One of the things we talk a lot about here at ReviewsGurus is web hosting support. That’s because all webmasters need an on-the-ball hosting company that takes your support questions seriously and will be happy to help you and your website get ahead. Recently, a handful of hosts like No Support Linux Hosting and Fru Hosting have pushed their way into the hosting world by offering bargain basement prices as low as $1 per month. There is a catch though; neither company offers any form of support to paying customers. Here are the ins and outs of what you will get (and won’t get) when you go with a no support web host.
There’s no support. Really!
No support web hosting companies have one thing in common: they promise to provide no end user support whatsoever. Really! If your domain goes offline you’ll be on your own to figure out what the problem is. If your email suddenly stops working, guess who will be left without a reason why?
No support web hosting companies do give clients access to basic tutorials within their hosting control panels, but refuse to answer any customer service type questions. And in the case of No Support Linux Hosting, they’re happy to call you an amateur and direct you to Google to search for answers.
You’ll have to deal with a domain registrar
It used to be that every webmaster had a go-to domain registrar where they registered and managed their collection of domain names. These days, most new to the hosting scene or those hoping to save a few dollars choose to take a free or greatly reduced domain name from their web hosting company. When using this approach, the web hosting company where you’ve secured your domain is responsible for making the necessary changes to point your domain to the appropriate web hosting servers.
With no support web hosting companies you won’t have the option to purchase a domain on-site, but will have to find your own domain registrar instead, plus handle the details of changing your nameservers.
Not for the faint of heart
Do you know how to install Wordpress manually? Can you upload a script by FTP and set the proper permissions to each file? With a no support web hosting company you’ll have to learn to do these things. Most companies do have a built-in control panel that you’ll be able to use to manage your domain, but few offer applications like Fantastico that automate the installation process of popular software like WordPress or Joomla.
There are some limitations
No support web hosting companies have a no-frills approach to the hosting business and since they’re charging only $1 per month, who can really blame them? With most no support companies you will not be able to do any of the following:
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Video hosting
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Upload images larger than 2 megabytes
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Install shopping carts
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Run an eCommerce web shop
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Upgrade the size of your web hosting plan
Could you host with a no support company?
While no support web hosting companies aren’t for everyone, they can fill a need for some folks—and do it inexpensively. You may be right for no support hosting if you meet any of the following criteria:
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You’re a developer and you need a cheap playground to test scripts or designs.
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You’re new to web hosting and just want a small amount of space to test the waters.
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You want a personalized, domain based email account.
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You run a non-mission critical personal website.
No support web hosting is a relatively new offering online and only time will tell how these companies fare with their low paying customers. As always, we think the best way to find an inexpensive web hosting company is to read quality web hosting reviews and do your homework.