The Internet is full of free website gadgets that you can add to your website. However, the ideal website would have no advertisments what-so-ever! That's why, I am always on the look out for services that are for free and do not require advertising to be displayed. On this page you will find out how to build a website for free. All you have to do is add content to the mix.

You will notice that almost always, to avoid ads, you have to resort to CGI scripts. That is not as bad as some may would like you to think, but it is certainly more difficult than using a remotely-hosted service. Where possible though, I have pointed out where you can get remotely-hosted services without the ads. If you have any service fit for this list, tell me about it, and I will add it.

Free Hosting

It is not easy to maintain a list of the 'best' free hosting services, but a good list can be found at Google.com's directory. Click here to go the list directly. Look for a host that suites you (obviously), but also look for nice features such as PHP or Perl (or some form of server-side scripting), no-ads, and the like.

Guestbook

eKstreme.com is home to a great guestbook, egbook. It is a PHP-driven guestbook that does not require a database. Check it out!

Otherwise, there are many scripts around, the best two are probably Matt's Script Archive Guestbook, and Big Nose Bird BNBBook. The last time I checked, the output of these scripts is not valid strict HTML, so some PERL editing may be required. These of course require that you have access to a CGI bin, and you can find a service above. If you do not have CGI access, or do not want to mess with setting up a guestbook, then Free Gbook seems to be the only option I can find that says it does not display ads. I haven't tried the service myself, and I would welcome feedback about the performance of the service.

Counter

Perhaps the first add-on you should add is a counter. You also need a fast counter. You can get some good free counters or you can use a script that you host with your site.

eKstreme.com hosts PHPCounter, a very popular PHP counter. It gives you lots of information about your visitors.

For a little link...

If you are willing to provide a link back to the service, you can greatly expand your options.

Mailing Lists

A great service is provided by yourmailinglistprovider.com. I use them for the PHPCounter mailing list.

If you do not want an external host, you need access to CGI and the service that allows you to send email from their servers (known as sendmail on UNIX). There are many scripts to be found on the Internet. Just do a search for "mailing list", and you should come up with many hits.

Search Engine

If you have a big site, a search engine will probably be the best service you can give your users, and so you will need a good search engine. Apart from setting up a CGI search script, you can use the Atomz search engine. It is very fast, free (for sites under 500 pages), fully customizable (just see how well it integrates with eKstreme.com!), and has loads of options. Offering a slightly different set of options, PicoSearch also provides a free search facility. I personally use Atomz as I have become aware of inticate details, and I like it, but if you are just starting out, you may want to compare both services and see which one offers the options you need.