An Introduction: What Is Web Hosting and How Does It Work
What is meant by web hosting?
Web hosting involves renting storage space on a physical server where you can store files, images, and other aspects of your website. It is an online service that makes it possible for you to publish your website on the internet. Therefore, a host is an online home where your website lives. Users can easily visit it via a domain name since it is now live on the internet. Without web hosting, your website would never go past your PC!
How does web hosting work?
Source: Mangools.com
Your web hosting company stores your website's files, databases, media, and anything else needed to render the site correctly. The provider will allocate a certain amount of storage space, depending on the plan you've chosen.
a. Rent a Storage Space Depending on Your Needs and Plan
If you're just a beginner, then you'll rent a small part of a shared server. You'll need to scale up in the future as your traffic and storage demands increase. In that case, a larger portion of a VPS, cloud, or physical server will be appropriate.
b. Use the Control Panel to Access the Server
After registering for a hosting plan, you'll freely access the server via a control panel like cPanel. The panel allows you to upload files, install a CMS like WordPress, and many other things that will enhance your website's online presence and services.
c. Register a Domain to Enhance Functionalities
For a fully functioning site, you have to register a domain name. You'll then point it to your IP address to enable the web browser to know your site's location. When users click or type in the domain name, the browser will access the files and let them view them.
Your website should display its content within a few seconds or less when a user clicks the domain name. Otherwise, you'll have to speed up the website or change your hosting provider.
Related: What you Need to Know about Free Web Hosting WordPress
Types of Web Hostings
1. Shared Hosting
It is among the dearest plans that you can consider, especially if you are a beginner operating on a tight budget. Shared hosting involves the sharing of your physical server space with other websites. You host your site alongside hundreds of other similar or different websites, thus incurring relatively lower amounts.
With shared hosting, you will have reduced control over the server. Likely, your website speed may be slow – Obviously because you are sharing resources with other users.
2. Dedicated Hosting
It's is likewise referred to as a dedicated server. It's a sort of web hosting that gives you full control of the entire server. Unlike the case with shared plans, you don't share your physical server environment with other sites, and this translates to better website performance. If you are building a great website and expect a lot of traffic, a dedicated plan is supposedly the most viable option to consider. Most website owners claim it's relatively more flexible as it gives you full control of your space.
When choosing a dedicated package, ensure that you have the technical expertise needed to handle the platform on your own.
3. VPS Hosting
It's is likewise referred to as a virtual dedicated server (VDS). In VPS hosting, the virtual servers appear to you like dedicated ones but serving many other websites and IP address. Most users consider it as an intermediary between the shared hosting and the dedicated hosting. People think of it as a dedicated server only because it also gives them full server control. It's good for smaller businesses and organizations that need flexibility but at a much lower cost.
4. Cloud Hosting
It's is the newest kind that has gained popularity in recent years for several reasons. It operates across several interlinked web servers supplying reliable, affordable, and scalable website infrastructure. This type offers unmetered client bandwidth as well as unlimited storage server space, among other goodies. It's a perfect choice among large organizations that are not only looking to enjoy saving costs but also enjoying the convenience.
5. Reseller Hosting
Source: Techbrace.com
It's a form of hosting that lets an account owner split his/her allotted webspace as well as bandwidth to accommodate a third party website(s). You are buying the hosting services from a reliable host and then extend the same to other people as if you were a hosting company. You are the reseller in this case and will act as a link between the clients and your hosting service.
It's beneficial in the sense that it allows you to concentrate on the needs of customers and leave other technical aspects to your hosting company – you have peace of mind.
6. WordPress Hosting
It is supposedly the best option you can choose, especially if you are planning to build a WordPress site. You will like it even more if you expect your website traffic and performance to shoot high. You will be sharing space with another WordPress site, and so the server is configured explicitly in a way that gives you the most out of it. Experience improved performance as well as server optimization that'll boost your overall performance.
What should you look for in web hosting providers?
- Bandwidth/Traffic
Probably, the first thing to think about would be bandwidth. If you are running a large business, you may have to consider unmetered bandwidth. The size of your broadband will, in one way or the other, influence your web speed, and hence it's a success.
- Storage
When looking for a reliable web host, carefully consider the storage space required to store your website files. The size of your website will determine this. If you are planning to host a big website or have large files to save on a web server, then you should go with a provider that will offer you enough storage space.
- Uptime
You are looking to make the best hosting decisions that will give you a guarantee to succeed online, right? Then it would be best if you considered the hosting provider's web server Uptime. It tells you the estimated number of hours your site will be live on the internet. Uptime goes a long way to affecting your website discoverability and hence your online success. As a rule of thumb, hosting a web resource needs the web servers to have at least 99.999% Uptime – visiting will be able to find your website on the internet any time they want to access.
- Email Accounts
Before picking your web hosting company, confirm that they'll host email accounts alongside your site. You may need to create email accounts on your domain name, and you don't want to discover later that you can't have them simply because your hosting company doesn't offer this service.
- FTP
FTP refers to one of the most popular methods that you can use to upload website pages and other web files from your PC onto your web hosting computer/server to make it visible to other internet users. You should make sure that your web hosting service gives you the full FTP access – this will enable you to design efficiently and transfer your web pages.
- Support Services
Your web hosting provider should provide 24/7 support systems that ensure your website remains secure, fast, and always up. They should provide you a variety of contact details to enable you to report any issue. Do they have a live chat feature and support staff on standby for quick services? They should take care of their servers as you take care of your sales.
Related: Top 7 Cheap Web Hosting Providers in 2020
Conclusion
A web hosting company provides a server and services that are necessary for storing your website's files, media, and other content. We have discussed the various sorts of web hosting plans that are meant to suit the needs of different individuals.
Still having trouble choosing the right plan and host? Contact our professional customer care now.
