What Is Web Hosting?

If you’re curious about web hosting or just getting started with it and feel overwhelmed, then you’ve come to the right place. Today, we will guide you through the basics of web hosting. We will look at the reasons you need web hosting, how it works, what types of web hosting exist, and the essential web hosting features you need.

With web hosting, you will be able to store your online content in a secure place. The text, videos, images, and the code that comprise your website will be stored on a server. With web hosting, anyone that has access to the Internet can access your site.

If you want to know more about how web hosting works, make sure you check out our blog!

Self-hosting is running your own site by setting up a network or server yourself. Self-hosting means that you own your site, and you have unlimited capabilities to what you can do with it. Those who choose to self-host their website, besides building their website, are also responsible for uptime and maintenance of their site.

Are you wondering: can I host my website on my own computer? Read our blog and find out!

Even though you will have total control over your website, with self-hosting, not only will you need to invest in added bandwidth, electricity, and expensive hardware, you will also have to protect the integrity of your systems and maintain your site.

If you’re working on growing your business, you should consider whether or not you will have the time to maintain the server. Self-hosting also requires specific expertise and knowledge to protect your site and keep up with the updates.

Even though both professional hosting and self-hosting have their own pros and cons, we would recommend using professional hosting due to the fact it’s the most time-saving and cost-effective option.

Web hosting providers are companies that rent out their technologies and services to host websites on the Internet. Once a hosting provider hosts your site, people can access it through their web browser by typing in your domain name. When people type in your web address, their device connects to the server that your website is hosted on.

• Storage – Storage, also known as web space or disk space, is the amount of room on a server that is available for storing the content of your site. The web host you choose should be able to accommodate the size of your website.

• Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the capacity of data that can be transferred between the site, the servers, and its users. The size of the bandwidth determines the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted from one point to another.

• Domain – A domain name is an address that people type in the browser in order to visit your website. Think of an attention-grabbing domain name and check if it’s available to register it.

• Speed – The right web host should have enough speed to make sure that your website loads in a timely manner and you don’t lose any of your audience.

• Email accounts – A professional site is going to have email accounts associated with the domain. When you decide which type of server best suits you, make sure that your web hosting provider offers this feature.

• Cost – Depending on your needs, web hosting can range from a few hundred dollars per year to a few hundred dollars per month. If you want to be able to budget well, it is critical that you understand all the costs that are involved in hosting.

Managed hosting provides a higher level of support and an overall easier experience, while unmanaged hosting offers more control over your server. With unmanaged hosting, you will have to manage the server on your own, taking care of its availability, security, and speed. Both have their own advantages, and it all depends on your individual needs.

If you want to know more about managed vs. unmanaged hosting, make sure you read our blog!

The price of web hosting depends on the type of web hosting you will choose.

For instance, shared hosting has the lowest server capacity, but it is the cheapest type of hosting, while dedicated hosting is the most powerful and most expensive option. On the other hand, VPS hosting stands somewhere between dedicated and shared hosting.

Regardless of the technical knowledge, everyone can switch between web hosting providers. Less knowledgeable users can use the free migration services from the hosting providers, while those who are more tech-savvy can migrate their site to the new provider on their own.

At Verpex, we will assist you with migrations free of charge.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when making a decision, given the fact that there are so many hosting options on the market. We hope that today we’ve helped you in better understanding what web hosting is, and now you know what you should look for in a hosting provider.