Home
>
Web Hosting
>
Web Design and Hosting - Free Web Hosting Perks That Will Perk Up Your Web Site

Web Design and Hosting - Free Web Hosting Perks That Will Perk Up Your Web Site

If you've got or are considering a web hosting account with PHP and mySQL support, you'll find a wealth of free programs and scripts to take advantage of their powerful combined capabilities.

Web hosting providers, from free to pricey, have always included some free pre-installed scripts to their customers in the way of guest books, counters and calendars. If you're shopping around now, though, you'll find that the toys and bells and whistles that you can install on your web pages include hundreds of scripts and applications. You can set up one of dozens of forums, choose from many image galleries and photo albums, and serve classified ads, offer auction listings and dating services - in short, just about anything at all that you can do on the Internet, you can do with a free PHP script from your web hosting provider.

One of the best free services to look for is Fantastico, a web-based script installer that allows you to add any of dozens of free goodies to your web site with just the click of a mouse. If your web hosting provider offers Fantastico with its hosting accounts, you've got access to over a dozen different content management systems, half a dozen user forums, several different blog packages, shopping carts, including Zen Cart and OS Commerce, an easy FAQ maker and six different customer support options so that you can offer help and support on your web site.

Two of the handiest types of free tools that many web hosting companies offer for free are:

Portals and Content Management Systems

Content management systems make it easy for you to add and remove pages and information to and from your web site. Most include modules that let you add discussion boards, shopping carts, polls and instant messaging, as well as user authentication and security to your web site easily. Among the content management systems that your web hosting company may offer for free are Mambo, Post-Nuke, Xoops and Drupal. All are open source software with a lot of user support beyond the support offered by your web hosting company, so there are always new modules and new tricks being offered for all of them.

Blogs

Blogs are online publishing tools that make it easy to update your website as often as you like. They automatically put the latest entries up and move older entries down in the reading queue. One of the most commonly used is WordPress, which many web hosting providers include as a free setup script with your web hosting account.

To view our recommended web hosts, visit, recommended web hosting companies.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of recommended web hosting companies, an informational website, with articles and the latest news about various topics.

weekly home cleaning Lincolnshire ...

In The News:

Apple and Google password managers can flag compromised, weak and reused passwords on your phone before credential stuffing attacks can strike.

Researcher Peter Garrigan says Moonshot AI's Kimi model was manipulated into providing instructions for biological weapons and assassination plans.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones now offer call screening that asks unknown callers to identify themselves before your phone rings.

Ransomware can lock your irreplaceable photos and documents in seconds. A tested backup strategy and stronger cybersecurity habits are your best defense.

ShinyHunters claims it breached FBIJobs.gov and stole Social Security numbers, home addresses and sensitive assignment details of FBI personnel.

Find My iPhone, Google Find Hub and Samsung Find have critical tracking settings to enable now, before your phone ever goes missing or stolen.

The FTC proposed a new enforcement policy on personalized pricing, warning companies that hide how personal data shapes the prices shoppers see.

The $250 million Apple Siri AI settlement is now accepting claims, with eligible iPhone owners potentially receiving up to $95 per device.

ShareAScan turns T-shirts into scannable digital business cards with QR codes that link to profiles the owner can update anytime they choose.

BragJack research reveals how a single malicious browser extension could hijack Gemini, Perplexity Comet and Edge AI agents with zero clicks.

A phishing campaign impersonating OpenAI uses fake ChatGPT billing emails with a convincing login page to steal credentials and payment details.

Startups are helping modernize America’s defense industry with new technology and innovative ideas as the War Department diversifies its inventory.

New account fraud victims jumped 31% in 2025, reaching 5.4 million. Criminals open accounts you may never see on your regular bank statements.

Flytrex says its AI-powered Rooftop Dock system in Dallas-Fort Worth positions drones at restaurants before orders arrive, cutting delivery costs by 60%.

Samson Sky's Switchblade flying car secures $80 million from Dubai's Matin Group, but the redesigned hybrid-electric aircraft still needs more testing.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

CenterPoint Energy confirmed customer data was stolen, while a hacker claims 7.49 million records with partial Social Security numbers were taken.

The $59 Brick device promises to help curb phone addiction, but free iPhone and Android tools may already do the job. Here's what to try first.

Epsilon Data Management's "opportunity seeker" lists helped scammers target millions of older Americans, DOJ court filings reveal in detail.

HBO Max's verified Reddit account was hijacked to push 108 malicious ads using ClickFix, a technique that tricks victims into running dangerous commands.

Flash Shelton reveals how home security cameras and alarm systems can stop squatters before they claim tenant rights in your vacant property.

WIM-Z's AI dog training robot uses on-device processing to detect barking and dispense treats autonomously, with field trials showing up to 83% reduction.

Google's Threat Intelligence Group found PROMPTFLUX malware that uses Gemini to rewrite its own code every hour, raising urgent cybersecurity alarms.

Your VPN may quietly drop protection when switching between airport Wi-Fi and hotel Wi-Fi. Key settings like auto-connect and kill switch help.

A South Carolina caregiver allegedly gained power of attorney over a 75-year-old with Parkinson's, then transferred his home via quitclaim deed for $5.