Nowadays we see ads popping out everywhere about web hosting, we hear it on YouTube videos, etc. Primarily the people who already have a website know about web hosting and its importance but maybe some are still not clear about how it actually works. Even if you do not have a website or want to start one of your own it is good to have a piece of knowledge about hosting, so you won’t get confused about what to do and which hosting to choose at the point of starting your website.
Choosing web hosting can be tricky if you are not aware of the specifications required for web hosting to be decent. In this article, you will have all the knowledge about what web hosting is, different types of web hosting, what a good web hosting service should have, and how to manage your web hosting.
What is a web hosting?
The word hosting itself suggests that it is a hosting platform that hosts your website to run on the internet or the web. Every website or domain needs a server or basically a platform to be in and web hosting provides the server as a platform. Let us understand this with a common example, if you want to run a TV show you will need a host or an anchor to run that show, likewise if want to sell something physically you will need a platform where you can store your products and people could come to the store and buy your product, similarly, websites need someone to host them to start and run successfully. Most importantly, web hosting will handle the traffic you get on your website so the smoothness of your website and the response will depend upon the service provider and the plan you choose.
A web hosting serves as a platform and hosts a website, depending upon the service and plan, web hosting can host multiple websites with one hosting plan. So, after buying your domain and web hosting, your web hosting provider will allot a server for your website on what your website will run and operate. A good hosting provider should have at least above 99% uptime which is by the way how much time your website is live on the web, generally above 99.50% uptime is considered the best, it should have faster loading speeds, good response time and should be able to manage your desired traffic(this also depends on the plan you choose), and lastly a good customer support. These are the must-have basic requirements but some hosting providers offer a variety of useful features that cost a premium.
Different types of web hosting
Any web hosting does the same thing it runs your website on the server, but as every website is different and has varying traffic, and different purposes, different hosting services are provided to serve the best to your website requirements. There are many types of web hosting like WordPress hosting, shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, etc.
WordPress Hosting
First WordPress is a free online software to create a website from scratch and it is widely used by beginners to intermediate to professionals because of its flexibility, friendly for all, and diversity, WordPress is acknowledged by every company and business, so web hosting services offer you WordPress hosting which can be seamlessly integrated to WordPress with a single click, whereas non-WordPress hosting requires too many tiring steps to connect with WordPress, and it is a complicated process, especially for beginners. WordPress hosting can host multiple websites with low to high traffic, It is very suitable for blog websites, beginners, small to medium businesses, or establishing your personal brand.
Shared Hosting
A shared hosting can host multiple websites in a single server resource, including storage, RAM, and CPU. Basically, it’s like a business partnership with multiple partners. It is a cost-effective solution for those who are just starting out or have a small business and need to cut out their cost in every area possible. Well, it is a cost-effective solution for your website but it also comes with some compromises, if you have more traffic on your website then the shared hosting may not be able to manage that traffic and can experience slower loading time and poor response time, and your website may have to deal with temporary shutdown and go offline. But, with minimal traffic and not a very content-heavy website it is a very good option who have less budget.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting allots a dedicated server to a single client. That means it doesn’t have to share any resources with other clients. This hosting is very powerful and delivers the best performance because of its complete availability of resources like storage, RAM, and CPU. This hosting ensures that every client’s requirements are met because one can configure their operating system, hardware configuration, etc.
It is a premium hosting service so the main disadvantage of this hosting is it can be costly for some users, and the maintenance of the server, updates, and troubleshooting should be done by the client it is a daunting task to manage it, but if you have a very high-traffic website and have small to big business then this will be the most suitable hosting for you as it will keep your website up and running most of the time regardless of the daily traffic. You will get fast loading speeds and great response time.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server(VPS) is standing in between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. It shares the server with multiple clients but creates virtual servers for each client so we can still get all the benefits of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost. We can access all the resources just as we can with a dedicated server, but similar to the dedicated server it requires technical expertise to manage the hosting and server. It is most suitable for those who have outgrown their website that a shared hosting can handle and want a dedicated server but at a low cost. Click here to learn more in detail about the Virtual Private Server(VPS).
Cloud Hosting
Cloud Hosting is a shift from traditional web hosting, it leverages the power of cloud computing to create multiple virtual servers. It has a great capability to provide all the resources and it has fast loading times and great response time. This model works in a flexible mode whenever your website surges in traffic it strengthens its capabilities to give you the best performance and if the website is receiving medium traffic and loads it provides accordingly.
It has no major disadvantages but you have to be aware of the cost because it has a pay-as-you-go pricing mode so whenever your website surges high traffic it will cost you more but high traffic will give you growth so, it is kind of a win-win situation.
List of Good Web Hosting Providers
There are a lot of web hosting providers out there in the market and if you have read this article you know how important it is for you to choose the right web hosting. Click here to know the features of some of the best web hosting providers according to my personal experience. Here are some of the web hosting providers that are currently the best in the market.
Conclusion
Hope you got the overall idea of what web hosting is, how it works the different types of web hosting available, and its advantages and disadvantages. To summarize, it is crucial to know before choosing a web hosting service because it is the most essential part of your website. Many hosting providers claim to deliver fast load times and good uptime but they fail to deliver the services and it will be a waste of money and regret for you so it is better to consider a good and authentic hosting provider, all the above-mentioned hosting provider can do the help for you.