Welcome to my article about what is website hosting.
If you ever wondered how all these websites are listed when you are looking for something up on the internet then you are in the right place.
Some people might think that when they buy a domain name all you have to do is create a website and that’s all they need but that is not the case.
You do need to get a domain name from places like GoDaddy, or the one I personally recommend called Namecheap, but you also need to get a website hosting account also.
Places like GoDaddy and Namecheap do have hosting account plans available and they are not necessarily a great way to get started.
Many people do choose these cheaper options but after many years of building small and huge websites, I personally do not use them, I choose independent hosting company sites that are specifically built to handle a website of any kind.
I know when I first got started and wanted to create a website, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, so in this article, I am going into detail on what is website hosting and some of the features that you can use within them to manage and create your own personal website.
If you’re looking for a reliable, secure, feature-rich, with award-winning support I would highly recommend getting started with Siteground, and at the end of this article, I will give you my link that will give you a great price.
The Definition Of Website Hosting
A website hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that gives you the ability to make their website show up and seen on the entire internet no matter which browser you use (explorer, firefox, chrome, edge). Website hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Website hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for other servers located in their data center, called colocation, also known as Housing in Latin America or France.
Source: Wikipedia
So you see, without website hosting your site will not be visible on the world wide web anywhere in the world.
So if you want to set up a website to show up on the Internet, website hosting is a requirement.
There are many website hosting companies out there to choose from. There are also very good ones and very bad ones, so it is important to make the correct decision the first time so that in the future you won’t run into a bunch of problems and frustrations later on when you built out a big site.
I remember a couple of times when I decided not to go with a well know hosting company because I thought I could save a couple of dollars because I thought all the hosting companies are the same but come to find out later, they are not!
So it’s very very important to save a bunch of time and make a good frustration-free decision now.
I will recommend a very good, safe, feature-rich, with great support website hosting company at the end of this article for those that don’t want a bunch of headaches in the future, and very affordable.
Various Types Of Website Hosting
There are various types of website hosting on the market.
When you are looking for website hosting you are going to be confronted with various options.
It’s important to choose the right one that suits your needs even though several options will serve the same end goal that you are needing, you might choose an option that will not be needed and you will actually pay way more than what you actually need.
So what I am going to do is first break down the popular choices you will have when you visit one of the many websites hosting companies online, and then explain to you what you will need to get started, and also explain how easy it will be to upgrade into a more powerful option when needed.
I just know that I get asked this question a lot, and figured I would give my thoughts and personal views here for everyone to see to help guide you to save you time and money.
So let’s get started.
Shared hosting lets multiple websites to utilize a single server. Often, you’ll have no idea who or what websites you’re sharing the resources of a server with.
Each customer usually has a limit on all amounts of the server resources they can use, but this will be defined by your hosting package.
The Shared hosting option is easily the cheapest and most economical alternative for your needs.
Nonetheless, the cheap price comes with limitations, which we’ll get to the advantages and disadvantages of having shared hosting below.
Since most hosting companies will offer the same amount of space and storage it’s wise to choose a company you can trust.
Advantages
- It is the most affordable hosting option you’re going to have available by far. The usual rate for this option of website hosting will range anywhere from $2.99 -$ 9.99.
- Most hosting companies have multiple levels of hosting packages to choose from, so you are able to upgrade your hosting package with time. Whether you need to upgrade to a VPS or a dedicated server or simply more space, you can do so easily through the same hosting provider, and this makes shared hosting a great starting point.
- Shared hosting usually comes equipped with a built-in cPanel, which has user-friendly navigation (even if you’re a newbie) that will help manage your website or sites.
- All security and compatibility updates will be handled through the company, as this is usually included as part of a good website hosting company.
Disadvantages
Shared hosting is, in my opinion, the best starting point to get up and going with website hosting, but it does come with some drawbacks like:
- Load times are usually slower than dedicated servers.
- Servers can be overburdened with resource load with other sites on the server you are sharing.
- With higher amounts of traffic, you will start seeing performance issues.
- Although it’s rare, you never know what your shared neighbors are doing and it might affect your site.
- A lack of customization compared to a dedicated server.
What Is Website Cloud Hosting
In the most basic terms Cloud hosting lets, you run off of multiple servers and resources at once. So if you have one server go down for whatever reason you will have multiple other servers that will automatically kick in for back-up.
With this resource available now, it is why most people will pay a little extra for the peace of mind of knowing that it will be extremely hard to have downtime due to unexpected server outages.
Cloud server hosting gives you the ability to expand your hosting package unlimitedly when needed when you get more traffic to your site.
As a bonus, when one of the servers gets pummeled for whatever reason and can’t take the load, it will automatically switch to another server automatically to fix the problem.
Cloud hosting is obviously the better option than a regular shared hosting package because of its reliability, security, and ability to handle obscene amounts of traffic but it does come with an extra price tag because of the added benefits.
With that being said, it still doesn’t matter, shared hosting is a great starting point and will cover all your needs when you’re just getting started.
When you need it, or have the extra money, then upgrade your package. Upgrading is easy through many of the trusted website hosting companies, just dial up their support number and let them know you need to upgrade and they will help you out.
What Is Reseller Web hosting
Reseller website hosting is an option that is available to you within most if not all website hosting companies and involves only one company.
Basically, you are renting hard drive space and bandwidth to other companies or even yourself in some cases.
Simply put, YOU become the website hosting company that other people and companies can host their websites through.
This is typical for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own web hosting firm or for current web developers and designers who desire to add additional services to their brand.
How Does Reseller Website Hosting Work
Here are some of the basic steps to setting up your own reseller hosting package:
1) research the hosting company that will suit your needs
2) Purchase the reseller package
3) Understand the clients that you will be targeting
4) Create your own branded hosting packages
5) Decide the price you want to offer your clients
6) Then simply sell your hosting packages
7) Makes sales and earn some money
What Are Some Benefits Of Reseller Hosting
Some of the benefits you will have with a reseller hosting package are:
- Become your own website hosting account provider
- Customize the hosting packages and design
- Brand your account for a unique feel
- Control cPanel design to suit your clients
- Low initial start-up, plus the ability to upgrade easily when needed.
- Also, if you are into SEO, a very small amount of companies provide different C-class IP addresses per account that you can allocate. (I’ll get into this in another article)
What Is Virtual Dedicated Server Hosting
VPS stands for a “virtual personal server”.
A physical server is housed in a data center, the location of which depends upon the hosting provider you’re using.
A VPS is a portioned part of one of these servers that contain its own operating system, bandwidth, and disc space.
These physical servers will generally be divided into multiple different VPS, dedicated, or shared servers.
A VPS will be used as a dedicated server and can be customized to the liking of the user.
Most shared servers come with an existing hosting environment and certain settings already built-in.
A VPS acts like a dedicated server without the cost of having a dedicated server. Plus, they can be customized to your liking, if you have the technical chops.
The Pros of VPS Hosting
Here are some of the benefits of having a VPS.
VPS is most certainly cheaper than a dedicated server but also not on a shared server.
Customization and you can upgrade speed and size when needed easily.
Have a lot more control than a shared account.
In most cases, customer service is great and can help with all of the technical issues you may have.
The Cons of VPS Hosting
With anything, there are usually some drawbacks, some are subjective, and some is what it is, you can decide.
More expensive than a shared account.
It requires more knowledge and works on your end.
More of a price tag means that you will not have the same speed or bandwidth you had with a shared website hosting plan at the same price.
Who Uses This Kind of Hosting?
Shared hosting is generally for more basic websites.
People generally switch to a VPS hosting environment, because they want more customization and control options.
Sometimes website owners will end up using the same settings that they were using with a shared host, but they enjoy having more control over their hosting environment.
If I were you and just getting started, I would start out with the shared hosting plan, then upgrade to a cloud website hosting account plan when you can do so.
What Is a Dedicated Website hosting service?
A dedicated server is a server that’s literally dedicated to your own personal use.
You’ll have rights to all of the resources of the machine, and you’ll be able to configure the hosting environment however you wish.
Dedicated hosts are usually only worthwhile if you’re receiving over 500,000 visitors per month and have the necessary technical staff to maintain and optimize your server.
Some Cons to A Dedicated Server
Remember that these are subjective to your needs.
- A HEFTY Price tag.
- Very technically challenging
However, since dedicated servers are almost always more expensive it’s usually in your best interest to start with a VPS until your company is generating enough revenue to support the cost of having a dedicated server.
My Thoughts About What Is Website Hosting
Whether you think it’s too complicated or too overwhelming, it’s something you will need in order to start any kind of website online.
Luckily through my courses, I walk you through step by step to help you out to keep those frustrations low.
I hope this article helped you to understand what is website hosting so that you have a better understanding of what it actually is and what the various types of website hosting does.
My recommendation is to start out with the shared hosting plan, then, later on, move up to a bigger package like a cloud VPS when it makes sense.
Here is my link to Siteground which is my recommended website hosting company to get started with:
CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED WITH SITEGROUND HOSTING
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