The days of free web space are all but over. I've been getting email from Homestead lately saying that if I don't upgrade my service (for a fee) I'll be kicked off. Geocities has always sucked and now, they too, are getting strict with page views. A local server would be best, but costly.

Hope someone can help you out.

So it sounds like you're willing to give your all to "the cause"--as long as it doesn't personally cost you anything.

Forget free hosting.

As far as I know, you won't be able to re-direct people to your new URL, unless you keep the old host and re-direct to your new URL. You might want to keep your old host for a month or two for this purpose.

Buy a domain name. If you run into problems with your new host, you can move the domain to a new host. That way you won't be in the same fix that you find yourself in now.

Re-submit your site to the search engines, after you move to a new host. More and more search engines will not index a site on a free server. A lot of them are purging their indexes of free hosted sites anyway.

I've heard good things about www.5dollarhosting.com. I don't have any experience with them. Buyer beware.

Managing your site is usually easily done with FTP software on a pay host. FTP software can be found for free on the web.

Good Luck.

www.pair.com is cheap and VERY well run. From $5.95 per month.

Thanks. I thought there was some sort of name-forwarding service, but my memory is vague on it.

Dan

Thanks. You're speaking from personal experience... or ownership? (c8

Dan

www.homewithgod.com 50 meg free space

Thanks, I'll check it out. Have you used it?

Thanks. I thought there was some sort of name-forwarding service, but my memory is vague on it.

There are services that will give you a shorter URL, if you are on a free host, but that won't help you. They just re-direct from the shorter URL to your actual URL

The URL you are on now is owned by the hosting service. I doubt that they will be willing to re-direct your traffic to another host, if you aren't staying with them.

If you have your own domain, you are in control, otherwise, you are at the mercy of others.

P.S. Take a look at Pair.com, as recommended by a previous poster, I have read good things about them.

Dan,

Some options:

1. Buy your own domain name.

2. Try www.webseed.com - it's not a free hosting service but an information portal. You apply and if approved, they register your domain name. Everything is there for you to use their templates to set up your site. The catch is that you have to follow their format. But you can control most of that and you can also control the advertising.

I have two sites there:
Brother vs. Brother: The American Civil War
The Outer Banks of North Carolina Still in development.

3. Try www.suite101.com - similar in nature to Webseed, but there is much more of a Suite101.com presence than you would have at Webseed. I have one Suite101.com site (their limit)
Fatherhood

See how I can shamelessly promote my own stuff while offering you advice? Best of luck.

As far as minimizing headaches for us non-IT types...I've always used FrontPage to make the individual html files and a simple FTP shareware program to move 'em over. (I use the FrontPage Editor only, not the Explorer with all its bells and whistles.) The editors on the free sites have always been klunky and slow in comparison.

Your fatherhood link doesn't work.

He's already paid for salvation in repentence . Now as far as him not having the cash to get a paid service, well it happens.

Anyways . Dan don't go to Angelfire, it's slow as Ted Kennedys bowels and smells just as bad .

Cheese .

Your fatherhood link doesn't work.

It's there. I must've screwed up the HTML. Try now:

Fatherhood

My dh and I both signed up for space. He uploaded a geneaology program which is about 30meg. The only thing is the geno program has a frame on the left which you can't see because of the HWG frame which is on the left. He hasn't had time to contact them about how to work around that. I haven't uploaded anything there yet myself though.

I don't own pair.com, but have had good success with them. I run www.zill.net, which is pricier for what you want (I focus on db-backed pages, etc.).

See how I can shamelessly promote my own stuff while offering you advice?

Pretty smoooth. Thanks!

Is webseed free, then, if they approve you?

Dan

Is webseed free, then, if they approve you?

Actually, they're in it to make money with you. You get a percentage of advertising revenues.

That's a pauser. Hmmm....