A website plays a vital role in escalating the growth of a business and generating leads. Most companies have invested huge bucks to establish their online presence to reach the potential clients, ultimately increasing their client base.
When we talk about making a website, we’ve also heard the term ‘web hosting’ alongside numerous times.
So, what is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that provides a ‘residence’ to your website. It comprises of a web host, a computer that stores all the data and pages of your website making it available over the internet. Any computer that has access to the internet can access your website hosted on the web hosting server.
Types of Web Hosting
- Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the setup in which several websites are hosted on a single web hosting server. The websites share the disk space and the bandwidth of the server. It is the most cost-effective solution as multiple users bare the cost of maintaining a single server. It is best suitable for small-sized business websites with less traffic and require a limited disk space to function.
- Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is the type opted by a company or a firm to act as a middleware between their own customers and the web hosting service provider they have registered with. It is usually provided to the customers by keeping some profit margin and allotting them a definite amount of disk space and bandwidth to use.
- Virtual Private Servers
Virtual Private Server provides high-level access to its consumers and is suitable for large enterprises who have a huge amount of incoming and outgoing traffic along with a bulk of data to manage. A VPS has its own Operating System and the users can easily install new softwares and/or modify existing softwares. It is a replica of a dedicated server but basically functions in a shared environment.
- Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers are intended to be used by a single organization with them having full authority over entire resources of the server. They are physically isolated with the purpose of providing independent services to the customer that are the only ones utilizing the resources of that server.
How are hosting servers maintained?
The hosting servers are stored in a secured facility called the data centers. These data centers are responsible for the maintenance of the servers and ensuring that they are kept in a temperature-controlled environment. Along with physical security, data centers also provide 24/7 data availability and zero or no downtime by establishing a robust data backup system.
What you get when you buy hosting?
When you buy hosting, you get a certain amount of physical storage and network bandwidth. The storage can be used to store files of your website and your web pages that can be accessed from any computer over the internet.
How is Web hosting managed?
Web hosting is managed using a control panel called the cPanel. It organizes the main areas of your hosting like managing databases, managing domains, and setting up email addresses.
Is data safe during Web Hosting?
Yes, it is. Modern tech servers use anti-spam softwares and data backup to ensure integrity of your email and data as well as keeping the safety of your data and information on a high priority.
Can a company transfer their website from one hosting company to another?
Yes of course. Such a transfer is called Migration which includes copying files from one hosting server to another. It’s quite easy and the only thing required for this process to be completed is to make small changes in domain name server’s settings.
How to choose a web hosting service?
It depends on what your business needs are, but it is practical to consider all the technical aspects and benefits for each hosting service before you opt for one. By keeping all the features in mind, you will be able to choose a better hosting service and plan for your company that fits your needs and budget.
Conclusion
I hope this blog fulfills its intention of providing a general overview of what web hosting is and how to get started with web hosting.
Author: Arshia R.
Infographics By: Sidra A.
