In today’s world, everything is done online. Having an online presence allows you to reach others in ways that were previously impossible, making the benefits of having one obvious. However, starting a website can be a confusing and daunting task.
The basics of web hosting include understanding what web hosting and domains are; learning how data storage, bandwidth, and uptime impact your website, and what type of hosting is appropriate for your business.
Whether you build your own site or hire someone else to build it, a web host is needed in order to publish a website online. We have provided a myriad of facts about web hosting that can help you in your decision-making process.
Why Websites Need Hosting
Web hosting is a “physical” space granted to you to store your website and the connection needed for others to access and use your website. This space is located on a server (sometimes multiple servers) which provides the storage as well as the access to your site through the internet. Servers are frequently actual, physical machines, but they can be created virtually.
Web hosting is purchased from a web host (sometimes called a web hosting provider). You can effectively think of a web host as your website landlord where you lease out space for you site on a monthly or yearly basis.
Your website contains text, files, images, videos, and more, and a web host can contain and manage all of that information. There are several options that most web hosting companies provide, and each has their own set of pros and cons that should be heavily considered before you choose one for your website.
Domains And IP Addresses: Why They Both Matter
A domain is simply the name for your website. You can provide this name in various ways to people, and they’ll be able to visit your website. While the domain anatomy can be taken further, you can think of a domain as a name for a business. Domains provide an easy-to-remember way for people to find your website online
If domains are what you call a business, IP addresses are where that business is located, like a physical mailing address. Each server generally has a single IP address, but there are ways to set up more addresses. Sites can come and go, and domain names can change, but an IP address usually doesn’t change. Without IP addresses, online traffic cannot be given “directions” to your site.
While IP addresses are tied to servers, domains will require you to add your name to a domain registrar. Domain registrars are universal ledgers that track what names are already taken. While there are stand-alone registrars, most web hosts also allow you to register a name with them – in fact, many will give you a free domain name for an entire year!
Dissecting A Web Hosting Plan: Storage, Bandwidth, And Uptime
Each apartment that you lease has different amenities, living spaces, dimensions, and so on – web hosting is no different. The more you spend on web hosting, the more you get out of it generally. Here are the basic metrics you should pay attention to when considering hosting plans.
Data Storage (AKA Disc Space)
Data storage, or disc space, is fairly straightforward: it’s the amount of room you have to store files, images, videos, pages, etc. The space you’re given is usually in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB). Many hosting plans include unmetered or unlimited data storage. In this case, the limitations of space are shifted from your website or account and are placed on the universal resources of the server your website is on.
Also worth noting is that data storage can be located on a hard-disc drive (HHD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). An oversimplification of the two drive types is that SSD is better than HHD because it allows faster access to your site’s data.
Bandwidth (AKA Data Transfer)
Bandwidth, or data transfer, is the amount of data that can pass from your website to your visitors in a given month (sometimes daily). Remember the “old times” when you had to constantly worry about using too much data on a cell phone plan? This is almost the same issue: more people visiting your site means more data passing between the two. Bandwidth overages can result in additional fees or suspension of your site.
Many hosts offer plans that include unmetered or unlimited bandwidth. Like storage, the limitations of bandwidth are passed from your website to the universal resources of the server housing your website.
One last note: bandwidth is less frequently used to indicate the amount of data that can be transferred per a second instead of a monthly sum. This is usually only mentioned on higher tier hosting, like dedicated hosting (more on that in a bit).
Uptime
Like storage space, uptime is an easy metric to understand: it’s the amount of time your website is accessible to the rest of the world. Technology isn’t perfect, and even the best and most secure servers will experience a bit of down-time.
Most web hosts will provide a 99.9% uptime guarantee which translates to your site being down for only 43 minutes per month.
Domains/Websites And Email Addresses
We already covered what a domain is (and you likely know what an email address is), but hosting plans frequently have a limit on how many websites and email addresses you can put on an account. Smaller plans may be limited to just a handful of sites and emails or less.
Plans with unlimited storage and bandwidth usually allow for unlimited websites and email addresses to be added to an account – the same goes for higher tier plans like dedicated and VPS hosting. Keep in mind that there are still limitations: you’ll run into storage and bandwidth issues at some point with too many sites.
Types Of Hosting Plans: Understanding The Class System
All hosting is about the same functionally speaking – but server setup can significantly impact how your website performs. Generally, the variations of hosting come from how resources are allocated to your site and the server it’s on.
Shared Hosting
With shared hosting, all resources on a server are shared among the websites residing on that server. This includes domains, emails, storage space, and bandwidth. This hosting type is usually the most commonly offered and the cheapest: web hosts are able to bundle small websites together on to a single server.
Shared hosting plans are frequently offered with unmetered or unlimited sites, space, and bandwidth. This setup is excellent for small sites, like small local businesses or portfolios, but each site added to the server increases strain on its resources. You’ll often find some of the slowest load times, highest down-times, and least secure setups with shared hosting, especially as traffic to your website increases.
You can think of shared hosting like cramming balloons into a bag. It’s not hard to fit more balloons in, but each additional balloon puts a strain on the other balloons, squeezing them just a bit – and smaller balloons are easier to squeeze.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
A virtual private server, or VPS, hosting reserves resources that only your account or website has access to. Basically, partitions are set up on physical servers, and several virtual servers can be set up inside of a server.
While there may still be a strain on universal server resources, your website won’t feel the same strain as it would with shared hosting. If shared hosting is a collection of balloons, VPS hosting would be similar to boxes you can place inside a bag. VPS hosting presents a more secure and more reliable alternative to shared hosting with only a modest increase to price – a good choice for medium-sized businesses or sites where speed is more important to users.
Dedicated hosting
While VPS hosting sets aside server resources for your website, dedicated hosting reserves (or dedicates) entire machines for your site. Dedicated hosting is among the most expensive types of hosting, but it guarantees that all server resources go to your site.
With dedicated hosting, you are able to configure the server exactly to your specific needs. This results in potentially some of the most secure, most reliable, and fastest performance with hosting. Dedicated hosting is a good choice for larger businesses that don’t handle vital or financial/personal information with customers.
Reliable hosting is very important as it guarantees your site will work without interruptions. Dmca ignored hosting provides round-the-clock processing of calls to the Internet resource. Whenever someone enters the site name into the address bar of the browser, the host transmits all the data required to service the request: texts, images, files, etc. And if the server does not cope with its task, the user simply will not be able to use the resource.