A web hosting service is a business which allows people and companies to create their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. The services offered by web hosting providers will differ greatly but in most cases will include server space, site design, and basic connectivity to the Internet for users to be able to access their pages. In order to maintain and support these sites, web hosting providers employ a wide variety of services, equipment, and resources. Some of these items include;
There are many different ways that hosting providers can be structured. There are those who simply allow others to use their servers as a way to advertise their business. Others offer hosting plans that cater to small businesses while others offer dedicated servers which only serve the needs of the larger company. There are also those who provide reseller hosting plans.
While there are numerous hosting providers available to consumers, not all of them are created equal. In order to find the hosting service best suited to your needs, you will have to determine your budget, your site's needs, and the level of competition in your chosen niche. For example, many small businesses only require a few files and pages and do not require any customer support or extensive monitoring. Therefore, these small businesses do not require the extensive services provided by hosting providers who provide e-commerce and other online business applications. Those who have an extensive online presence require the different types of services listed above.
There are several different hosting service options. These include; unmanaged hosting, managed hosting, reseller hosting, dedicated hosting, collocation, cloud hosting, clustered hosting, home servers, managed dedicated servers, and virtual private servers (VPS). All of these hosting options have different benefits and drawbacks. For those just starting out and for those who have a smaller online presence may benefit more from managed hosting. Resellers and collocation providers will be most beneficial to those with larger businesses who need to optimize their servers, security features, bandwidth, storage capacity, and software applications.
Managed hosting involves hosting servers within a company that has been contracted to provide hosting services. The web host company will take full responsibility for the maintenance, security, backups, setup, and operations of the servers. A user will not be responsible for any data or bandwidth issues that occur as a result of using the server. A business website usually only requires basic hosting services such as; sending email, installing websites, shopping cart software, and database integration. Therefore, it is not necessary to hire a web host to manage the content of the website.
Resellers and collocation providers typically require users to upload their own data to their servers. Some hosting providers may allow users to upload their own data to their own servers but may not allow users to upload data to shared servers. A user may want to keep data private and therefore will not want their information visible to other users of the internet. This will mean that they will have to find a hosting provider that allows them to maintain their data private.
Most hosting companies offer a free account with limited space and bandwidth. Some hosting providers may charge a monthly fee for accounts that exceed a specific amount of space and bandwidth. The fees associated with web hosting services are based on the number of servers that a user uses. If you have a large business, you may want to consider a dedicated server. The cost of dedicated servers can be quite high per month, however, and are usually only affordable if you have a large business.
The advantages of cloud hosting include; no need to set up and install servers, unlimited access, and no need to maintain the physical hardware. Cloud hosting also utilizes a web hosting service that hosts multiple data centers and servers scattered around the world. This allows users to control the security and reliability of their site. Some cloud hosting providers also offer the ability to add third-party components and scripts to their server and network. This feature also allows the host to manage the performance and security of their website.