Free Hosting
Free Hosting is a great way to start your first website. Later when you are used to creating and updating websites you can consider whether paid hosting might be more suitable for a long term professional internet presence.
Historically there were a large number of free webhosts in the mid to late 1990s but most of those have ceased doing business. At that time they offered up to 15MB of space (a wholly inadequate amount of space by today's standards) The companies made their money by placing adverts on the free websites which somewhat spoiled the websites themselves, mind you the websites were often gaudy affairs with flashing text, animated images as amateur webmasters tried out the new media.
These are some of the most well known of the free webspace providers from this era:
Geocities (1994 - 2009) - 15MB
In 1997 it had one million member websites and was the fifth most popular website that year. Yahoo Geocities
Angelfire (1996 - still in business)
Part of Lycos offering 20MB of free space. Angelfire
Tripod (1992 - 2009 in Europe) - 20MB
Part of Lycos, still in business. Tripod
Today there are many free webspace providers with varying service levels (up time) however the following services are popular and worthy of consideration, we consider suitabilty for small charities and not-for-profits:
Category 1: Traditional Website Builders (All-in-One Editors)
These platforms combine visual drag-and-drop editors with integrated cloud hosting. They are the standard approach for small charities requiring multi-page setups, blogs, or embedded forms.
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Steeper learning curve than Wix. Uses block-based editing. Extensive ecosystem.
2. Free Version Suitability
Poor. Subdomain reads yourcharity.wordpress.com. The free tier heavily restricts essential fundraising plugins.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Requires upgrading to a paid tier to point or map an external custom domain.
Wordpress review (UK Webhost Review)
Wordpress review (Tooltester Review)
1. Ease of use
High. Highly intuitive, visual pixel-perfect drag-and-drop. Features dedicated charity templates.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair for testing. Subdomain reads ://wixsite.com. It places highly visible Wix ad banners on your site.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. You must purchase a premium plan to link a custom domain. Non-profits can apply for a 70% discount.
1. Ease of use
High. Structured, box-style drag-and-drop editor. Exceptionally easy for beginners to navigate.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Subdomain is ://weebly.com. Features a standard footer ad. Good built-in basic forms.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Custom domains require a subscription upgrade to unlock connection permissions.
1. Ease of use
High. Uses AI-assisted setups for fast building. Great for basic multi-page websites.
2. Free Version Suitability
Poor. Subdomain is ://jimdosite.com. Storage and bandwidth caps are highly restrictive
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Linking your custom web address is locked behind their entry paid tier.
1. Ease of use
High. Sleek, section-based grid layout. Yields highly polished, modern designs automatically.
2. Free Version Suitability
None. No permanent free tier exists. Offers a standard 14-day free trial period only.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Requires a premium subscription. Squarespace provides a 10% to 20% non-profit discount for eligible groups.
Reviews of Website builders including wix, weebly, jimdo and squarespace
Category 2: Micro-Sites, Landing Pages & Design Platforms
Perfect for single-page setups, specific donation campaigns, localized community chapters, or charities operating on non-existent budgets.
1. Ease of use
High. One of the absolute best builders for elegant, responsive single-page layouts.
2. Free Version Suitability
Excellent. Subdomain is yourcharity.carrd.co. Highly reliable uptime, clean aesthetics, minimal branding.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Connecting a custom domain requires a "Pro" plan. However, Carrd Pro is incredibly inexpensive.
1. Ease of use
Very High. Exactly like creating a presentation slides deck. Perfect for design-focused teams.
2. Free Version Suitability
Good. Subdomain is yourcharity.my.canva.site. Includes direct access to Canva's free charity asset library.
3. Custom Domain Support
Excellent. Uniquely allows custom domain mapping on the free tier. You can point your domain for free.
1. Ease of use
Very High. You simply drag and upload a zip file containing raw HTML or a PDF.
2. Free Version Suitability
Poor. Subdomain is randomized/branded. Limited to tiny file sizes and web traffic limits.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Custom domains are strictly locked behind their recurring premium plans.
1. Ease of use
High. Quirky, whiteboard-style freeform collage editor. Highly expressive feel.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Subdomain is mmm.page/yourcharity. Fun for community youth groups, poor for serious donor trust.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Unlocking custom web addresses requires purchasing their premium upgrade.
1. Ease of use
High. Simple block-based mobile editor using pre-constructed website sections.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Subdomain is yourcharity.8b.io. Extremely simple layout choices, making it quick but rigid.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Removing the 8b link and utilizing an independent domain requires a paid plan.
1. Ease of use
High. Minimalist, single-page landing layout builder designed for simple online shops.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Branded subdomain provided. Highly restrictive feature set on the base tier.
3. Custom Domain Support
Paid Only. Pointing your personal domain name requires a paid tier subscription.
Category 3: Developer Platforms & Static/Jamstack Hosting
These require coding knowledge (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git). They are incredibly fast and completely free, but volunteers will struggle to edit content unless a headless CMS is wired in.
1. Ease of use
Low. No visual builder. Requires familiarity with Git, repositories, markdown, or HTML.
2. Free Version Suitability
Excellent. Subdomain is yourcharity.github.io. 100% free, 100% ad-free, fast, and secure.
3. Custom Domain Support
Excellent. Fully supports custom domain mapping entirely for free. No hidden monetization tiers.
https://potcomm.github.io - test page
1. Ease of use
Low. Intended for modern web developers deploying frontend frameworks (React, Next.js).
2. Free Version Suitability
Excellent. Subdomain is yourcharity.vercel.app. Superfast global infrastructure, no platform ads.
3. Custom Domain Support
Excellent. Fully supports custom domain mapping for free. Excellent for custom-coded builds.
1. Ease of use
Low. Developer centric workflow. Excellent for hosting pre-built static websites or Jamstack setups.
2. Free Version Suitability
Excellent. Subdomain is yourcharity.netlify.app. Massive free bandwidth allocations with zero ads.
3. Custom Domain Support
Excellent. Fully supports custom domain integration completely for free on their base tier.
https://potentialcomms.netlify.app/ - test page
Category 4: Traditional Free cPanel Web Hosting
These resemble classic web hosting accounts with file managers and FTP access. They are notorious for poor performance, server instability, or forced ad injections.
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Offers cPanel and Softaculous automated WordPress installers.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Choice of a few free subdomains*. No forced banner ads on your site front-end.
3. Custom Domain Support
Good. Allows you to point your own custom domain for free, but server performance can be sluggish.
*Includes up to 3 free websites/subdomains. A selection of subdomains available including .rf.gd, .42web.io, epizy.com, .22web.org.
InfinityFree Trustpilot Review
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Blog-centric traditional hosting framework built closely around WordPress.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Subdomain provided. The platform relies heavily on ad-network integration to monetize your space.
3. Custom Domain Support
Moderate. Custom domains can be linked, but navigation often pushes you toward internal registrations.
Altervista Website Planet Review
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Standard web host offering a tiny 1GB free storage tier*.
2. Free Version Suitability
Poor. Highly restricted server capabilities. Free subdomains available but the environment is cramped.
3. Custom Domain Support
Good. Allows free custom domain mapping, but aggressive upsell emails to paid plans are frequent.
*Includes up to 3 free subdomains. Free website builder available.
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Standard free cPanel clone provider using shared server architectures.
2. Free Version Suitability*
Poor. Frequently flagged by web browsers for security certificates or downtime due to bad server neighbors.
3. Custom Domain Support
Fair. Supports linking an external domain for free, but reliability makes it risky for public-facing charities.
*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.
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Basic server dashboard. Free account is limited to 200MB storage and 4GB bandwidth.
2. Free Version Suitability*
Poor. Extremely small storage limits mean you will run out of space quickly if uploading charity event photos.
3. Custom Domain Support
Fair. Supports pointing custom domains, but the server resource caps make it highly impractical.
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)
1. Ease of use
Moderate. Outdated user dashboard. Active since the early days of basic hosting.
2. Free Version Suitability
Poor. They reserve the right to force banner ads onto your website if your web traffic volumes spike.
3. Custom Domain Support
Fair. Custom domain mapping is supported, but the overall interface lacks modern security standards.
Choice of 10 subdomains - coolpage.biz, freeoda.com, freetzi.com, freevar.com, orgfree.com, noads.biz, ueuo.com, 6te.net, eu5.org, xp3.biz
Freewebhostingarea Trustpilot Review
1. Ease of use
Low. Community-run non-profit hosting. Features powerful, multi-language configurations.
2. Free Version Suitability
Fair. Completely ad-free subdomains. However, sign-ups are restricted to limited daily slots.
3. Custom Domain Support
Good. Supports free custom domain use, but demands technical server configuration via DNS records.
Free Charity Hosting
Krystal Hosting - Charity Hosting
Purely - Free Hosting for Charities
There are many more companies offering free charity hosting for charities listed on Google. Just enter Free Charity Hosting into Google.
Summary Recommendation
If you have zero budget but want a custom domain, use Canva Website Builder (if you want a simple visual editor) or GitHub Pages (if a technical volunteer can write basic code). We would also recommend Netlify using the folder upload.
If you have a small budget or want professional features, use Wix or Weebly with their non-profit discounts. They provide the safest environment for volunteer transitions and easy donation forms.
Avoid Tier 4 (InfinityFree, ProFreeHost, etc.) as the random downtime and lack of security optimization can hurt your charity's donor credibility.
Recomendations for Personal portfolio sites: Wix, Carrd and Canva.
Pros and Cons of Free Hosting
Pros:
Free
No need to have a domain name
Protect your privacy, since not included on whois registration records
Cons:
Use of basic free hosting without own domain name can be considered unprofessional
Reliability issues of free hosting (you cannot demand a certain service level if you are not paying anything!). If you find a service unreliable... just try another service!
Further reading:
The Best Free Web Hosting Sites (2021)
Michael Fowler
Other articles by Michael Fowler:
Free E-Mail - Michael Fowler
Discussion of the inadequacies of isp e-mail addresses and the free e-mail alternatives available.
Hosting Reviews - Michael Fowler
A listing of leading website hosting companies with links to Review centre and Trust Pilot reviews.
Sitemaps - Michael Fowler
Discussion of the different types of sitemap, their value and the desirability of using them on a website
Broken Links - Michael Fowler
Discussion of broken links, what they are, how they occur, their detrimental effect and how to eliminate or minimise the effect they have on the performance of your website.
Disclosure: Potential Communications does not receive payments from any of the companies mentioned on this page. Portions of the article on this page have been created with the assistance of Gemini AI.
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.