Free Domains/Subdomains
Getting something for nothing sounds great but it is worth considering the pros and cons of free domains and whether they will meet your requirements. If everything goes wrong you won't lose financially but you may feel "cheated" and feel that you have wasted your time having a free domain name.
Let's look first at some of the popular free domain names and their providers
Free Domains/Subdomains available not including free hosting
Freenom 
No longer operating
This Dutch company in partnership with the national governments of the countries concerned has over a number of years offered the following free domain names:
- Free .cf Domain (Central African Republic)
- Free .gq Domain (Equatorial Guinea)
- Free .ga Domain (Gabon)
- Free .ml Domain (Mali)
- Free .tk Domain (Tokelau) an island in the Pacific Ocean
Once registered these domains were able to be forwarded to the web address of your choice or name server details could be set to your webspace to enable you to create your website
Latest news:
- Freenom stopped allowing new domain name registrations in March 2023
https://securityboulevard.com/2023/03/sued-by-meta-freenom-halts-domain-registrations/ - In June 2023 management of the .ga domain names were taken back by the Gambian government and in Jul 2023 management of the .ml domain names were taken back by the Malian government. Consequently use of the previously "registered" freenom domain names for e-mails, websites or redirections came to an end.
- Freenom domain names are no longer available for registration and existing domain names with .cf, .gq or .tk extensions whilst still managed by Freenom might very likely be returned to the national governments over the next few months.
- February 2024 websites using freenom registered .gq and .cf domains no longer visible. E-Mail accounts using .gq and .cf domain names no longer working. Freenom has announced it is exiting the Domain business
https://www.freenom.com/en/freenom_pressstatement_02122024_v0100.pdf
https://domainincite.com/29520-freenom-settles-500-million-meta-lawsuit-and-will-exit-domain-business
European site offering .eu.org and .xx.eu.org subdomains (where xx =country two letter code eg uk=united kingdom).
Latest news:
- Experiencing long delays in approval of domain registration. Forum news EU.Org validation speed
French language site offering free .fr.nf (Norfolk Island), .asso.st (São Tomé and Príncipe), .ze.cx (Christmas Island), .infos.st, .biz.st subdomains
Free .us.kg (Kyrgyzstan) subdomains. New service 2024. 1US$ KYC donation verification.
Free .frii.site subdomains. New service 2024. Allowed to regsiter 3 subdomains. Full DNS entries.
Choice of thousands of free subdomains and forwarding
Numeric .XYZ Domains - 99 cent domains
Also known as Class 1.111B domains. 6N-9N .xyz domain names ie. NNNNNN.xyz - NNNNNNNNN.xyz. (N = 0-9). Full DNS control
Free subdomains available including free hosting
Wordpress.com - Free 1GB
Free hosted wordpress cms website. .wordpress.com subdomain names or use your own domain. Like the Wordpress.org self hosted Wordpress but without the cost
Wix - Free 500MB
Website Builder, accountname.wixsite.com/siteaddress subdomain names or use your own domain.
Weebly Free, Paid versions (Freemium model)
Website Builder, yourname.weebly.com subdomain names or use your own domain.
Jimdo Free, Paid versions (Freemium model) 
Website Builder, yourname.jimdofree.com subdomain names or use your own domain.
8b Free, Paid versions (Freemium model) Now part of Mobirise.com
Free one page sitebuilder, free hosting including .pagexl.com subdomain.
Carrd One page website - Free, Paid versions (Freemium model)
Free Hosting, prepare pages offline and upload files to their hosting. .tiiny.site subdomain.
Dead simple, drag & drop websites for anything. .mmm.page subdomain.
Free hosting, multipage, edit html online or upload files including .github.io subdomain
WordPress managed hosting or Hosting with file manager to upload your own webpages etc including .altervista.org subdomain.
Helio Host - Free 1GB
Community powered free hosting for everyone. .heliohost.org subdomain names or use your own domain. cPanel - full functionality inclucing e-mail accounts. Note accounts can be suspended for inactivity.
XMail - Free 1GB
Webhosting/file storage, www.xmail.net/username address, free e-mail account.
Award Space - Free 1GB
Includes up to 3 free subdomains. Free website builder available.
Infinity Free - Unlimited
Includes up to 3 free websites/subdomains. A selection of subdomains available including .rf.gd, .42web.io, epizy.com, .22web.org.
Profreehost - Free, Unlimited
Up to three free .ezyro.com and .unaux.com subdomain names together with websites, cPanel (e-mail accounts not included) but option to install Wordpress or Pages can be created offline and uploaded by FTP. Sitebuilder also available.
FreehostingEU - Free, paid versions (Freemium model) 200MB
The free service allows you to host a wordpress or joomla blog. Webpages can be created offline using your preferred html or text editor and uploaded by ftp. FreehostingEU includes up to 5 free .eu5.net/eu3.org/eu3.biz subdomain names (see article on free domain names)
Free Web Hosting Area.com - Free 1.5GB
Choice of 10 subdomains - coolpage.biz, freeoda.com, freetzi.com, freevar.com, orgfree.com, noads.biz, ueuo.com, 6te.net, eu5.org, xp3.biz
Free Domains included in paid-for Hosting plans *
D9 Hosting - Free Domain included with all plans. Extensions include .co.uk, .org.uk, .com, .org.
Krystal Hosting - Free Domain included for the lifetime of your Ruby Cloud Hosting plan. Extensions include .co.uk, .org.uk, .com, .org.
Siteground - Free Domain included with all plans. Extensions include .co.uk, .com, .org.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Free
- No need to reveal personal details on a whois registrant document
Cons:
- You have no rights to the subdomain, since it is not registered in your name. You are only being allowed to use the name.
Further reading:
Domain names and Subdomains
Freenom
Forum thread discussing Freenom
Country extensions
Numeric Domains
Recommendations:
There are very limited options available to obtain free domains/subdomains. However if you are conversant with html and have your own hosting Frii and US.KG are worth considering.
If you wish to obtain a free subdomain to use with free hosting Wordpress, Wix, Github and HelioHost are the best options.
Consider Numeric .xyz domains as a very low cost tld domain. Do not choose personal identifiable numbers such as birthdays, telephone numbers, bank account numbers etc. You could link the domain name (ie number) to existing webhosting or forward to a free hosting provider.
Michael Fowler
Other articles by Michael Fowler:
Website Builders - Michael Fowler
Review of a number of Website Builders
Choosing a Webhosting company - Michael Fowler
What to consider when deciding on a webhosting company, recommendation that you consider uk based webshosting company Just Host Me.
Choosing a Webform provider - Michael Fowler
The advantages of using webforms compared with e-mail links, the features you should consider when choosing a webform provider with the recommendation that you consider Ireland based Aidaform
Free E-Mail
Discussion of the inadequacies of isp e-mail addresses and the free e-mail alternatives available.
Free Hosting
The Pros and Cons of using free hosting. A review of the free hosting available in the early days of the internet (1990 - 2000) and the free hosting options available today.
Hosting Reviews
A listing of leading website hosting companies with links to Review centre and Trust Pilot reviews
Disclosure: Potential Communications is an affiliate of Just Host Me, Aidaform, D9 Solutions, Krystal Webhosting, Namesilo and Siteground * and receives a commission on purchases made through this website.
Disclaimer: The websites linked from this webpage are believed to offer services worth considering and to be factually correct but no warranty is offered as to the accuracy of the information on those linked websites nor that those services will meet your particular requirements. You are also subject to any copyright / terms of use restrictions of those websites.
