If you have a personal website that you are just going to be using for friends and family to see photos of you or for some kind of a personal blog page then you can probably get away with free web hosting uk. On the other hand if you are going to want to allow other people to post images or upload streaming video or audio then you may want to consider a shared hosting plan which is really a step above a free hosting plan. Of course even free hosting plans are a form of shared hosting but when you choose a free hosting plan there are not as many perks involved.
This means you may get a better amount of support and customer service as well as more bandwidth just by paying a little bit each month. The clincher is you will probably have to pay for a year in advance but really that will only wind up coming out to about $60.00 a month or so give or take a few dollars for set up fees. If you want to have a larger site that allows more capabilities then by all means go with a paid hosting program.