Wondering what web hosting is. Or curious about all of the nitty-gritty details you need to get started?
But when you start researching yourself, you honestly don’t know where to start. Well, look no further, because we have you covered!
Web hosting is a service that enables you to publish your website on the internet. It’s one of the essential things you need to make a website and host it on the World Wide Web.
Keep reading, we’ll explain it in detail here. By the end of this article, you’ll have a thorough idea of what web hosting is and how it works. We’ll cover everything you need to know about web hosting.
A. What is Web Hosting? – Definition
In simple terms, web hosting is a basic thing you need to publish a website on the Internet. To be exact, it’s a service that gives resources and connectivity to a website to be seen on the internet.
You can make a website on your local computer but it can’t get visible on the web until you host it. Hosting is like buying a piece of land on the internet where you make a house, i.e. a website, and it’s visible to the internet users.
We’re certain you’ve heard of a website; you’re on one right now! If you haven’t, then you can say a website is just a collection of web pages on the internet. A web page might be an article you read, like this one, or a YouTube video, or anything else online.
To conclude, web hosting is a service that provides the connectivity that a site needs to be online. You create the content and customize your website to your liking using tools like HTML (HyperText Markup Language).
Ultimately, this web hosting process will make it accessible to the internet, using a few important resources.
Then how to get web hosting? Usually, a company called a ‘web host’, ‘hosting provider’, or ‘hosting company’ provides a web hosting service. To name a few companies, Hostinger, Bluehost, DreamHost, Cloudways, etc. are the best.
B. How Does Web Hosting Work?
Let’s say you make a website. But it can’t just exist in thin air. You need some place to store it. If you’ve used a pen drive or hard drive, you know that you need memory to store files.
It’s the same with websites; all the files and content need to be stored somewhere, right? That’s where a thing called a hosting server comes in.
A server is a special type of computer that is used to store all your website data. It’s much like other storage devices because it’s a physical location for files.
These hosting servers are powerful computers that are much, much more robust than your average computer. These computers store your website files and show your content online when internet users try to access your website.
They are usually really large and cumbersome too, and so they sometimes require entire buildings dedicated to them, called data centers. These data centers are well-ventilated buildings with controlled temperatures. They are also constantly monitored and guarded.
Web hosting companies have usually invested in very high-powered servers and safe data centers as it’s their primary service. They lease out memory space on their servers for you to have your website on the internet at all times.
They also provide the software needed for your computer to access the website properly.
A special kind of operating system is required to run a server, the most popular being:
- Linux
- Solaris
- Microsoft Windows Server
Now let’s say someone wants to look at a website. When someone wishes to access a website, their computer is known as a ‘client’.
To access the site, a client would first send a request to the server specifying which website is needed. The server then sends a copy of the website to the client’s computer. After that, the client can view and interact with the site locally.
C. What are the Types of Web Hosting?
Although web hosting seems like a simple concept, there are many types and subdivisions of web hosting. They are based on many factors, such as server location, how space is allocated, etc. The most prominent types of web hosting are:
1. Shared Web Hosting
Where a server has allocated resources for more than one website. It means that your website will be hosted alongside other sites, and share space with them on the server.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> A cost-effective solution best suited to small-scale sites. -> It does not require technical skills. -> Provides pre-configured server settings. -> You don’t have to manage maintenance and server administration. | -> You will have minimal access to server configuration. -> Increased traffic on other websites of the same server can negatively impact your site’s speed. |
2. Dedicated Web Hosting
This hosting is where a user gets an entire server to themselves without requiring to share resources. It usually means you get the entire processing power of the server to yourself.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> It lets you have complete control over the server’s configuration settings. -> Highly reliable hosting solution. -> Offers root access to the server. | -> Expensive solution ideal for large businesses. -> Requires technical and server management skills. |
3. Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
This hosting is where a virtual machine is sold by the web hosts as a server. It’s the middle ground between shared hosting and dedicated hosting where the main server is split into multiple virtual servers dedicated to one website each.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> Provides dedicated server space for your site. -> No impact on the site even with high traffic. -> Offers root access to the server. -> It enables high customizability. | -> You require technical expertise. -> Hiring a developer to manage the server may increase additional costs. |
4. Cloud Hosting
Where data isn’t stored on a physical server, but rather amongst a group of computers at various locations. It is very decentralized and safe, although hard to manage. It turns your computer into part of a server and uses its processing power.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> Minimized downtime and hardware failure instances. -> The load balancing feature can handle increased traffic. -> You can easily scale your resources. | -> You may or may not get root access. -> Relatively, it is more expensive than VPS and shared hosting services. |
5. Managed WordPress Web Hosting
WordPress hosting provides a WordPress CMS-optimized environment to let you host WordPress websites. With managed WordPress hosting, you don’t have to perform technical actions as the host will do that on your behalf. All you need to do is work on your website.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> Optimized performance for WordPress sites. -> Top-notch customer support team trained in WordPress-related issues. -> Pre-installed WordPress plugins, themes, and configurations. | -> Not suitable for other websites other than those using WordPress. -> Comparatively, costly than some other hosting solutions. |
6. Reseller Web Hosting
Where a client resells the server space allocated to them. If you purchase a reseller web hosting plan, you can resell it to other entities.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> It lets you make a profit based on your skills. -> It allows the provision of hosting services to certain people or niche markets. | -> You need technical skills and a good marketing plan to make this work well. |
7. Self-Service Web Hosting
Where you run and manage your own server rather than relying on other people or companies. It requires a really high level of technical knowledge and isn’t recommended for beginners.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> Extreme freedom over your server. -> It can be unique and popular among others. | -> It requires a lot of technical skills. -> You must provide all the hardware and physical infrastructure. |
8. Colocation Web Hosting
Where you simply pay for a company’s server security and protection, while the hardware will have to be provided by yourself. You’ll be paying for the security a data center provides instead.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -> Freedom to have self-service hosting but without paying for physical infrastructure. -> Well-protected server. | -> You must use your hardware and provide maintenance. |
We hope this helped you decide what kind of hosting service you need. If you want to learn more about them, check out our detailed article on web hosting types.
D. How to Pick the Right Hosting Plan?
Picking a hosting company and a hosting plan can be quite tricky. As most web hosts charge you beforehand to host your site for a certain time, you have to prepare well.
Your web hosting plan should be picked based on:
i. Amount of Traffic
A website that expects a high amount of traffic would need a better, more expensive hosting plan. This is because when more people visit a website, it requires more memory to work properly, which costs more.
Therefore, it’s important that you carefully predict the flow of traffic on your website and pick the right plan for your requirements.
ii. Hosting Time
Most web hosts have varied pricing plans for their annual and monthly plans. So you should also think carefully about how long you want to host your website on a particular hosting.
iii. Premium features
Hosting companies also provide different types of additional features. For example, custom email, website builder, site security and scan, etc. If you’ve specific requirements like these, then you should check whether the hosting plan includes them or not.
iv. Security
As we said, data centers need to be well-guarded against high temperatures, vandalism, and anything else that can damage the server.
If the server were ever to malfunction, all of the websites that rely on it would not open until the problem is dealt with. If the server is entirely destroyed, then all of the websites on it are gone forever, unless they are backed up.
v. Control Panel
A hosting control panel lets you manage your hosting account without requiring you to log into the web server. So, choose a web host offering an easily manageable user interface for its control panel. Ensure that every skill-level user can work with it.
vi. Uptime Service
Poorly maintained web servers can lead to unwanted downtime that impacts your website audience and business. So, ensure you pick the right host with an uptime guarantee. This reflects their commitment to keeping their systems up and running.
vii. Customer Support
Customer support comes in handy if your website faces unexpected issues, crashes, lags, or security breaches. Hence, review if your host offers enough support resources to give you instant help. That includes tutorials, knowledge bases, live chat, phone, etc.
So, you should research as much as you can to get the best out of your web hosting experience!
Check out all the factors in-depth with our ultimate guide on how to pick a web hosting service.
E. Where to Buy a Web Hosting Plan?
If you’re to host your website locally, you would have to keep a computer running all the time and perform maintenance on it. That would be very difficult to manage indeed.
Not only do most people not have the skills and resources, but even if you did, the task is fairly time-consuming. So, we enlist the best web hosting companies you can trust in 2024. They are:
These companies have usually invested in powerful servers capable of handling a large amount of data. They then use these powerful servers to host multiple websites at a time, for a price.
Web hosting companies not only have the resources for hosting websites, but some of them can even provide helpful resources for you to create and customize your website.
For example, Hostinger is one of the cheapest web hosting services that offers a free domain, free email accounts, WordPress-optimized plans, website builders, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee service.
The cost of a shared hosting plan in Hostinger is just $2.99 per month for a 48-month term. Learn more about this platform in this Hostinger review.
Find the best web hosting services to host and operate your website instantly!
If you want to check out more hosting options, then see our review and comparison of the best hosting companies.
F. Difference Between Hosting and Domain Name?
When talking about web hosting, there’s one other thing that often comes along, ‘domain name‘. Sometimes, this makes beginners think that ‘web hosting’ and ‘domain name’ are the same. But in reality, they refer to 2 different things required for creating a website.
Simply, a domain name is your website’s name and address. It’s the combination of characters that people enter on the browser’s address bar to visit your website.
For example, ‘www.sitesaga.com’ is our website’s domain name. Anyone from anywhere can easily access our site anytime by entering this name on browser’s address bar.
On the other hand, web hosting is where your site’s files and data are stored. But users wouldn’t know that location unless it has an address. The domain name is that address.
Precisely, the domain is the name of the location where your site is stored i.e. hosting. Hence the 2 are closely related. In summary, we can say that hosting is a place on the internet where your site is stored whereas a domain is a name that points to that place.
For example, imagine you have a library. Your website can be compared to a certain book in that library, and the bookshelf that it’s on can be compared to a server. The domain name would be the call number of the book, and to look for a certain book, you would need the call number.
That’s simple, right?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a web hosting company?
A web hosting company such as Hostinger, Bluehost, or DreamHost rents website space to its customers. They have the necessary technology and resources to run and operate a website securely.
2. Can I host my website for free?
Yes, you can host your website for free, but with certain limitations. Free hosts don’t have features to improve website speed, security, etc. Premium plans offer customizability, larger bandwidth, storage, and processing power.
3. How much does hosting a website cost?
The cost of hosting a website depends on the hosting provider you pick, the type of hosting, and the features you want. For example, beginner-friendly hosts for shared hosting are more affordable than others.
More questions? Here’s our blog on the web hosting FAQs.
Conclusion
So, we now hope you clearly understand what web hosting is, how it works, and how to choose the best hosting for your website.
Also, by reading this article, you’ve brought yourself one step closer to understanding how web hosting and the internet work, and how you yourself can make one.
You may also want to read our article about the best web hosting for students and WordPress hosting vs web hosting.
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