Web hosting - a view of hosting solutions to suit your budget and needs.
Uncovering what web hosting is all about and finding web hosts to help you get your Website online.
Web hosting is a service provided by hosting companies that stores your information (or Website) on a server, allowing it to be accessed by users on the Internet.
Also known as website hosting, web hosting is basically the business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for one or more websites.
Web hosts are companies that provide you with hosting space on a server as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data centre. Therefore to host a Website you must choose a server and a web host provider, also known as an ISP.
The costs involved in hosting differ by web host and depend on the equipment, server software, and connectivity, level of control and technical support your desire.
Choosing a web hosting package depends on your budget and online needs. There are web hosts that offer budget or cheap hosting solutions, and there are those that offer a more tailored, managed web hosting solution for more complex hosting needs.
Essentially there are 3 types of web hosting:
- Shared hosting (also referred to as Virtual hosting) is the cheaper of the web hosting options. It's where multiple sites are hosted on a single server, so each account ends up 'sharing' server space with other users. However it tends to be inflexible, restricts the level of interactivity of the Website and increase risk due to other users being on the same server. It is less suited to websites that generate high traffic volumes.
- Dedicated hosting involves you renting an entire server from a dedicated hosting provider yet you retain full control and ownership over its software applications and content, giving you exclusive use and command over your website's server. It benefits from greater uptime and increased security and scalability but has higher start up and maintenance costs involved. It is suited to websites that generate high traffic volumes.
- Managed hosting involves you renting an entire server from a dedicated hosting provider as you do with dedicated hosting, but the ISP is given more responsibility for the maintenance, monitoring and backup of your server. This is most suited to companies who do not have the technical know-how to carry out these services themselves.