Hi Everyone…
Time for another deal!
We are offering FREE web hosting to all Australian businesses. Yes, Free Web Hosting. The only catch is that you need to have an active ABN.
10GB Disk Space
50GB Data
2 FTP Accounts
2 E-Mail Addresses (1GB per-Mailbox)
2 Databases
2 Sub-Domains
If you've got any questions, please ask. This is Australian-based hosting and is free for the life of the service. This is not a one-time promotion, this is an on-going offer.
Hi infy,
Yes, most definitely! All you need to do is either change your nameservers with your domain registrar to point to our nameservers, or create the DNS records manually with your current DNS provider. If you are interested in the service, please drop us a line and we will help you out.
My wife has a domain hosted with another (super shitty) company - do you support domain name transfers?
Hello SlifSlif,
Yes, we do. Send us a message and we will definitely help with the domain name transfer.
Hi Chris
I've tried completing the order setup but it times out…
Hi sharka,
Could you please try again now?
@AS136754: That worked. Thanks
But now, i get
Critical Error
SQLSTATE[42S02]: Base table or view not found: 1146 Table 'portal.tblconfiguration' doesn't exist (SQL: select * from tblconfiguration)
I cannot recommend this service for anything beyond a hobby website. A bare bones website is bad enough, but when you look up their ABN you'll find a host of related businesses that have that no longer appear to exist. While you may have a site today, you might not have one tomorrow.
An Ace Ventura site…Hello now, bye bye then.
TRIAL LICENSE: This copy is a trial version and will expire at the end of the trial term. You will need to upgrade to a paid copy to continue using the software after that term.
Hi Rodgort, I would like to know where you have come across that information, as it is definitely not correct. If you'd be willing to share I'm happy to clarify your concerns.
Hi Lps, we are offering no such thing. We are here to stay.
Hi pupkin, Where did you see that? I've just checked and I cannot see anything matching what you've commented.
cpanel
I've had a look and I cannot see it. The service is fully licensed per the below link:
I mentioned in my comment where I found that information. I looked up your ABN. Four (registered) hosting related companies (five if you count this one) in less than six years doesn't spark a lot of confidence. This is especially true when none of them appear to be around anymore.
Hi OP,
Great offer for the community. What's the motivation behind offering free hosting?
Hi atw,
Too many businesses have been going through difficult times as a result of COVID-19. We have the capacity and resources to offer this service at no cost, in order to help those who may need it. For something like what we are offering, the market rate is anywhere from $5 to $30 per month, depending on the provider. It might seem like a small amount, however every dollar counts at the moment.
Can I use this as a student for portfolio hosting?
Hi Nat4an,
If you have an ABN then yes, you can.
looks good deal but what is the catch?
Hi Javin,
There is no catch, no gotchas, no secrets. Just free web hosting, on servers in the Equinix SY4 datacentre.
probably what Rodgort was on about…..
Hi Zachary,
As I mentioned, our servers (yes, we own and operate the hardware) are located in a DC to which we have a contracted service. Our services are solid, have multiple levels of redundancy built-in to ensure uptime and are not in the industry to only be here overnight. We will be here for the long run.
As I also mentioned, I would like to know what this "host of related businesses" are. Without any real verifiable information then it does not represent a fair and objective description of my business (or any business for that matter). Also, a business cannot genuinely be recommended or not recommended without any knowledge or background on the operations of the business (and 5 mins of clicking around a website does not count as gaining knowledge or background). Sure, there may have been providers in the past who have been in operation for days or weeks, however if there have been we have no relation to them and as such cannot be likened to them.
Well….either he's lying and you're right, or he's right and you're hiding something…. I guess we won't know, since I'll assume(Or presume if you haven't started yet) you two will be talking to each other in private…away from public eyes to sort this….thing out….?
Hmmmm…. 🤔
Replied here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/579795#comment-9588286
I work in IT and I'm familiar enough with the hosting space to be able to "spend five minutes" to work out if a hosting provider is worth looking at. For small providers, any red flags (which I've mentioned) and it's not worth a second glance.
@Rodgort: I've provided a detailed explanation here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/579795#comment-9591024
Hopefully it provides some clarification.
OzBargain is turning into Whingepool… People complaining about FREE stuff now LOL!
YES! It's free, use it to host something that isn't so super critical then. Jeez.
+1 on the deal from me.
When you have a business, having uptime on it is absolutely crucial to success; every down time is a potential sale or lead or missed opportunity that would have come with uptime.
So free doesn't necessarily mean it's a bargain if it costs a business in the end. I applaud the OP for offering such a service as a good martyr during these times, but also tread with caution from what the other user has already mentioned on this deal.
Hi SlifSlif,
We operate our free web hosting services with the same level of care as we do with our paid services (and treat them no differently), and keep the same uptime levels. I've posted an explanation relating to the 4 business names I had registered, later on down in the comments.
You mention 2 sub-domains in the offer, does it also include 2 add-on domains? If so, would that be the domain you use when registering and 2 additional?
PS, great offer. Tough crowd here at Ozbargain.
0 add-on domains in case anyone else is wondering. Which is expected for a free offering.
Hi aldroid,
All e-mails have now been pushed out. If you still have not received any emails, please drop me a private message and I'll take a look for you. And yes, there are no add-on domains included.
Has anyone had any luck signing up?
My order keeps timing out
I've signed up, but haven't received the expected cPanel welcome email. I can however get into cPanel via the Customer Account Console and confirm that the service is active.
Mine still says pending…
Firstly, well done and thanks for offering a free service (it's something)… BUT..
Rodgort is referencing your ABN's historical data found here: https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=26253074419
It shows you have had and cancelled 4 "networking" businesses in the last 6 years so it's perfectly OBJECTIVE and clear to think that you might not be the most reliable or trusted service to run anything important or business related.
For something unimportant or for testing then sure this service is great but I also don't appreciate hidden agendas. You're not registered as a charity so you must have a plan to either increase your exposure and marketing or upsell existing clients to paid products that signed up through this free offer.
That's my speculation of course but your ABN lookup and history is not and should be taken into account for those seriously thinking about taking this service up to run their primary business.
I'd also be happy for you to clear things up if there's a legitimate story behind your ABN history.
Hello tap,
Hopefully, the below can provide you some clarity as to the 4 businesses that have been registered over the years:
Eternal Internet Hosting (08 Jan 2014 to 18 May 2017) - I was operating a web hosting business at the time. I leased three virtual servers (1 for cPanel and 2 DNSOnly) to provide these services. The provider I was using, lost the server on which the cPanel server was residing and they were far from helpful with restoration of services. In late April, I made the decision to cease operations and worked with the clients I had to migrate to other providers.
Pacific Network Hosting (06 Sep 2015 to 12 Oct 2015) - I was contracted by a Fixed-Wireless ISP in Port Vila, Vanuatu to aid them with rebuilding their network after Cyclone Pam tore through the country. They contracted me to assist with reinstalling new hardware and reconfiguring the new network. It was a 5 week contract with a team of 12 staff, 3 Australian and 9 Ni-Vanuatu.
DataOne Networks (24 Jan 2017 to 07 Jun 2018) - DataOne was established to start providing network connectivity services (IP Transit, dark fibre and retail access internet services) to small businesses, however was never officially launched.
Colocation Networks (19 Dec 2017 to 02 May 2019) - Colocation Networks provided datacentre colocation and IP transit to clients. The provider that we leased the rack space from went into liquidation and in order to protect our client's physical assets we had to remove the equipment from the rack with almost no notice. It was not possible to find a provider at the time, who had the capacity we required and as such we looked after the customers the best we could, by working with other providers to onboard them as quickly as possible. As a result, I was left with no alternative but to cease operations.
The reason I am offering free web hosting, is to help those gain exposure on the internet, and all I ask is that those who have and do sign up consider us for any future requirements. Otherwise, they can use our web hosting for free, as long as they require without any caveats. Sure, if they need greater than what they currently have then there will be a cost involved as I cannot offer everything for free. I can assure you, there are no hidden agendas with the service I'm offering. If people are dissatisfied with the service they have, they are welcome to leave at any time, and their personal information will be destroyed (as much as practicable). The hardware that operates our network (the compute, routing and switching), is all owned with clear title (not under finance and no security interest is registered) and the business has enough capital to cover the colocation costs for the term of the contract.
I'm simply starting again. Hopefully I've been able to clear up any questions or concerns you may have had. Should you have any further questions, please do feel free to drop me a private message and I'm happy to discuss further.
Hi there, do you offer HTTPS service?
Hi rgirardo,
Yes, we do support HTTPS (aka SSL) on our web hosting. You can either create a self-signed certificate, create one using Let's Encrypt or create a Certificate Signing Request for the certficate to be generated by the issuer of your choosing.
Thank you for that, my current provider just told me that I just need to change my name servers to point your servers, is that correct? or do I still need the EPP code from him.
You can transfer your domain over to us, or you can update your domain to point to our nameservers, whichever you prefer. If you like, send myself a private message and I'll be happy to assist with the process.
Do you support Wordpress?
Hi BigAntz,
Does our platform support WordPress? Yes, it does. Do we provide Managed WordPress installations? We can, drop me a message and we can discuss.
Yes, it was more of do you support WordPress, what installer do you use, stuff like that.
Nice! You're willing to provide Managed WordPress; maybe that should be advertised on your site, you may get more people signing up.
I have an existing .ml domain, would I be able to use that? I'm currently hosting my site locally but the speeds are rather slow although I can also use the cloudflare nameservers.
Hi MadMarty,
Send me a private message with your website address, and I'll let you know if it can be used.
Anyone having issues with their free web hosting?
Can a business point their own domain A record at this service?