You may have heard the phrase Web Hosting when you start thinking of how websites can be created, or how websites work.
Well, we have the knowledge that authorizes us to tell you in detail what is web hosting, what are types of it, and what is best for you if you wanna give it a try.
In this article, you’ll learn what web hosting is, how it works, the different types of web hosting, what to look for in web hosting, and much more.
So, what is web hosting?
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a hosting service that provides computer hardware and software necessary to run a website. It typically includes a web server (or multiple web servers), an Internet bandwidth provider, and an operating system.
The web hosting service provides a secure space for the upload and delivery of your online content, like folders, data, images, videos, and text that compose a web application or website, so the content can be accessed and viewed by the user on the internet.
Web Hosting is one of the important steps to take into account before making your website because it acts as the foundation for your website and makes the website exist on the internet and live online.
All the websites you visited are using a web hosting service to run their websites on top of it starting from large business companies to small blogs and personal accounts.
It also provides you with the necessary tools to make your site function properly and a lot of benefits to assist you to manage and control your website.
Web hosting services are typically provided by a hosting provider who manages the hardware and software used to run the servers. That leads us to ask; what is a Web Host?
What is a web host?
A Web host is a company that provides server space and bandwidth to store, manage and deliver web pages.
The Web Host provides a customer with space on one or more servers to store Web pages, images, videos, and other Internet content and the customer pays a monthly fee for the service.
Web hosts are the backbone of the internet. They are responsible for providing the hosting environment that allows you to upload your website or blog to the internet.
they provide their customers with an IP address, which is used by computers in order to communicate with each other over a network.
What is web hosting Used For?
Web hosting is used for many things, but the most common use of web hosting is for storing websites on a remote server.
The web hosts provide servers for storing your website data such as databases, images, videos, files, text, and other data to make it accessible to people over the internet.
We can say that web hosting is used for the following purposes:
- To store and distribute files, images, videos, audio, or any other type of data.
- Provide web pages with an Internet Protocol address.
- Provide data transfer from one location to another across the internet.
How does web hosting work?
Web hosting services work by dedicating to you stable and secure storage space in a physical server or computer, which works constantly to make the website accessible to all the users around the clock and semantically prevent the website from cyberattacks twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The service provider will allow you to upload all the files and data of your website to the server that you rented.
At the same time, the hosting company allows easy maintenance and access of the website by the users which prevents the consumption of time. When a user clicks on your website the server which holds all your website folders will send all the necessary files to the viewer browser screen.
A website hosted on a web server is accessible via a unique URL that includes an IP address or we can say a domain name that’s connected to an IP address.
What are the types of web hosting?
There are many different types of web hosting, and there are many different types of web hosts. The type you choose will depend on your needs, budget, and the level of service you require.
You will want to choose a specific type of hosting based on certain things you will discover in the next section. Hosting types include the followings :
Shared Hosting:
Shared hosting is the most affordable option for web hosting it is a popular option for small personal websites and also for businesses that have multiple websites because it allows them to save money on hosting multiple websites at the same time while minimizing the hosting fees.
With shared hosting, multiple websites share the same server. which means that they share the same resources such as space, bandwidth, memory, and computing power.
However, the number of resources available to shared hosting accounts is divided among many websites. This means that the speed and quality of your website can vary depending on how many other sites are hosted on the same server.
Most shared hosting plans also provide you with a free domain name. So you can manage your web hosting, website, and your domain on the same platform. Also, this is approximately $12 for free.
Shared hosting also comes with a few drawbacks, if any one of the websites hosted on the same server experience any issues, this will affect all the websites.
For example, If a website on a shared hosting plan has a lot of visitors, it will affect the traffic of all of the websites on the hosting account. Similarly, if one website on the hosting account gets hacked, it can affect the other websites on the hosting account.
Shared Hosting Pros:
- Shared Hosting is inexpensive: Shared hosting is the most cost-effective way to host your website. Shared hosting is a type of web hosting in which many websites are hosted on one server.
- Easy to set up: Shared hosting is a good option for beginners who are just starting out with their website and don’t know much about websites and web hosting. A shared hosting service can be set up in a matter of minutes, which makes it very easy to use.
Shared Hosting Cons:
- Limited Resources: Shared hosting is the most affordable, but it also has its limitations. Shared hosting providers often have limits on the amount of bandwidth and disk space that can be used per month. If your website uses more than the allotted amount, you may experience slower speeds and downtime.
- Inability to customize the server environment to suit your needs:
- Slower performance: The more customers on a single server, the slower it will perform. This is because the resources available are split among all users.
- Security risks: Shared hosts have a much higher risk of getting hacked or infected with malware due to the number of servers they use to host their clients’ websites. One compromised server can lead to many more being compromised and this increases the risk for all other customers on the same host.
We believe that Hostinger is the best web hosting choice for shared hosting.
Virtual Private Servers “VPS” Hosting:
If you want more control over your server and to be able to have multiple users, you’ll need to choose a VPS hosting option.
A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a virtual machine that is hosted on a physical server.
Virtual private servers are a type of server that many users share. The users share the server costs (and the server ) but each user gets their own server space.
The price is higher than the Shared hosting plan but the VPS hosting overcomes all the risk and problem that comes from sharing the server and the resources.
So the dedicated resources and new traffic searches from the other website that are On the same server will never affect you.
Types of VPS Hosting:
VSP hosting has two main types; Managed VPS Hosting and Unmanaged VPS Hosting.
- Managed VPS hosting is a type of hosting service that is managed by the service provider. They offer their own management and administration services, so you don’t need to worry about these things. But it costs more.
- Un-managed VPS hosting refers to a server that has not been configured in advance so you do it by yourself. Unmanaged VPS servers are often more cost-effective than managed servers because they require less upfront work on the part of the client.
Luckily, A2 Hosting Provides two types of web hosting, you only have to choose what suits you. If you are a beginner go with managed, and if you are a Pro, go with the unmanaged hosting type.
VPS Hosting Pros:
- Increased security: VPS servers are isolated from other servers and they have fewer vulnerabilities than shared servers.
- Scalability: With VPS, you can scale your website’s resources up or down as needed without any downtime or performance issues, which means that you can avoid overspending on your hosting needs or being underpowered for your traffic needs.
- Flexibility: You get full control over the operating system of your server.
- Better control over your website’s performance.
- Higher uptime rates than Shared hosting.
VPS Hosting Cons:
- VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting: For many people, the price difference between shared hosting and VPS doesn’t justify the additional cost. You have to pay for storage and bandwidth for each server you use. This can be very costly and difficult on your budget if you don’t plan accordingly.
- Some people may find it difficult to use or set up the VPS and feel that they need expert assistance. This can be frustrating for people who are not tech-savvy or who don’t have any experience with setting up servers.
We can’t think of a better option for VPS hosting than A2 Hosting.
Cloud Hosting:
Cloud hosting is a web hosting type that is in the cloud, Because the servers are not physically stored in one specific location, they are typically hosted in a data center that is a part of a network of interconnected data centers, commonly known as Cloud.
This is different from traditional server hosting, which is often hosted on a single physical server at one location.
In this type of hosting the website, data is hosted and replicated on multiple servers with more computing power. The hosting company has more resources to provide the website.
Cloud hosting has an advantage in that your website will be much easier to maintain and maintain uptime because of the high-level support.
Types of Cloud Hosting:
Cloud hosting has two main types; Managed Cloud Hosting and Un-managed Cloud Hosting.
Managed Cloud Hosting is a type of cloud hosting that is managed by the provider. The service provider will take care of all the maintenance and management tasks like backups, updates, and security. The best web hosting for such a service is Cloudways managed hosting.
Un-managed Cloud Hosting is a type of internet hosting in which the client rents space on a remote server and manage all the server configuration by himself. It’s more for advanced players. The best web hosting for such a service is Vultr cloud hosting.
Cloud Hosting Pros:
- Cloud hosting is scalable: Cloud hosting offers a scalable solution for companies who need to scale up or down as their business grows or shrinks. which means that the business can grow without having to worry about the infrastructure and server capacity.
- It’s Flexible: Cloud hosting allows users to access the same data from any device, anytime, anywhere. This flexibility also means that companies can easily share data with employees who are working remotely.
- Availability: The ability to provide services even if some servers go offline.
- Cost-effective: Cloud hosting is cheaper than other types of hosting because it does not require any hardware or software maintenance, and there are no upfront c
- More stability and reliability: meaning that there are no worries about downtime or data loss because you are not relying on one server
- The security features of the cloud are top notch and it provides protection from malware and viruses.
Cloud Hosting Cons:
We don’t think that there’s a big downside to Cloud hosting that’s why we recommend it all the time for all web hosting companies customers.
Dedicated Server Hosting:
Dedicated hosting is the exact opposite of shared hosting. It is the most expensive type of hosting, but it is also by far the most powerful. This type of hosting provides you with your own server, which is hosted in a data center.
There are many benefits of having dedicated hosting. This is perfect for those who want to build their own hosting company or for those who have a specific niche.
Dedicated servers are ideal for businesses who are looking to grow their website traffic and want to make sure that the site can handle the increased load. So, if you are a company that has a lot of monthly visitors and you want your site to be fast, you will need dedicated hosting.
These servers are usually better for websites that have a large amount of traffic.
Types of Dedicated Hosting:
The Dedicated Servers have two types you can choose from, Virtual Dedicated Servers and non-Virtual Dedicated Servers.
- Virtual Dedicated Servers: In this type of dedicated server, you rent the entire server on the cloud. It’s like the Cloud Hosting types, but no one sharing with you the resources of that server.
- non-Virtual Dedicated Servers: In this type of dedicated server, you rent the entire physical server hardware without a virtualization layer.
Dedicated Servers Hosting Pros:
- Dedicated servers offer better security: Dedicated servers also provide more security for the website because it does not share the resources with other websites on the same server which is important for companies that store sensitive information, like financial data.
- A dedicated server will also be able to handle any spikes in traffic without crashing or slowing down your website because it has the capacity to do so.
- You have total control over your server: The dedicated server offers more power and flexibility than other web hosting. You can do anything that you want with it and install any software that you want on it.
- A dedicated server provides better performance and speed for websites because it has its own resources.
- Dedicated servers generally have higher uptime rates than shared or virtual private server hosting which means that they will be available to serve your website when you need them.
- Dedicated servers allow for more bandwidth and processing power than most other hosting plans.
Dedicated Servers Hosting Cons:
- Cost: Dedicated servers are expensive and not cost-effective for small to medium-sized businesses. They require a lot of upfront investment and monthly maintenance charges.
- Flexibility: Dedicated Servers take longer to set up and configure. This might not be an issue if you know what you’re doing, but it could be difficult for those with less technical knowledge or experience.
From our experience, the best solution for Dedicated Server Hosting is Vultr.
What to look for in a web hosting Service Provider?
When you are trying to decide to go on a hosting plan, there are many factors you need to consider.
You have to take into account the features that each hosting provider offers, how often you intend on updating it, what type of website you are building, what type of website traffic your site gets, and if you have a certain budget.
There are many differences that we can take as examples to differentiate between what is good web hosting, what is better, and what is worse.
Here are several important considerations that you can take when comparing web hosting providers to choose one among the many out there:
Web Hosting Performance:
One of the major things to look at when applying for a new web hosting provider is its performance. A web host with a bad performance is trash.
Web hosting performance is a vital factor for any website. It determines how fast your website loads and how much traffic it can handle.
There are many factors that affect web hosting performance, such as the server speed and location, the type of data center, and the uptime. Let’s see what each of them means.
Server Uptime:
Uptime is the amount of time that a website is operational. It is a measure of how long a website stays up and running.
If a website has an uptime of 99%, it means that it is available for 99% of the time and unavailable for 1% of the time. It means that every month, the website goes down for 7.2 hours.
When you are running a website, you need to ensure that it is always up and running. This is important because if your site goes down, then people will not be able to access it.
So, when you like a web hosting service and want to sign up for it, make sure that it has great uptime, 99.5% or above.
Website Speed:
A website’s loading speed can have a significant impact on its success. Slow-loading websites frustrate visitors and may cause them to leave the site before viewing any content and resulting in a higher bounce rate
According to Google, “Site Speed has a direct impact on customer conversion rates.” A fast-loading website can help improve user satisfaction and increase conversion rates.
Yes, the nature of the website, the theme, and the plugins may affect the website speed. But the major cause of slow-loading websites is the web hosting service. So, consider applying for a web host that delivers fast loading times.
Server Location:
Server location performance is also an important factor to consider when choosing a web hosting company.
The performance of a server location is measured by the response time. The response time is the time it takes for a server to respond to a request.
The closer the server is to your customers the faster the server will serve the customer. So, make sure that the web hosting company at least has a data center near to your audience.
Customer service and Support:
A customer service representative is a company’s first point of contact with its customers. They are the face of the company to all its customers.
Customer service helps customers by answering their queries, resolving their problems, and providing them with information about the company’s products, services and policies.
You need to apply for a web hosting that has a good reputation when it comes to answering the queries that might face the users of the companies, especially for beginners who don’t know much about it.
Reliability:
Web hosting reliability is an important factor that website owners should consider when choosing a web hosting provider.
The main reason for this is that the hosting company will be responsible for storing and managing your site’s data.
Don’t sign up for web hosting that has not been tested before or is simply not known.
Security:
The importance of security in web hosting is obvious. you need to ensure that your website is secure to protect the hard work you did.
Security is also important to have security in a website for the sake of your website’s visitors and any sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers to protect it from hackers.
A good host ensures that the security of your website is good enough to protect you from cyber-attacks that happened around the clock, to ensure that your website cannot be hacked.
So, do some research about the web hosting that you want before purchasing a server on their platform for what’s the security layers that they provide and if they have been hacked several times.
Automated and On-demand Backups:
If your website is down due to hacking attacks, accidental loss of files, or updating problems that means your customers can’t find you.
Website backup is the process of making copies of a website’s files and database, typically on an offline storage device.
To avoid downtimes you must have a frequent backup technique for your website so that if anything goes wrong on your website, you always have a backup to get back to and bring everything to normal.
Try to avoid web hosts that don’t create a cluster of automated backups of your website, at least once a day, or on-demand backup whenever you make major changes, you can with one click create an on-demand backup
Scalability:
Web hosting scalability is the ability of a web hosting service to provide enough resources to handle an increased load of traffic. So when your website grows, you can easily with one click scale up your server resources.
The more scalable a server is, the more resources it can provide and the less likely it is to crash.
A good web hosting company will offer scalable hosting solutions that do not break or crush under heavy load. They should also offer a variety of plans with different levels of scalability for customers to choose from.
Ease of use:
Ease of use is a big factor in deciding what web hosting provider to use. Especially if you are a beginner.
If the dashboard of a web hosting is too complicated, you will find it hard to use and you will not be able to perform its tasks efficiently.
When you like web hosting and want to apply for it, watch tutorial videos and read articles about it.
The Conclusion
Considering the huge web hosting market, it can be difficult for new customers in the market to figure out what is the best web hosting choice for them. That’s why we made this article to make it simple for you.
You can take all the considerations in this article and compare them to what you have found. Or perhaps you want our experience to make it even easier for you to suggest the best web hosting providers for you.
Here are our top pics:
- If you are just starting a brand new website or you have a small website with less than 10K monthly visits, the best choice for you is Hostinger shared hosting. It’s cheap -$2/month- and reliable.
- If you have a website with a decent amount of monthly traffic or you just want to start a little bit bigger for better performance, I can’t think of a better web hosting than Cloudways cloud hosting. Read about Cloudways.
- If you have the knowledge to run an unmanaged server and want the best and cheapest cloud hosting. Vultr is the guy. Read about Vultr.
Web Hosting FAQs
Here are many questions that we see many of you asking:
How much does web hosting cost?
Web hosting can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many different types of web hosting services out there and they can range from $2 USD a month to hundreds per month. Web hosting prices are usually determined by the following:
- The type of website you want to build.
- The amount of storage space that you need.
- The number of monthly visitors you receive.
- The bandwidth you need (this is how much data the website will use
Why do I need a web host?
You need a web host to upload your website or blog onto the internet. The web host will provide you with a server that you can use to store your website files and upload them to the internet.
How do I choose the right web host for my site?
Choosing the right web host for your site is essential for a successful online business. There are many factors to consider when choosing a web host. We have mentioned the most important of them in this article, but you can find more information about them in this article.
Can I host my own website?
Many people are hosting their own website because it is cheaper, more personalized, and more responsive. However, the downside of hosting your own site is that you have to take care of the maintenance and security of your website.
