What is web hosting? What exactly is web hosting? Websites are hosted on servers. Web hosting refers to the servers that host websites or the hosting companies that provide you with server space. Web hosting types There is no one-size-fits-all plan for web hosting. Depending on your hosting plan, you might be able to upgrade from a shared server to a dedicated server when your website grows without having to start over from scratch. Web hosting features Now that you understand the four basic types of web hosting, it’s time to know what features to look for before you buy a hosting plan. So if you’re planning to host several websites through the same hosting service, this is definitely something you’ll want to look into before you get started. Well, the same goes for your web hosting service. What type of web hosting server are you planning to use for your website?
A beginner’s guide to web hosting
In order for your website to be live on the Internet, it needs to be hosted.
If you’re creating a website for the first time, move “set up hosting” to the top of your to do list, if it’s not already there.
Already own and operate a website? Did you rush into a plan without understanding how everything worked first? Maybe you feel like you’re fine with the host you picked at random. Makes sense — until you run into a problem with your website, you might not even think twice about your hosting plan. However, you don’t want to wait until that happens. It’s better to educate yourself on web hosting now so you can find the best option before anything goes awry. This will make your life much easier down the road.
Regardless of your situation, you’ve come to the right place. This beginner’s guide on web hosting will help you feel confident picking the host that’s right for you and your goals.
What is web hosting?
Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is web hosting? How does web hosting work?
Websites are hosted on servers. In simple terms, a server is a very powerful computer that does only one or two simple services, hence the name server. The type of server we’re interested in stores websites and delivers them to people over the internet. Your web host provides the server space and the technology for your website to be accessed on the Internet. It’s the process that allows someone to search for your site or enter your URL into their web browser to see your page online.
Everything that your website contains is stored and accessed through the web host. I’m referring to things like images, videos, files, text — everything.
Web hosting and data centers are often confused with one another. While the two are similar and work together, they are not quite the same. Web hosting refers to the servers that host websites or the hosting companies that provide you with server space. Data centers are the physical facilities where those servers are located.
Web hosting types
There is no one-size-fits-all plan for web hosting. It’s like buying a car. You don’t just walk into a dealership and say, “I’ll have a car please.”
What kind do you want? You need to decide if you want a sports car, sedan, coupe, hybrid, SUV, electric, diesel, automatic transmission, manual transmission, etc.
Fortunately with web hosting, you don’t have that many options to choose from. There are four main types of hosting.
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
I’ll explain how each one of these works and what type of website would need that level of hosting, so you can decide which option is best for you.
Shared hosting
First, shared hosting. With this method, your website shares server space with other websites. Here’s a diagram that shows how shared web hosting works compared to the other web hosting types:
Since you’re sharing a server with other websites, this will be the most cost-effective method. Think of it like taking the bus to work instead of driving your own car. The bus will be less expensive, but you’ll be making some stops along the way to your destination in order accommodate other people.
While I don’t necessarily have a problem with shared hosting, you could potentially run into problems down the road as your website grows and gets more traffic. High spikes in traffic can impact loading time and even lead to error messages for people trying to access your site. The performance of your website can be affected by traffic to other sites on the same shared server. So, just like when you’re on the bus, there may be a ton of other people requesting stops, slowing down your commute. Or, it might be just you and the driver. You’re saving money, but you have less control of the quality of the experience.
Who is shared hosting best for?
Shared hosting is a common option for beginners and entry-level websites. It’s affordable and doesn’t require much technical knowledge. If this sounds like your situation, you’re probably a good candidate for shared hosting. (You can also upgrade later on, when your website traffic grows.)
VPS hosting (Virtual Private Server)
VPS hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. With this option, one server is basically split into multiple virtual servers. The main server is shared with other websites, but each site is given its own virtual server. Since fewer websites share the main server, page load times will be much faster with VPS hosting. Since fewer websites share the main server, page load times will be much faster with VPS hosting.
It’s definitely important for you to understand the principles that boost your website loading time since this will ultimately have an impact on your conversions.
It’s not quite as good as dedicated hosting, but it’s better than shared hosting and gives you, the website owner, more control. If you go with this option, you’ll have complete root access and more control at the server level. But if you’re expecting high volumes of traffic, VPS hosting can still be limiting.
I’d compare it to using a car-sharing service: it’s faster than taking the bus, but you’re still limited in some ways.
Who is VPS hosting best for?
Even small websites with lower volumes of traffic can benefit form VPS hosting. If your site has lots of visual elements like images and videos that could potentially slow down the loading time, you’ll be better off with VPS hosting than a shared host.
Dedicated server hosting
Dedicated servers are yours and only yours. They are more expensive than the other options we’ve looked at so far, but the premium pricing comes with added benefits. It’s like owning your own car, as opposed to taking public transportation. You are in control of everything.
Since you’re the only website on this server, you have complete technical control. This allows you to implement a greater range of software on your website. Downtimes should be minimal since you don’t have to worry about traffic from other sites impacting your site. And, your load time is only impacted by your site — not any other sites.
Depending on your hosting plan, you might be able to upgrade from a shared server to a…
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