature allows teams to review changes in a live environment before merging, facilitating better collaboration and quality control.
- Custom Domains and HTTPS: Easily assign custom domains to your sites and secure them with automatic HTTPS certificates, enhancing your site’s professionalism and security.
Their free plan is ideal for personal projects, hobby sites, or experiments. This plan includes features like global edge network deployment, live site previews with a collaboration UI, and 100GB bandwidth.
Who It’s Best For:
Netlify is ideal for developers and designers who want a fast and modern platform for testing or showcasing their work.
5) Wix
Wix is one of the easiest platforms for building a website, thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop editor.
Features:
- No coding required—simply choose a template and customize it to your liking.
- Free plan includes hosting and a Wix subdomain (e.g., yoursite.wix.com).
- Rich library of design templates for various industries.
Limitations:
- Wix branding appears on free sites, which can look unprofessional.
- Limited scalability on the free plan.
Wix operates on a freemium model, allowing users to start building and publishing websites at no cost.
Premium plans are available for those seeking additional features, such as connecting a custom domain, removing Wix ads, accessing advanced analytics, and unlocking e-commerce capabilities.
Who It’s Best For:
Wix is great for small businesses, personal portfolios, or anyone looking for a simple way to create a website.
6) 000webhost
000webhost has been a long-standing player in the free hosting space. It provides basic hosting features without ads suitable for beginner website owners, students, hobbyists.
Features:
- 300MB storage and 3GB bandwidth for hosting small websites.
- PHP and MySQL support for dynamic sites.
- User-friendly control panel for easy management.
- Websites: Host one website per account.
- MySQL Database: One database included.
- Site Builder: Drag-and-drop website builder for easy design.
- WordPress-Friendly: One-click WordPress installation for a quick start.
Unlike many free hosting providers, 000webhost does not place ads on your website.
This ensures a clean and professional appearance.
Limitations:
- Limited server performance, so it’s not ideal for high-traffic websites.
- Security features are minimal compared to paid hosting.
Who It’s Best For:
This platform is best for students, hobbyists, or those experimenting with web hosting for the first time.
7) WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a free platform that allows you to create blogs and simple websites using the popular WordPress CMS.
Features:
- Free subdomain (e.g., yoursite.wordpress.com) and SSL certificate.
- Access to pre-designed themes and a user-friendly editor.
- Scalable options available if you need to upgrade in the future.
Limitations:
- Ads are displayed on free websites, which can distract visitors.
- Limited plugin and design customisation unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
Who It’s Best For:
WordPress.com is great for bloggers, writers, or individuals looking for a simple, content-driven website.
8) AwardSpace
AwardSpace is a seasoned web hosting provider, offering both free and premium hosting services since 2003.
With a focus on reliability and user satisfaction, AwardSpace caters to individuals and businesses seeking cost-effective hosting solutions.
AwardSpace’s free hosting plan is ideal for small blogs, personal websites, or testing environments.
Key features include:
- Disk Space: 1,000 MB (1GB)
- Monthly Traffic: 5 GB
- Domains: Host 1 domain and up to 3 subdomains. You could run 4 hosted websites for free
- Email Account: 1 email account included
- Database Support: 1 MySQL database
- Website Builder: Access to a free website builder for easy site creation
- Ad-Free Hosting: No advertisements displayed on your website
Limitations:
- Limited server performance for larger sites.
- No email hosting on the free plan.
Who It’s Best For:
AwardSpace is ideal for beginners or anyone launching a small blog or informational site.
9) Zyro
Zyro was a user-friendly website builder launched in 2019, designed to help individuals and small businesses create professional websites effortlessly. It offered features like drag-and-drop editing, AI-driven tools, and a variety of customizable templates. However, as of December 2023, Zyro has been integrated into Hostinger’s services and is no longer available as a standalone platform.
Zyro is a simple website builder that includes free hosting.
Features:
- Drag-and-drop editor for easy customisation.
- Pre-designed templates for fast setup.
- Mobile-responsive design ensures your site looks good on any device.
Limitations:
- Basic features on free plans, so advanced users may find it limiting.
Who It’s Best For:
Zyro is best for portfolios, small businesses, or personal websites where simplicity is key.
Free Hosting vs Affordable Hosting
| Feature | Free Hosting Options | Truehost UK |
| Ads on your website | Yes, in most cases | No |
| Custom domain | Sometimes (requires upgrade) | Yes (purchase any domain and host it with your plan) |
| Uptime reliability | Varies | High |
| Scalability | Limited | Easy to scale |
Final Thoughts
Free hosting is a good choice for testing ideas or creating simple websites, but it often comes with restrictions like ads, limited bandwidth, and fewer features.
If you’re looking for a more professional solution without spending too much, Truehost UK is an affordable and reliable choice.
Get started with Truehost UK here: Truehost UK.