How to Open an Online Store With Free Hosting

Online stores are a simple and quick way to sell your items from the comfort of your own home and possibly even run a small home business. Starting your own store can help you to get your business off the ground without spending a dime on hosting and domain names. Creating an online store for free may sound impossible, but it is, in fact, very possible with free hosting and sub-domains.

Visit the PayPal website. Click "Sign Up" below the login form. Select a Premier or Business account. Choose the business account only if you are operating under a group name (organization) or business. If you already have a PayPal account, move to step four.

Set up your website with a template, the title of your store, a description, and any other relevant information. Save your website.

Enter in all of the required information including your email, password, first and last name, birth date, address and phone number. The phone number must be valid. Read the User Agreement and Privacy Policy by clicking on the two links at the bottom of the form. Click "Agree and Create Account."

Sign up for a free website host and sub-domain with a website that allows you to enter your own codes for your site. The host must accept HTML and JavaScript. Examples of sites that allow these codes and provide free hosting and sub-domains are Bravenet and Webs.

Sign into your PayPal account. Click on the "Merchant Services" tab and click the "Add to Cart Button."

Confirm your email address. Check your email and click on the confirmation link sent by PayPal. If the link is not click-able, copy and paste it into your address bar.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy