What Kinds of Web Hosting is Available In Today’s Changing Marketplace?
With the large number of web hosting companies offering services today, one of the criteria to use for distinguishing one host from another would be how well the services offered meet the needs of your website. The choices available online are as follows.
Free Web Hosting – With this type of hosting, the web host, in exchange for the free hosting space offered, will often place ads and pop-ups on your web page that may take away from the content of the site and prove to be a distraction for your customers.
Also, the host may not offer adequate storage space or bandwidth, may allow only limited scripts usage, and there may not be any technical support available to clients.
For a personal website designed to share personal photos with friends and family, or a hobby site for your own enjoyment, these limitations of free hosting may not be a deterrent, but for a business website, it is not a good choice.
Shared Hosting – In this type of hosting, the server space is divided into many packages to create several different hosting accounts. The resources and applications on the server are shared between many different clients and the host provides maintenance and support of the server apace. This type of hosting service is by far the most popular and the cheapest, and is utilized for both personal and for business websites.
Dedicated Hosting – This type of web hosting provides an entire server for each of its clients who may host just one website on it or several of their own websites, but their control of the server is exclusive and they share it with no one else. The host will provide management and support of the server and the availability of a large amount of disc space and bandwidth make it an ideal hosting solution for a business website. This type of hosting service is more secure and reliable as well as more costly than shared server hosting.
Ecommerce Hosting – For businesses wanting web visibility, an ecommerce hosting package is the ideal solution. This package will include a custom combination of programming language support, specific servers, software and various applications, SSL certificates, shopping carts, and online catalogs to name a few. Different types of businesses will be given a different combination of services – a services business would not be given the same hosting features as a retail business.
Platform based Service – This type of service will support either a Windows based operating system or a Linux based operating system.
These are many kinds of web hosting services available today. Obviously the type you choose will depend on the needs of your website. Browse through the excellent resources available online and also through these web pages which will point you in the right direction for the hosting choice for your website.
Finding the Best Web Hosting for the Beginner
If you have decided to set up a website for your personal use or for your business, and you have no experience in how it is done, then rest assured that there is a lot of help online to assist you. Many options are available through applications and programs that will guide you through the process of website creation, and if you do not feel confident enough to follow them, you could easily and affordably outsource the whole process.
However, before you can create the website you must first select a hosting company to host your site. Online reviews and resources will assist you in locating reputable hosting companies for your website. Other features to be aware of when looking for web hosting are as follows.
Domain Name – you may purchase one from a domain registrar for about $10, and it is used to give a unique name to your website. You select the name and the extension that could be .com, .net .org, or any of several other extensions. Your domain could be, for example, TheBestDogTrainingSite.com which names your site and tells everyone what the site is about, and you will need to renew the domain annually. The web host you choose will place this domain on its server so that you will be permanently connected to the Internet and anyone looking for your site will be able to locate it.
Web and Bandwidth needed – the amount of web space you need on the server will depend on the type of site you will construct. If you are simply providing content on the site, then you will need a minimal amount of space. If your site is an e-commerce site selling products, then you may need a greater amount of server space and high bandwidth to deal with influx traffic and unexpected spikes of traffic also.
Other Requirements – if your site is selling products you may need to catalog your products and you will require an ecommerce plan that will include, shopping carts, SSL security to protect your customers private information, unlimited email accounts, and top quality 24/7 technical support, and an uptime guarantee of at least 99% because if your server is down you could possibly lose revenue and the credibility of your customers.
These are just some of the concepts involved in web hosting for beginner should be aware of. There are a number of excellent reviews and resources online that will provide guidance, as well as our webpages on this site. Browse through this site for more details on the essentials of web hosting.