Web space, free or pay?

Oh man, there's just so many confusing things when it comes to building my own website.
Although I was trained in IT this wasn't as easy as I thought. Things have changed since then.
So here I am trying to find some web space. What is web space?, you may ask. Well it's the place where the website will reside in. Like emails in your mail box.

Anyway, I've located some free ones and some that cost money. Every one of them have different packages, from web space to domain names to operating systems and emails. If you're thinking of setting up a website like me, well, read on.

Should you like to do a personal site, a free web space should do the trick, this is because free sites usually offer less storage and less bandwidth. What is bandwidth? Ok, bandwidth is the term used to measure the amount of uploading and downloading that occur in your site. Say you have lots of images and videos on your site, this will quickly exhaust your bandwidth as all your visitors will download them. A regular personal site with lots of text and pictures should do alright on a free web space.

Always when you go for free web space, they will allow you to choose a name but essentially their domain is still there, like yourname.thehostname.com or even www.thehostname.com/yourname if you are happy with this then it's ok. Otherwise you should purchase the domain name, this way you can have yourname.com or info or .tv, etc.

Another point to note when getting free web space is they usually put ads on your page. It's to defray the cost of hosting you for free. If it's not an eye sore for you, and you are satisfied so be it. If not, well, you have to pay for the paid web space. Not all the free ones will have ads, there are a small number out there who doesn't but I'm not sure about the space that is given. Sometimes it's free for one a certain time frame, do read up on the terms before signing up.

Now, if you are planning to have a large site with loads of pictures, videos, and other content, make sure that there is enough web space to handle all of that. This is when the storage comes into the picture. Remember I mentioned about bandwidth, if your bandwidth has exceeded, the hosting company usually takes you off until the next month. Or they will charge you a fee for exceeding it. I recommend that you look around to see what suits you most before committing to any hosting.