The internet has been part and parcel of our daily lives in such a way that if you take it away, our world would grind into a halt and become a lame one. There are millions of websites driving the internet, from social media sites to entirely business related ones. Given such a scenario, "website hosting" has become a relatively common term. But what exactly is website hosting?
Website hosting is all about 'publishing' a website on the internet, at a space provided by a website hosting provider. Every website needs to be hosted on a web server before it can be viewed in the browser. It works as if you are renting a digital space where you can set up and format your web pages and from where people can access those pages via the internet. There are practically thousands if not millions of website hosting companies in the United States alone. They can be divided into various classes according to individual needs. There are free website hosting plans which have sponsored advertisements on your web pages. That's how servers earn their money, they can't let you use the space out of charity! There are others who offer their services at a very affordable cost while retaining all the features that you may need. Finally, there are reputable servers who offer premium fee based web hosting plans which are normally acquired by big businesses and organizations.
When you are certain that you need the services of a webhost, then you have to take into account several factors in order to end up with the right webhost. You must examine your options first and make a checklist of your specific requirements prior to shopping for the perfect server for your new website. Check the bandwidth and disk space being offered to you. These would largely depend on the type of website that you are going to build. Security and privacy are also of paramount importance, especially if you intend to use the website for business purposes. It would be wise to contact the website hosting company and inquire about their security and privacy features, and then compare them with other website hosts. You can then sift through the details and come up with the best webhost which could accommodate all your needs.
The next stage would be picking the appropriate hosting type. There are many types of hosting, among which are shared hosting, virtual private web server, and a dedicated server. Shared web hosting, as the name suggests, has many users who are using the same machine and share the same server resources. The concept behind shared web hosting is not entirely new and this market appears to be the strongest in the sector. It is an affordable option for beginners or the ones that do not require too many resources. A virtual private server (VPS), also called collocation basically divides one single server into multiple web servers through a concept referred to as virtualization. It is a bit more expensive than shared hosting and is best suited for clients who want power and security but can't afford a full blown dedicated server. If the first two types don't appeal to you or simply doesn't fit your needs, then a dedicated server is the likely solution. A dedicated server is owned by a single user and is accorded complete rights over it. This simply means that you would be given a complete web server dedicated to your web site. You have the right to fully utilize the CPU or RAM resources on it. This type is typically used if you plan to have a website with tons of content, images, and videos. However, the main drawback is that dedicated servers are more expensive and will cost you up to 10 times more than the average web hosts.
The next step would be the actual choosing of the web hosting plan. There are several types of website hosting plans, each type catering to the demands and specifications of every type of website. Personal web hosting plans are generally intended for personal websites and for starters. The rate of data transfer is low that is why personal plans come with lower bandwidth and disk space. Business plans, as the name imply, are used in corporate settings wherein a higher bandwidth and larger disk space are required to accomodate high levels of traffic.
What has been discussed above is just an overview of the concepts behind website hosting. There are more grounds to cover so you may need to arm yourself with as much information as possible and dig into the kennel of website hosting so that you can make the right choice as to your host, hosting type, and your hosting plan. Once you become adept with the entire concept, then you will realize that website hosting can pay dividends in the long run.
Website hosting is all about 'publishing' a website on the internet, at a space provided by a website hosting provider. Every website needs to be hosted on a web server before it can be viewed in the browser. It works as if you are renting a digital space where you can set up and format your web pages and from where people can access those pages via the internet. There are practically thousands if not millions of website hosting companies in the United States alone. They can be divided into various classes according to individual needs. There are free website hosting plans which have sponsored advertisements on your web pages. That's how servers earn their money, they can't let you use the space out of charity! There are others who offer their services at a very affordable cost while retaining all the features that you may need. Finally, there are reputable servers who offer premium fee based web hosting plans which are normally acquired by big businesses and organizations.
When you are certain that you need the services of a webhost, then you have to take into account several factors in order to end up with the right webhost. You must examine your options first and make a checklist of your specific requirements prior to shopping for the perfect server for your new website. Check the bandwidth and disk space being offered to you. These would largely depend on the type of website that you are going to build. Security and privacy are also of paramount importance, especially if you intend to use the website for business purposes. It would be wise to contact the website hosting company and inquire about their security and privacy features, and then compare them with other website hosts. You can then sift through the details and come up with the best webhost which could accommodate all your needs.
The next stage would be picking the appropriate hosting type. There are many types of hosting, among which are shared hosting, virtual private web server, and a dedicated server. Shared web hosting, as the name suggests, has many users who are using the same machine and share the same server resources. The concept behind shared web hosting is not entirely new and this market appears to be the strongest in the sector. It is an affordable option for beginners or the ones that do not require too many resources. A virtual private server (VPS), also called collocation basically divides one single server into multiple web servers through a concept referred to as virtualization. It is a bit more expensive than shared hosting and is best suited for clients who want power and security but can't afford a full blown dedicated server. If the first two types don't appeal to you or simply doesn't fit your needs, then a dedicated server is the likely solution. A dedicated server is owned by a single user and is accorded complete rights over it. This simply means that you would be given a complete web server dedicated to your web site. You have the right to fully utilize the CPU or RAM resources on it. This type is typically used if you plan to have a website with tons of content, images, and videos. However, the main drawback is that dedicated servers are more expensive and will cost you up to 10 times more than the average web hosts.
The next step would be the actual choosing of the web hosting plan. There are several types of website hosting plans, each type catering to the demands and specifications of every type of website. Personal web hosting plans are generally intended for personal websites and for starters. The rate of data transfer is low that is why personal plans come with lower bandwidth and disk space. Business plans, as the name imply, are used in corporate settings wherein a higher bandwidth and larger disk space are required to accomodate high levels of traffic.
What has been discussed above is just an overview of the concepts behind website hosting. There are more grounds to cover so you may need to arm yourself with as much information as possible and dig into the kennel of website hosting so that you can make the right choice as to your host, hosting type, and your hosting plan. Once you become adept with the entire concept, then you will realize that website hosting can pay dividends in the long run.
About the Author:
Are you looking for the right webhosting company for your business website? How well your website performs will be greatly affected by your choice of web page hosting. Learn more about how to choose the perfect website hosting service for your business at www.active-venture.com
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