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When the time is right, BUY a domain name and obtain professional, domain name web hosting. There are two big reasons for this are:
1) A domain name conveys you are serious about the Internet. It is as if you have bought a house and said, "Here is where I am and here is where you'll find me any time you want". It is a permanent address on the Internet and conveys a much different impression than a free, sub-hosted web address.

2) You can get your own, permanent email address. This is BIG. With a domain name, you get email service... an email address based on your domain name. You will be able to create multiple email addresses for whatever purposes you may need. This makes a very different impression on people when they see your return email address. A "free email address" says you are NOT permanently located on the Internet, yet. Think about it.

On the Free Web Hosting Page there are numerous, top quality, domain name web hosting companies listed. Check em' out. It's worth the effort if you intend to work and/or create a serious personal web page on the Internet.

Free web sites are a wonderful service. It is a fast, easy way to get a Net' address. Free web sites can also be a great resource for storing graphics and pictures if your current web host address has "maxed-out" on available web space.

A couple of quick tips:
1) Free web sites vary in size, services reliability and especially terms and conditions of use. Do some comparison shopping before going to the effort of building a web site at a free site.

2) Some free web site services WILL NOT protect your custom graphics. As of this writing GeoCities and Yahoo! both claim that any graphics hosted by their free web site service are publicly available to anyone. (Told ya' you should read those terms and conditions)

3) Some free web sites are more tolerant of free speech that others. Look for an online community of free web sites that match your values and interests.

4) Free web sites that offer "easy web building" services are great, but remember, once you start working with a certain "web building" system, you are stuck with it ... IE .. it can be difficult if not impossible to transfer a free web site at one location to another free site at another location. Free sites often ARE free sites because they want you to get use to their "system". Then, when you get serious about web services (such as domain names and purchasing megs on a web server), they got ya'. That's fine, as long as you can continue to grow and stay current with the Internet. Some free web site convert easily to professional, domain name hosting. Some don't. When you decide on domain name hosting, evaluate all your options.

5) Free web sites are excellent for personal web pages (and for small business start-ups). They can be a good training ground for learning about creating and maintaining an online business. HOWEVER, free web sites and low cost "business" sub-hosted web sites will never perform as well as the same site, with a domain name, hosted at a quality web hosting company. Since the cost of both the domain name and a quality web hosting are tax deductible you should consider getting both (if you are serious about running some sort of online business). The cost of professional web hosting has dropped dramaticly, it's hard to justify NOT having professional, domain name web hosting.

6) Free web sites CAN disappear rather suddenly... which means your position on the Internet, and all the traffic you have garnered, also disappears. With a domain name, you can move to any web hosting company, anywhere, and everyone on the Internet will always be able to find you.

Just so you know, 1 NetCentral started out on a free webhosting site, years ago. Free hosting sites do, indeed, provide a very helpful special service to those who want to learn about and work on the Net'. They give us all an equal chance, regardless of income, to be creative, speak our mind and/or go into business.

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