Would have to agree with Marianne that if you are going to start out with a free hosting service, then FreeWebs dot com is among the very best.

That includes easy to learn, easy to use, and ads are not plastered all over the page.

Wayne

Hi Guys: I'd just like to add that if you're promoting anything...ANYTHING on the internet, the free sites are the way to go with regards to starting out and playing with HTML and all those fun internet goodies. But for heaven's sake don't make this your permanent home for your business. It's like selling geniune rolexes on the street next to the guy who sells "GENIUNE" rolexes on the street. By association, your credibility is shot and no one will buy anything from you. When you start to get serious about marketing online, the very first thing you should consider is paid web hosting and a domain name. These two things are important if you are to establish any business on the internet. Tell me, would you buy "Top of the line electronics and computer equipment" from: a) http://www.freehost.com/~FLACowboy4u/electronics/001.htm b) http://www.circuitcity.com Exactly. I paid $139.00 USD for my webhosting and got a $50.00 overture credit essentially bringing my cost for hosting down to $89.00. If your'e not willing to invest $89.00 into your business well...you shouldn't be in business. Add the $8.95 I spent at Godaddy.com for my domain name and for about 1 bill I have hosting and a domain for a year. Paid web hosting. It's not that cheap but it's worth it in the end. /RANT

I'll try to clarify a few things here as to my original statement.

Most people sign up for free web hosting because it's free. They are not thinking of doing a business the right way at the beginning. They, as someone posted, would do this and not pay while they learn.

But, if they started learning the right way from the beginning they would not waste alot of time learning from limited resources. They would start earning from having control over their whole site. When it's free, you don't have that luxery.

Yes, people can upgrade and that is a good thing. That means they did one of the successful steps I mentioned; buying a domain name. This also removes all the banners and ads that the host earns income from. This is investing in your business.

But a large majority of people that start from a free service feel that they failed, because of no sales 'because' they had no traffic or interest to their site. They leave frustrated.

So far, each has said something that proves to have success you must invest in yourself. Pay for hosting and buy a domain name.

Thank you all for coming by.

Kenneth R Sword Jr

--- Kennth Sword wrote: ------------------------ But, if they started learning the right way from the beginning they would not waste alot of time learning from limited resources. They would start earning from having control over their whole site. When it's free, you don't have that luxery. ------------------------------------------------ I couldn't agree more Ken. The free sites offer limited access to more advanced features such as databases, includes, etc. While this is stuff that you need not worry about in the beginning so much, later on you will probably have need of a database which the free hosts do not provide. (too expensive to offer as a free service) Having used some of these myself, I know first hand that there's not much you can do with them. Now you have the hassle of migrating all of your existing pages over to a new webhost when (notice I didn't say "if") you switch over to a paid one. From first hand experience, I know this doesn't always work well and it takes some tweaking to get folders and links working in unison again. Furthermore, if you mess up the transfer somehow without a back up copy of your site...well...I won't even go there. If at all possible, get yourself into a paid web hosting service and a domain name right away. Even if you don't use it all right now, chances are you will in the future. (I wonder if fishnets.com is taken..hmmm.) Mike