If you want to learn how to make a website, you have to know at least a little bit about web hosting and what does it do. It is an important part of getting a website online and choosing the right web hosting service is crucial if you want a seamless website that doesn’t let its users down.
In this article, we will talk about what web hosting does for your site, how does it work and what to look out for when choosing a provider, and also mention some of the top providers while answering commonly asked questions, so at the end, you will know everything there is to know about web hosting to start your website!
Top Hosting Companies
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
What is Web Hosting?
To give a simple definition, web hosting is an online service that lets users publish their websites on the internet. With web hosting, every piece of data that makes up the website -the code, images, written content, video, audio, etc.- is stored in a secure platform, so anyone with an internet connection can access the website -ideally- anytime they want. In a nutshell, every website you have visited online to this day is hosted by a web hosting provider, and the quality of hosting directly affects how fast, secure, and accessible the website is.
How Does Hosting Work?
The core function of a web host is to provide a secure storage space for the website files. This storage space is called a server- you can think of servers as giant computers with immense storage capacity. The website files are uploaded from a local source (any computer) to a server accessible from the web. How much storage space you will get on this server, depends upon the hosting plan you have purchased. For example, if you are getting started online with your first personal blog, you probably won’t need that big of a space, so your website files will be stored in a specific portion of the server, along with other websites using it (this is known as shared hosting, and we will talk about this in detail shortly). But as your site grows and your traffic increases, you might need to use the full resources of a server just for your site, opting for a cloud server or a VPS (we will shortly talk about these too!).
Once you put all your website files on a hosting provider’s server, you will be accessing this server via a platform such as cPanel, which will make it a lot easier for you to regularly upload your new website files to your server- or, delete files from the server if you wish. Or, instead, you can opt for a CMS (Content Management System) such as WordPress to have an easier time building your website.
After everything is set, once a user with an internet connection types your website’s address on the browser, the web browser will collect the files from your server, and then display them for the user.
Features
Now that you have learned what is the main function of a web hosting service, it is time to talk about what features web hosts provide to their users to make this experience as easy, fast, practical, and secure as possible. Here are some of the common elements of web hosting services:
- A limited or unlimited number of domains the user is allowed to host on server (depending on the plan)
- An average number of monthly traffic the website can handle (depending on the plan)
- SSD storage (size depends on the plan)
- A limited or unlimited number of databases (depending on the plan)
- Related e-mail accounts
- SSL Certificate
- cPanel- web hosting control panel
- CMS support (easy-to-install WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
- FTP accounts – The File Transfer Protocol – used for transferring computer files from a server to a computer
Note that these are the common features of hosting plans, and they may still vary depending on the provider and the selected plan. In addition, many hosting providers offer their users many more features including CDN’s to speed up the page loading times, daily backups, WordPress acceleration, DNS management, and more… Users should review all hosting plans and what they have to offer and choose the best plan for their needs and goals.
Web Hosting Types
As a site that gets millions of visitors each week will have different needs than a site with a hundred monthly visitors, there are different hosting types for different website needs, and to build a website that works smoothly, you should be able to choose the type of hosting that fits your needs.
The main hosting types are the following:
Shared Hosting
The best -and usually the most affordable- option for small websites, directories, shared hosting is the type of hosting service where your website will be sharing the server space with other websites. Since the server costs will be divided between a lot of websites, the costs will be quite low. If your website will have low to moderate levels of traffic, you cannot go wrong with a quality shared hosting package.
Dedicated Hosting
As the name implies, dedicated hosting gives you access to an entire physical server. You won’t be splitting the server resources with any other users, which means, you won’t be splitting the costs either, and that makes dedicated hosting more expensive than most other plans. Dedicated hosting will give you impressive performance and security, but you might need some technical skill -or a team of experts- to manage it. This type of hosting is good for websites that have very high traffic- or sites that require a specific type of server configuration.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for Virtual Pirate Server. In this model, which uses virtualization, you will be able to benefit from multiple servers, which will be acting as a single server. This means you will have access to an entire network of servers and scale these resources depending on your website’s needs. Although a VPS server works like a dedicated server, it is still shared with other website owners. VPS hosting packages are ideal for users who would like to have the resources of a dedicated server, but are a bit tight on budget.
Cloud Hosting
A relatively new type of hosting, cloud hosting lets you simultaneously host your site on multiple servers, as the physical servers will be split into cloud clusters. This means, when one of these servers gets overloaded, your website traffic will be directed automatically to another cloud server in the cluster to keep things working. With cloud hosting, you will only be paying for the resources you actually use.
Reseller Hosting
In this hosting type, you, as the owner of the hosting account, will be able to use the space allocated to you to host the websites of third parties. In other words, when the amount of server space you have purchased is more than you need, you may become the “reseller”, share your resources with other parties, and make a profit!
WordPress Hosting
You can use WordPress with other hosting plans, but with a WordPress hosting package, you will get a platform that is tailored for WordPress so you can get the most out of the content management system. If you have a really small site, it is unlikely that you will notice any difference between a standard plan or a WordPress-focused plan, but as your traffic increases, you will definitely benefit from the improved performance and security of a WordPress-oriented hosting plan.
If you want to get more information about these different types of hosting, you can visit their review pages.
How to Choose a Hosting Provider?
There are a lot of hosting providers in the market, and all come with their pros and cons. The important thing is to be able to decide one’s priorities and find a brand that provides the best service in those departments.
In this context, some important factors to consider before choosing a hosting service are as follows:
- Performance – How does the brand perform in speed tests? What’s their uptime? Always check how well a hosting service performs when compared to others?
- Support – No one likes downtime. Not you, not your hosting service, and certainly your customers. But sooner or later that time will come, and when it happens, you are going to have to rely on your hosting brand’s support team, and you better hope they are good & fast. Do they have around-the-clock support? How can you reach them? Live chat? Phone? Do they provide clear guides and articles on important subjects, so you have a trustable source on those? These are some of the questions that should be asked.
- Hosting plans – Most providers offer their users a range of hosting plans with different prices and capabilities. Check out their plans and decide which one is right for you and your site. While you don’t want to end up with a hosting plan that doesn’t satisfy your site’s needs, you certainly don’t need to pay extra money for features and resources you are never going to use.
- Prices – Even if you are tight on budget, you will almost always be able to find a hosting service that you can afford. You can also look for discounts and special deals and try to find the packages with the most advantageous prices.
- Compatible content management systems- Be sure to check if the company provides hosting plans optimized for specific content management systems, such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.
- User reviews – You should also check out reviews from users who actually used the service and hear about their experiences to form your own opinions.
Top 3 Hosting Providers – Detailed
As we have stated before, there are a lot of hosting brands, and each has different pros and cons. You can find the one that is the best for you with a little research and comparison. To give you a starting point for that, we will list the top 3 hosting providers that are currently leading the industry.
1- HostGator – One of the most popular providers in the industry, HostGator provides a broad range of hosting plans suitable for websites of all scales, as well as powerful tools and excellent customer support. They also have a superb website builder to make things even easier!
2- WP Engine – A hosting platform created specifically to host WordPress sites, WP Engine has all you need to get a seamless WordPress site going! From small blogs to enterprise-class sites, if you wish to use WordPress as CMS, you cannot go wrong with WP Engine!
3- DreamHost – Last, but not least, we have DreamHost, a brand that provides 5-star services at affordable prices! Their cloud hosting packages are especially good, and with their range of powerful tools, they make hosting a website easy even for complete beginners!
Hosting Prices
When it comes to hosting prices, you can rest assured that everyone can easily find a hosting service that they can afford. Today, users can find hosting services for as low as $1.39 monthly -maybe even less than that- to host basic types of websites. On the other hand, there are enterprise-grade hosting solutions for maximum performance and security, and those can be easily priced at hundreds of dollars. Also, most hosting providers offer add-ons, which are optional features users can purchase to customize their site as they wish and to increase speed and security. If you are looking for ways to find a cheap web hosting, you can check out our article.
Web Hosting F.A.Q
Let’s wrap it up by quickly taking a glance at some of the most popular questions about web hosting!
Q: Can I change my hosting anytime I want?
A: Yes! If you think another hosting company is better for your website, you can migrate your site to that brand’s servers. There are plugins for this, and some hosting providers do this themselves.
Q: Can I host my website myself?
A: Technically, yes, this is possible using certain software, but this is a more hands-on approach, not suitable for beginners, and certainly not even remotely as reliable as using professional hosting services.
Q: Which hosting type is the best for beginners?
A: If “beginners” means people who are just starting their online journey with a small blog or a personal site, then shared hosting plans are a great way to start. For larger projects, users may still want to opt for VPS or Cloud hosting alternatives.
Q: Do I need to know how to code to set up my website on a hosting platform?
A: Definitely not! Hosting providers make it as easy as possible for new site owners, so users with no technical knowledge can host their websites with just a couple of clicks. Also, for complex operations, there will always be a support team available with the selected hosting provider!
Q: I have purchased a domain name. Do I have to buy my hosting from the same provider?
A: No, you can buy your hosting from any provider that suits you.
Overall
Now you know that hosting service basically provides a home to your website. And just like you would want your home to be as comfortable and practical as it gets not just for you but for your guests as well, you should take the same approach towards your website. No business can survive today without a website, and by picking the right hosting service for your goals and needs, you will help your site be the best version of itself!
