Testing JustFree.com’s WordPress and Other Hosting
I
nteresting new site, JustFree.com.
They offer auto installs of WordPress blogs. I created one here: “Test Blog” and it only took a few minutes. You get a subdomain, but you may also redirect a domain you own to the site. So, it is essentially complete hosting.
You also get:
Disk space usage: 40mb
three (3) MySQL databases
and three (3) MySQL users
So, you can have three different sites in one hosting.
Their application installer will also install the following programs for you. The links below will take you to each platform’s development site. Check out each platform and see what it can do for you.
osCommerce – an ecommerce platform for Online Merchants
MyBB – a bulletin board / forum platform
sBlog – a blog platform (beta)
MyLittleForum – a bulletin board / forum platform
Mambo – a very robust CMS site platform
Xoops – a portal CMS platform
gallery – an image gallery platform
SMF – Simple Machines Forum / Bulletin Board
WordPress – likely the best blog platform of all
Joomla – a powerful CMS – “Mambo-like”
wikiwig – a wiki collaboration platform
ZenCart – an ecommerce platform for Online Merchants
tikiwiki – a wiki collaboration platform
cutenews – news management platform
coppermine – an image gallery platform
Nucleus – a blog platform
bBlog – a blog platform
4images – an image gallery platform
phpBB2 – a bulletin board / forum platform
UseBB – a bulletin board / forum platform
That is especially cool. Truly, it is now easy for individuals to experiment with all of those platforms. This could be the makings of an excellent education resource, alone.
Now, it isn’t quite as simple as all that – as in, one-click and you’re done. But, it isn’t too many clicks, at all. You do have to go through a database setup process. It isn’t hard and doesn’t take long. But, for those new to web hosting, it might be a bit of a struggle. I hope JustFree.com starts putting up some help files. That would spur on more users.
That’s pretty cool. I wonder how long they can sustain this “free” hosting offer. And, I wonder what their goal is for the future? It would seem that advertising is the only way they can sustain the offering, absent requiring fees for hosting.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
The strangest thing about my upload experiences to-date? They will allow .js files but when trying to add a new theme, the server stopped only – .css files. Very strange. I submitted a support ticket. We’ll see if it is just a glitch. I think they’re just now getting started, so glitches can be expected. Hope the site grows and succeeds. It will be a good resource.
[...] that offers offers ad-free, free hosting with 40 MB of disk space and 3 MySQL databases (thanks to infOpinions? for the heads up). This site, JustFree.com, says that the disk space is likely to increase over [...]
Update: The .css file exclusion has been fixed. It was a glitch. So, that’s good. You can now upload new themes that will work.
But, a second unfortunate problem has arisen. The mail() function has been disabled on that service for any hosting accounts. So, here are some problems that causes: when you create a WordPress blog, for instance, you will not receive an email with your password. Write it down when you create it. But, any functions like – retrieving your password, subscribe to comments, subscribe to blog posts will not work. People that register for your blog will, likewise, not receive an email notifying them of their registration.
Now, think of all the other functions on all the other platforms you may install that also use such functions and you’ll see how the hosting service is flawed. Yes, I know it is free and can still serve the purpose of hosting sites. But, by denying the mail() function, they severely limit the useful nature of the hosting service. Right now, just chalk it up as a way to test open source platforms. I wouldn’t use it for a full blown dynamic site. It certainly is not appropriate for trying to develop any kind of community.
As this site, wordpressgarage.com, notes the JustFree.com user agreement essentially says, “… that they can give your email address to third parties – correct me if I’m wrong. In the meantime, I’m going to sign up with a web email address.” So, when you sign up, I’d also use an address from a made up Yahoo! or Hotmail account that you can throw away if the spam gets unbearable.
[...] infOpinions? · Testing JustFree.com’s WordPress and Other Hosting Robert French on JustFree (frei WordPress Hosting). In contrast to wordpress.com they allow to run any user script. Further you can upload “HTML pages, MySQL databases, PHP scripts, images and stylesheets.” (tags: tool weblog website) [...]
helpful post!
[...] around, I’d say that the best account of what JustFree does and doesn’t do for you is Robert French’s post (and the subsequent comments, especially #2). Posted by Andrew Filed in [...]
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