A Complete Guide To Web Hosting And Products

If you’re launching a website for the first time you’re likely to have plenty of questions. Web hosting is one of the most confusing aspects of the online world so here are some key factors to take into account when looking for a package.

What is web hosting?

If you’re building a website, you need somewhere to store all the various files that go into creating it. Essentially, web hosting is the space used to keep these files. Think of it as a remote hard drive, configured to show people your website whenever they type in its address or click on a link.

The reality is a little more complicated than that, but it should give you a decent idea of the basic principle behind web hosting.

What is shared web hosting?

The device on which your website files are stored is known as a server – a purpose-built computer. With shared hosting, you don’t get a server all to yourself – it’s “shared” with other people. There are a few places to check for hosting like google website hosting.

Your websites and data remain separate, but the overall resources are split between a number of users.

This minimizes the cost of hosting – shared hosting is the cheapest kind but it is also the least powerful, so your site won’t be the fastest in the world and if you get a lot of visitors it might not be able to cope.

However, if you’re running a simple blog you should find that shared hosting suit you perfectly.

What is VPS hosting?

A virtual private server is similar to shared web hosting, although the differences between the two are significant. With a VPS you don’t get a server all to yourself, but the manner in which the server is shared is slightly more complex than with a basic package.

With a VPS, the server is partitioned in such a way that each section behaves as if it were a private server – hence the term VPS.

From a practical point of view, this means a VPS is more powerful than a shared hosting package, making it faster and letting it cope with more traffic.

However, you will have to pay more for a VPS. This kind of deal is suitable for ecommerce sites and blogs with higher traffic levels.

What is a dedicated server?

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As the name suggests, a dedicated server is one where you utilize the full server and all its resources.

This is by far the most powerful of the three options we’ve looked at here and it is also the most expensive.

It’s highly unlikely that someone launching their first website will need a dedicated server, but it’s the perfect choice for complex sites with high traffic levels.

Other factors to consider

Disk space – The more disk space your package includes, the bigger you can make your website. Be realistic though; there’s no point in paying for unlimited disk space if you’re only using a few hundred megabytes.

Control panel – The control panel is one of the ways you’ll interact with your server so look for one that you’ll feel comfortable using.

Managed hosting – If you need a powerful server, but lack the technical skills needed to make sure everything runs smoothly, look into managed hosting. With managed hosting you can enjoy all the benefits of a dedicated server, but leave the technical stuff to your hosting provider.

Understanding your needs

As well as getting a good idea of what the web hosting marketplace is like, you also need to take the time to understand what you need from a package.

Going for a top-of-the-range package when you have small website with few visitors is going to waste money.

On the other hand, trying to save cash by going for a cheap package when you have high levels of traffic will be a false economy as your site won’t be able to cope with the demands placed on it, leading to downtime and lost customers.

Finding the balance between your needs and performance is the key to getting the most from web hosting. Nathan Oulman wrote this post and loves to contribute about web hosting products.