If you're one of the growing number of people who publish Web pages or cobble together Web sites, you've probably learned one lesson: you can't get enough space for your content, because, let's face it, with Java, graphics, and multimedia content, even a small Web site can eat up megabytes of storage.

But getting that extra space can be difficult for several reasons. Sometimes you only need a cheap place to hang your hat online. Or, maybe you can't afford full service from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Or, maybe you just  need a way to host your Web site cheaply. There's a way to do it that costs you nothing. It's called free Web hosting, and as the name implies, you pay nothing for your Web space.

Why Free Web Hosting?

Free Web hosting has a lot going for it. The most important aspect is the cost. How else can you get a place to dump your Web pages without paying a cent? A free hosting service is perfect for someone who can't afford a full-fledged Internet account or who accesses the Web using a public terminal or a FreeNet. Depending on the service you choose, you can get anywhere from 3 MB to 35 MB of storage space. Many ISPs don't offer that much. If they do, the extra space can get quite expensive.

Of course, there's the convenience of it all. You can do just about everything you need to with a free Web hosting service. Most give you access to an online HTML editor and to some sort of file management tool. While the latter allows you to delete or rename files, but generally little else, the HTML editors are quite useful. They range from a simple workspace into which you type your code and content, to editors that insert HTML tags with a mouse click, to fully-fledged graphical tools that let you build pages by pointing and clicking.

Best of all, transferring your files from your computer to any free hosting service is easy. Most have an interface for transferring files. Or, you can use good old-fashioned FTP to move your files around. There's no learning curve for experienced Web users. You simply do as you have always done.

If you're wondering about a service to choose, here's a quick peek at some of the services out there: