Domain names can be hosted by themselves, or you can have your domain hosting, email hosting and web hosting in one place. The domain hosting space has become quite competitive, which is good news for you as the buyer. This means that you can get some completely free domain hosting providers and some great bundle deals. Most web hosts also offer domain hosting as part of their service. People often ask, can you get a domain name for free? I’ve written a detailed article on how to get a 100% free domain name, you can read it here. However, if you are simply looking for domain hosting for a domain name you already own, or multiple for that matter, then this article is for you.
9 Best FREE Domain Hosting Providers #hosting #domain #free Share on XDomain Name Registration
It’s important to note that all domain name registrars have access to the same domain name URLs. Therefore, when we are looking for a good domain host, then we are looking for the FREE/ cheap aspect and also the additional domain management features. Automatic features like auto domain renewal or bulk domain buying tools are handy.
Domain Name Management
A domain name is a critical part of your online brand presence. Domain management is essential to ensure that your domain name stays stable, secure and always available. Renewing domain names or terminating them are the main actions that people want to perform on a domain name. However, domain transfer, domain auctions and domain investing are also activities that more advanced domain name owners might want to take part in.
Keeping your WHOIS information up to date is also an essential part of managing your domain name. According to ICANN regulation, you need to provide accurate contact information for your domain. Having the ability to directly update these details from your domain manager is a bonus.
Without further ado, let’s dive into 9 best FREE domain name hosting providers.
1. Hostinger
BEST FOR – Cheap, reliable domain hosting and web hosting – for growing your online presence.
Hostinger is a MASSIVE web host that you can trust. Hostinger powers websites for over 2 million users all around the world. With that many users, you know they are a name you can trust. If you are looking for a free domain name with cheap hosting, then look no further than Hostinger.
You’ll also get a professional domain name when you sign up with Hostinger. From £2.59 per month, you can get hosting with a free domain name from Hostinger. If you want to transfer domains from another provider then you can do it quickly and easily. That way you can manage all of your domain names in one place.
It’s easy to manage your domain names, you simply hit “My Domain Names” inside the Network Solutions Account Manager and you can then set the DNS, and manage all of your domain names. You can also use hPanel to set subdomains. You’ll be able to register domain easily in the onboarding process and manage them inside the hPanel with no hassle.
Hostinger is great for providing comprehensive tutorials for you to manage your account easily.
Pros
✔ 99.9% uptime guarantee
✔ Easy to manage
✔ Great customer support
✔ Free domain name
Cons
✘ Need to buy hosting to get free domain hosting
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2. 000WebHost
BEST FOR – Small websites, clubs, and personal projects
000WebHost offers 100% free domain hosting services. Additionally, you can get free subdomains if you are simply looking for a domain name to point at a server. They accept international domains. Additionally, they offer free hosting, but what’s the catch?
000WebHost offers a completely free domain and web hosting service as well as offering some great features, like a website builder. They also don’t show any ads on the free hosting plan as many others do. What’s more, you can administer your domain names and hosting with cPanel. This is great news for creating sub-domains and setting up email addresses.
The only real catch with the free domain hosting from 000WebHost is that they don’t offer email accounts with the free plan. So if you want to take advantage of their free domain or website hosting, then you won’t be able to make professional email addresses. Paid plans and contributions make the 000WebHost a viable option (business-wise). When you upgrade to paid you get more disk space, an email account, backups, free domain name, SSL certificates, and 24/7 support.
With 000WebHost you can upload your files via FTP, use WordPress or their free “Easy Website Builder”. They give you 1 GB disk space & 10GB bandwidth plus domain hosting – all for no money down.
Click Here To Visit 000webhost
Pros
✔ No Adverts
✔ Free domain host
✔ Free web host
✔ Website builder
✔ cPanel
Cons
✘ Email accounts not available on the free plan
✘ Limited support on free plan
3. Names.co.uk
BEST FOR – Beginners who would like free.uk and .co.uk domain name and hosting
Names.co.uk was founded nearly two decades ago, and are a great domain hosting provider. Names.co.uk is part of the European conglomerate Dada Group.Names.co.uk offers a great deal where you can get two .uk and two .co.uk domain names for free. They also provide a free email account via their LiteMail option, this gives you 100MB storage as well as decent features such as anti-virus and spam protection. Names. co.uk offers a free website builder and great customer support.
If you are also looking to host your website with names.co.uk then they have some great features for those of us who are not tech experts. For example, you can get cPanel and loads of 1-click installation tools that allow you to install WordPress with the click of a button. One major downside of Names.co.uk is that their customer support is only open during office hours (eg. No 24/7 support). They also have no live chat feature.
Click Here To Visit Names.co.uk
Pros
✔ FREE email account
✔ Feature rich
✔ Great Customer support
✔ Free domain names
✔ 99.9% uptime
✔ FREE SSL
✔ Free Fotolia credits
Cons
✘ No live chat
✘ Limited Support
4. Wix (FREE .com)
Best for – Novice that has just one domain/ website name that they want to host.
Wix is an Israeli cloud-hosting company famous for their easy to use website builder. You can get a free .com domain name with a paid plan from Wix, otherwise, you can get a subdomain with your free account. The only downside is that you can’t park unlimited domain names on Wix. When I think of domain hosting, I think of hosting multiple domain names. However, you might only have one domain name, and if this is the case – Wix is a brilliant option.
The website builder from Wix comes with some slick templates and a drag and drop interface that is extremely easy to use. Wix also has a logo maker and a great support center. Wix is a fantastic option for the complete beginner and currently hosts over 110 million websites.
Pros
✔ Great for beginners
✔ FREE .com domain name for 1 year
✔ Easy to use web builder
Cons
✘ Free domain name only with paid plan
✘ Lacks domain management tools
5. Godaddy
BEST FOR – Domain Name Enthusiasts as they offer some great domain name tools
Godaddy are the largest domain name registrar in the world, so it’s no wonder that Godaddy offers some special domain hosting features, that no other provider offers. They boast 17 million customers from all over the world. You can also add as many domain names as you want to your web hosting account for FREE. Additionally, transferring domain names is also free.
Bluehost allows you to transfer standard domain names to your hosting account for free. Such as com, net, org, us, co, info, and biz. The domain name tools available from Godaddy are extensive, for that reason alone, they are a great company to use as your domain host. They offer tools like – bulk domain search, cash parking, domain investing, domain value appraisal, domain auction, domain name generators and much much more.
Pros
✔ Largest Domain Name Registrar
✔ 99.9% uptime
✔ Great web builder with over 300 themes
✔ 24/7 Support
✔ cPanel
Cons
✘ Live chat only available during office hours
6. 123 Reg
BEST FOR – UK companies that want to host unlimited domain names and websites.
123 Reg is a UK website and domain host that focuses on the customer experience. All of their plans come with one or more free domain names, which is nice. They also offer unlimited bandwidth – meaning you don’t need to worry about how many users come to your site, 123 Reg has you covered. You can transfer the vast majority of standard domain names to 123 Reg for free however if you want to transfer a premium domain name, then this comes with a sizable fee of £19.99+.
You can host as many domain names as you like on 123 reg and also upgrade your plan as and when you want to expand your business. The fact that they offer truly unlimited bandwidth is an attractive proposition.
Pros
✔ Great customer service
✔ Transfer standard domains for FREE
✔ Unlimited bandwidth
✔ You need to buy one of their hosting plans to get free domain hosting
✔ UK Company
Cons
✘ Transferring premium domains is expensive
7. Bluehost
BEST FOR – Great domain management features
Another thing to look out for is whether or not your domain name is will be locked if you don’t pay for your hosting. The good thing about Bluehost is that you can login to their “Bluehost Domain Manager” even if you don’t have an active hosting account. This is a great feature of Bluehost, making them a very reliable option.
You’ll also get a free standard domain name if you sign up for a hosting package with Bluehost. If you don’t know what domain name to choose then they’ll give you a domain credit to use at a later date. Update WHOIS information directly from your domain manager dashboard. You can add, edit and manage your domain names from the Bluehost domain manager.
Pros
✔ 24/7 Support
✔ Bluehost Domain Manager
✔ Transfer standard domain names for free
Cons
✘ Expensive host
8. 1&1 IONOS (FREE .co.uk)
BEST FOR – FREE .co.uk with optional hosting
You can get a completely free domain name or transfer your domain names to 1&1 IONOS for free. 1&1’s domain name servers can be used or you can use your own name servers when you host your domain with 1&1 Ionos. It is easy and free to transfer your domain name from another provider to 1&1 ionos. They also offer some great tutorials. You can purchase Microsoft Office 365 from 1&1. This makes creating and using professional email addresses easy with 1&1 IONOS
Pros
✔ Get free .co.uk domain name
✔ 1 email account
✔ SSL included
Cons
✘ Offer only available for .co.uk domain names
✘ Not for beginners
9. One.com (.co.uk, .com, .uk, .org)
BEST FOR – Lots of FREE domain name extensions, enhanced domain security features
If you are looking for unlimited subdomains, then One.com could be the domain host for you. They also provide a wide range of credible domain name extensions like .com, .co, .co.uk, .org and .uk for FREE. Watch out for the cheeky monthly £0.98 DNS fee that is applied.
They also offer additional security features like ownership protection and privacy. For example, they will protect your email from hijacking or losing your domain name when it accidentally expires. One great thing about One.com is that you can create as many professional email addresses as you want for your domain names hosted with them. This is quite unusual as often hosts restrict the number of email addresses that you can have. One.com allows you to manage all areas of your domain name from an easy to use interface. Inside the domain manager, you can manage DNS, forward emails
Pros
✔ 15 Day money-back guarantee
✔ 24/7 support
✔ Unlimited email aliases
✔ Wide range of “free” domain names
✔ Website builder can be added
Cons
✘ Monthly DNS fee of £0.98
In Conclusion
When looking for domain hosting, admin features are extremely important. Additionally, the number of subdomains, hosting prices and the availability of email addresses also come up top on my list. Hostinger is probably my favorite, because they offer such great deals and power 29 million websites as well as offering a free domain name. Managing domain names is also really easy with Hostinger.