How to Host a Website in 2020 That Guarantees Profit!
Web hosting in website is compared to renting space to conduct your business. For your content to appear online when people search for it, you need to have your web, hosted on a server. Usually, your host provider saves your content and files online on their server(s). That way, when users search for your domain name, they get directed to your website. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about hosting a web.
What Do You Need to Host a Website?
There are two important aspects necessary for hosting your website as detailed here:
1. Obtain a Domain Name
A domain name is like your address. Nobody will find you if they don’t know your physical address. In a similar case, a domain name is like an online address to help your target audience find you but in this case, it's known as an IP address, get the drift?
The first step toward owning a website is acquiring a domain name and registering it with a domain registrar of your choice. Most web hosting service providers also register domains and even help you with name suggestions. If you already have a domain name, then you’re only required to attach it to your new server, and you’re all set with your website. Most web host providers offer a domain name as a freebie when you register with them.
Some hosts only deal with hosting, and you have to register your domain with another company. Registering a domain and hosting with one company always comes with price reduction perks. On the other hand, using different companies for hosting and domain registration involves another process of transfer. You have to transfer the domain name registered with a different company to direct towards the servers of your host. Either way, the process is seamless and shouldn’t pose any significant challenge.
2. Identify a Host Provider
After obtaining a domain, the second step when hosting is to identify a host. To make your website available online, you ought to create an online space for it by getting a perfect web host. Choosing the right web hosting can be daunting, especially if you aren’t sure of the pros and cons of so many companies offering these services.
Factors to Help You Determine Where to Host Your Website
Choosing the best web hosting option is dependent on many factors. You cannot look at one factor and decide to use a particular company over another. For example, most people look at the price and often go for the cheapest service. Well, how about aspects such as uptime, customer support, and other technical requirements? Here is a guide on what to look for before deciding on where to host your website.
- Ability to manage your website
You have to choose a website that gives you the ability to control your data and manage your website with ease. Most web hosts use cPanel for their websites because it’s easy to use when checking your files and email backups. Therefore, as you choose a hosting provider, go for one who gives you the freedom to manage your site easily.
- No downtimes
You want to ensure that your hosting company avails your website online all year round. Otherwise, you risk losing traffic. It’s very irritating for your audience when they keep finding blank screens upon searching for your website online. Choose a company that guarantees about 99 percent uptime. It doesn't entirely mean that you won't experience hitches here and there but your provider should be in a position to sort within a short time.
- Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the capacity to transfer data from the site to your audience for viewing. Bandwidth shouldn't get confused with internet speeds.
Depending on your particular niche, you should choose a company that offers you enough bandwidth for your files. If your site involves uploading lots of images and videos, you’ll need more bandwidth than a site that doesn’t include any media files.
Also, a small business or a startup would require lower bandwidth than a more established site with more traffic. However, even though you start with low bandwidth, you can always upgrade as your business grows.
- Security features
Security is an important aspect to consider when choosing a host service provider. You have to make sure that the company offers features such as SSL certificates for the security of your visitors. You also have to make sure they offer automatic backups to secure your data.
- Support
A good hosting provider offers customer support 24/7 for a happy clientele. The servers could experience downtime at any time of the day or night. Your host should be in a position to offer necessary assistance promptly.
How Are Websites Hosted?
Source: https://mystylemedia.com/
Hosting a website is very simple, and you can even do it yourself or hire someone to help you with the process. Determining how to host your web is the third step of hosting a website. Depending on your technical expertise, here is how to host a website using different types of hosting.
- Hosting a website on your server
- Hosting a website using a hosting provider
How Do You Host a Website on Your Own Server?
For local hosting, there are two types of hosting. You’ll need to either use a Linux machine or a Windows PC as a server. You can check out our in-depth article on how to have your website locally hosted.
Let's jump right into understanding how to host your site using a hosting provider.
How to Host Your Own Website Using a Hosting Provider?
Hosting your company using a web host is the most common and reliable method of delivering content to your audience online. Here are the different webs hosting services available.
Types of Website Hosting Services and How to Choose the Right One
Now that you’ve identified a platform to host your website, the fourth step is to choose a hosting plan. Different companies have different web hosting plans, and you get to choose the right one for your needs. Here are some of the hosting plans available.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting plans involve hosting many sites on one server. Usually, this method is affordable, especially if you’re a startup with many financial constraints. However, as your business grows, you can upgrade to other plans because resources are limited to this plan.
Virtual Private Server (VPS)
With a virtual private server plan, you share some aspects of hosting with other websites, but you get a dedicated area on the server for your files and data. The VPS server is a great plan to upgrade to if you want to move from shared hosting. The plan offers flexibility and more control over your site.
Cloud Server Hosting Plan
If you’re not yet ready to go to a fully dedicated server, cloud hosting is a good place to start. The plan is such that multiple cloud servers host a website, and in the event, one is down, you get back up from the other servers. This implies that your website cannot experience terrible downtimes with the plan.
Dedicated Hosting Plan
If you’re just starting, dedicated hosting isn’t ideal for you mostly because it is costly. However, if your business has grown and has lots of traffic, it’s time to get a dedicated server. With this plan, you get a whole server solely for your website. You, therefore, get a lot of storage, great support, bandwidth, and close to zero downtimes with dedicated hosting.
Now that we know how to host a website let’s get to understand where to do it.
Where to Host a Website
Finally, choose a host for your website. It can be daunting to choose the best web hosts as a beginner, in this section, we’ll guide you on the 4 best web hosting service providers.
1. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is literally the daddy in the hosting service industry, offering their clients unbeatable freebies and reliable services. The company offers a free domain, free automatic backups, and an easy to use cPanel for all their hosting plans. You also get unlimited storage space with their annual subscriptions and a Microsoft Office 365 business email free. With GoDaddy, you even have a choice to upgrade to another shared hosting or dedicated plan depending on your needs. At a glance, here is why GoDaddy is a top consideration when looking for website hosting.
- User-friendly platform and cPanel
- Affordable hosting plans
- Guaranteed speeds and web performance
2. Bluehost
Bluehost is another leading hosting service company based in the US. The company offers affordable shared hosting plans for its customers, making it a favorite among business owners. With Bluehost, you have a guaranteed uptime, unlimited bandwidth, and storage. Here is what makes Bluehost tick the hearts of most web owners.
- Affordability
- Great customer support
- Awesome web-building features
3. Wix.com
If you're just starting out with web hosting, Wix offers different shared hosting plans depending on your budget ranging from free hosting to other affordable yearly plans. What’s more, is that the company also introduced the Wix Turbo, which makes your website fast and effective. With Wix, you also get access to awesome website building features that you’ll be lost for choice. Here is why you should have a look at what web hosting plans Wix offers.
- Web building templates
- Free web hosting
- Great customer support
4. Weebly
Do you want to be among the 40 million website owners utilizing hosting services from Weebly? well, probably you aren't convinced yet. Here is why the company hosts so many websites.
Weebly has the best website builder for novice and experienced business owners. Besides, if you don't have sufficient funds to go for a paid plan, you can always use the free option that allows you to gain an online presence with a storage of 500 MB unlimited storage. If you go for the paid plan, you get other perks such as a free domain.
However, the Free plan gives you lots of ads on your site and an extension of the Weebly subdomain. Here are some of the advantages of using Weebly.
- web building tools
- 30 days money-back guarantee
- variety of plans including free and paid ones
In summary, web hosting is the process of making sure your website is available online for your audience. For effective web hosting, you need to have a domain name, choose a hosting plan, and then choose the best web hosting provider. You can also choose to have your site hosted locally on your own servers using your IP address, depending on what you need.
