What is Web Hosting?

Web files are stored on a remote server called the host. Every website is hosted on a server. There is a cost incurred for hosting a website, which is separate from domain name registration.

How Does Down Time Impact Your Business?

“Down time” is when the website is inaccessible to online visitors. These times can last for a few seconds or several hours. A down site cannot be viewed or make any transactions. Every minute your site is down could mean losing another potential customer. Having a down site can also make your business appear unreliable. Choosing a reliable web hosting company limits the amount of down time that would be experienced. Your web host should be able to support the expected traffic for your site. A larger site needs a host that can handle significant traffic at one time without overloading the system.

Types of Web Hosting

There are four main types of web hosting: Shared, Dedicated, Virtual Private Server, and Cloud hosting.

Shared Hosting

With shared hosting, one server hosts multiple websites, sometimes only a few, but sometimes hundreds or even thousands. The websites share server resources like RAM and CPU.

Advantages

• Lowest cost
• Least skill level required

Disadvantages

• No root access, which means you can’t change the server settings or install some software
• Limited capability of handling high traffic or traffic spikes
• Site’s performance can be affected by other sites on the server

Dedicated Hosting

With dedicated hosting, a server is rented to you exclusively, meaning that your website is the only one on it.

Advantages

• More secure
• Maximum control
• Better server performance

Disadvantages

• More expensive
• Greater skill level required

Virtual Private Server Hosting

Virtual Private Server hosting splits a server into multiple virtual servers. Each website is hosted on its own virtual server, but it is on a physical server with other websites.

Advantages

• Root access
• More secure
• Better server performance
• Less expensive than dedicated hosting

Disadvantages

• Limited capability of handling high traffic or traffic spikes
• Site’s performance can be partially affected by other sites on the server

Cloud Hosting

Several servers (called a cloud) host a group of websites. The multiple servers work together to handle spikes in traffic or generally high traffic levels for each website.

Advantages

• Can handle high traffic and traffic spikes
• Better server performance
• Fairly secure

Disadvantages

• No root access from many web hosting companies
• More expensive

You can use WebHosting Secret Revealed’s 15-point checklist for determining the best web hosting provider for you, and you can consult the Web Hosting for Dummies Cheat Sheet for a shorter list as well as a checklist for moving to a new web server and help recording your web host login details.

In our next blog post, we will discuss domain name registration.

Source: WebHosting Secret Revealed