Web hosting is a digital service that enables you to launch your website on the internet and have it seen by people worldwide. A web host provider allocates a set amount of storage on a web server so that you can upload your website and its associated files to it. The files are able to be seen publicly once they are uploaded to the web server.
How Does Web Hosting Work?
A web server is a physical computer that has internet access. The server has minimal interruptions so that it can be reliable for those who have uploaded their websites to it. The server manager is responsible for ensuring that your content is always available for any client who want to view it.
Web hosting services allow you to rent space on their web servers so that you can publish your website. They typically provide packages with varying amounts of file space, database sizes, bandwidth and configuration settings.
The package that you choose depends on what kind of website you want to upload. A free package is likely the choice for blogs and new businesses. If you plan on selling goods and services, then you will likely have to pay a subscription fee so that you get continual access to those services.
What Are the Types of Web Hosting?
Web hosting varies according to a client’s needs. The clients can be those who want to manage a blog or those who want to manage an e-commerce website. These are the different types of web hosting.
Shared Hosting
Under this configuration, multiple clients can share the same area of storage on a server. It is an ideal type of web hosting for personal blogs and business startups. Each client that is using the server has access to the same resources, network speed, memory and processing power.
You do not worry about maintaining the server and administering server activity since those are some of the responsibilities of the web host. However, your website can slow down due to an increase in traffic on other websites on the server.
VPS Hosting
Under VPS hosting or Virtual Private Server hosting, you have access to your own storage on a server that is used by other clients. Rather than everyone using the same space, everyone gets a quota on how much disk space they can use under different partitions. This type of web hosting is useful for growing businesses that are experiencing an increase in traffic.
Due to the fact that everyone gets a partition of the space on the web server, your website does not experience a decline in speed from traffic surges from other websites. You have administration access to your partition of the server so that you can configure it and optimize it for your needs. You can customize it and expand your storage space if necessary. However, VPS hosting costs more than shared hosting, and you will likely need to have technical knowledge of managing a server.
Cloud Hosting
Under cloud hosting, your web host gives you access to a cluster of servers, and each server is a copy of all files and databases that you currently have. If one of your servers crashes or experiences technical difficulties, then the traffic from that server automatically migrates to another server in the cluster. This indicates that server downtime is minimal with this type of web hosting.
You pay for as many servers and resources as you need rather than suffering a fixed cost. You can allocate memory and data when you need to so that you can keep your website running at its optimum speed for its traffic. However, the cloud host may not guarantee you root access to the cluster, which means that you may not be able to change some configurations.
WordPress Hosting
WordPress hosting is a type of shared hosting that is intended for those who own WordPress websites. The web host specially configures your server for a WordPress site so that it includes functionality for security and caching. This allows your website to quickly load and operate with little downtime. Under WordPress hosting, you have access to WordPress features, such as pre-designed templates, customized page builders and developer tools.
This type of hosting has a low cost and only requires basic knowledge. You can quickly install your WordPress website on the host’s server with excellent performance. WordPress customer support is available if you are having issues with hosting your WordPress site. However, you can only host WordPress sites on a server rather than any type of site.
Is WordPress a Web Host?
WordPress is a content management system, which is not a web host. It lets you create websites that you can later host somewhere on the internet.
Dedicated Hosting
With this type of hosting, you have access to a server that you specially configure for your website. You have flexibility over how you want to customize the server and optimize it for maximum customer traffic. You have access to what operating system and software that you want to use.
Rather than managing your own physical server, you can rent a dedicated server with the same functionality in the addition to customer support. However, this type of hosting can be expensive and is more oriented toward large businesses. Additionally, you need to be able to manage the server and solve any technical issues that may arise.
Domain Name vs. Web Hosting
A domain name is what clients type in a browser’s address bar so that they can visit your website. Web hosting allocates space for your website. With many web hosts, you need to buy a domain name or transfer one to the website if you own one.
