We use Internet every day, but we know very little on how it works.
Have you ever wander how we were able to access websites on the internet?
When Internet users want to view a website, all they have to do is enter the web page’s address (also known as URL) into their web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge…). And voila! But this would not be possible without web hosting.
Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to store their website and web pages content on a web server in order to make it accessible through the internet.
A web hosting provider or web host is a company that provides the web server hardware which stores the web server software, files, and components necessary for a web page, website or application to be viewed and accessed through a web browser.
Most hosting companies also provides additional services such as domain registration and transfer or website builder to ease and enhance their customers experience.
What types of web hosting are there?
Most web hosts offer different types of hosting, each with different costs. It all depends on the needs of your website. We’ve compiled a list below to help you understand what type of hosting is best for you.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is when a web host hosts several different websites on the same server. It is the cheapest form of hosting since you share the same server and therefore share the costs. If you’re starting a blog or have a business just starting out, then shared hosting is a great option.
In the past, sharing a server could cause problems when an increase in traffic or resource usage of a single site slowed down “neighboring” sites. However, today’s web hosting subscriptions come with a generous amount of features that ensure amazing performance.
WordPress hosting
WordPress hosting simply means hosting that has been optimized for WordPress at the server level to ensure it runs smoothly and efficiently.
How is WordPress different from regular hosting? While the details vary by provider, most WordPress hosting plans offer these common features:
Easy one-click installation that eliminates about a dozen manual steps when setting up a new WordPress site. With websitemakr.com, WordPress installs automatically in less than a minute.
Optimized server settings for faster loading of WordPress pages. This could include performance cache optimizations and other optimizations.
Security measures to protect against common WordPress vulnerabilities. Since WordPress powers over 30% of the web, it is regularly attacked. This is why WordPress hosting highly focus on extremely high security standards and features. You may also come across the term “Managed WordPress”, which often refers to a predefined secure environment that restricts the use of unsupported or vulnerable plugins.
WordPress hosting can run on a shared, VPS, or dedicated server.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for virtual private server. Like shared hosting, websites running on VPS share a physical server with other websites. However, each VPS tenant has its own partition with guaranteed dedicated resources. More memory, storage space, and computing power are often available, and priced accordingly.
VPS hosting is recommended for very experienced users with server administration skills. VPS clients have root access to their partition and can configure their server software, eg Ubuntu, CentOS or Windows Server. This provides a high level of customization to run web applications designed for these systems.
You may come across “enterprise hosting” or “premium hosting” which are generic terms that some hosting providers associate with VPS hosting managed by their in-house experts. However, support levels, subscription details, and pricing vary significantly. So be sure to research these services thoroughly before signing up.
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting means you have the entire server to yourself. Unlike shared and VPS hosting, you don’t have to share the server with other websites or applications. In effect, you rent a physical web server hosted by your service provider.
This premium web hosting is only guaranteed for very demanding business class websites. Small and medium businesses do not need to spend thousands each month to rent a dedicated web host for their business.
Cloud hosting
Today, cloud hosting has become a somewhat nebulous term. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you take a close look at what you get when you sign up for “cloud hosting”.
At first, “cloud hosting” referred to a VPS setup that was scalable to multiple servers; This way, if your web application had a sudden increase in traffic, the system could allocate more resources and keep it running smoothly. As a result, cloud hosting would have a more variable pricing model and more fluid specifications.
However, as cloud computing has grown in popularity, some companies have started using the term for their regular shared or VPS hosting. Other providers, such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, offer cloud computing services that typically include cloud hosting in a range of other advanced tools for cloud-based operations. Hosting a typical website with one of these “hyperscalers” running millions of servers is possible, but it can present a major technical hurdle.
How can small businesses benefit from a web hosting service?
It would not be recommended for most small online businesses to start with VPS or Dedicated hosting. It will be both, a financial and technical unnecessary overkill. Many businesses fail due to their inability to properly assess their needs and avoid to overspend when it is not required
Shared hosting is largely enough to cover all small business needs and requirements and even more.
Furthermore, shared hosting offers business owners more than just web hosting services. Shared hosting, could for example, come with website builder, business email account, full security features, control admin panel, automatic backups, 24/7 technical support… just to name a few. Which helps simplify websites maintenance and management, making it easy for everyone (including inexperienced user) to handle their website(s) like a pro.
A professional shared hosting service ensures a completely smooth experience for business owners, allowing them to efficiently focus their time and effort on their business and to ultimately focus on what they truly love.
Check websitemakr.com for a true web hosting solution that fits your needs.
