is free web hosting a bad idea?

[alivia]

I'm trying to figure out where to host a small site for a business service I'd like to start. What I plan to do is post ads for the service on craigslist and use the website as a "for more information..." kind of thing. I only need maybe ten pages on the site, few if any photos & no bandwidth-hoggy stuff (like videos).

If I gain any clients and make any money from it, I don't mind paying for decent hosting, but I hate to pay upfront on a whim when the idea is to *make* money not *risk* money, YK?

So I'm trying to find out if there are any good, low-ad, FREE hosting places out there. I've thought about Google sites, but they say in their terms & cond. that Google owns all the content on its sites. I find that weird and unsettling.

Anyone have a free hosting site they'd recommend, or even a dirt-cheap one? Thanks for any leads!!

[fullofgrace]

I've used http://www.asmallorange.com in the past and been pleased. I was on their Tiny plan which was only $25 for a year, knowing I could always upgrade if I needed to. http://asmallorange.com/hosting/shared/ For a very basic site you definitely don't need bells and whistles, but ad-free would look more professional imo.

[alivia]

Thanks for the Small Orange suggestion. While the $25/year option is definitely the most cost-efficient I've found out there, I actually plan to use their $5/month option. I didn't want to spend much of anything just to try out an idea, so $5 plus a $10 domain seems an appropriate "risk" for me right now. Cool!