Web hosting in this digital world helps people to make an online presence and the Internet is helping the entire world and shaping people’s lives.
All these websites whether it’s a personal blog website, an affiliate marketing website, an E-Commerce website or a portfolio website need web hosting to run online blogs, businesses, and even online stores.
So if you want to make a certain type of website to share information online then you need web hosting but exactly what is web hosting and how does it work?
But do you know the different types of websites that exist today? If you want to know the different types of websites then read this article on 31 types of websites for everyone.
In this detailed blog post, you will learn more about what is web hosting and how does it work, why web hosting is important, its features, and the 5 types of web hosting we use commonly along with other related topics and the QNA section so let’s see which option suits best for you.
Table of Contents
What Is Web Hosting and How Does It Work?
In simple terms, web hosting allows individuals and businesses to publish their websites online, grow their personal or business websites on the Internet, and even share their thoughts with the entire world.
Web hosting is in general more like a service where you publish your website and store all your important files, data, and other resources on a server and making it accessible to the public on the Internet.
Without web hosting, it’s not possible to create and launch a website technically and web hosting is generally like a physical server where all our website’s data, images, and files are stored.
In most simple terms, web hosting allows us to store online content in a secure way.
What is the difference between hosting and web server?
Hosting is a service that allows us to run our website and provides space online on the web server by storing our data and files.
Web servers, on the other hand, are more like the physical computer and store and serve data and other website files online.
How Does Web Hosting Work?
To put it simply, web hosting works by simply helping us by providing infrastructure and necessary technology so that we can store our website data and necessary files online on a server so that others can access it and here’s the step-by-step online:
- A website consists of various files, HTML, CSS, JAVA Scripts, images, etc.
- So a running website is technically possible when the files are uploaded on a server provided by web hosting companies.
- Our domain is like our address and is linked to the IP address of the hosting provider through DNS.
- After someone types our domain name, a request is sent to the web server and files are requested as per the page users want to visit, and this happens real quick in milliseconds hence we can view it instantly.
Key Features Of Web Hosting
There are several key features of web hosting and they are:
1. Storage
storage is an essential feature as it helps to store files, data, multimedia content, entire database and related content
2. Bandwidth
This is the amount of data that is transferred between users and site, the interaction is important right?
Hence, transferring of data is important especially when users land on our website at that time the website should load and function correctly.
3. Uptime
A successful website for a scalable business is possible with a fantastic uptime hence web hosting services providing high percentage of uptime are great to manage your website.
An uptime of 99.9% is extremely good for web hosting companies and always choose companies that offer great uptime.
4. Scalability
Website growth is essential to achieve online success hence scalability is really important which is why scalability is an important feature that no one should avoid, and hence make sure your hosting offers scalability.
5. Security
Without security we don’t even visit places right? The same goes for website. Any website that is not secured is dangerous.
So, always make sure that your web hosting offers high-end security and protects from viruses, malware, and any sort of data breaching at any given point in time.
6. Backups
Backups are important for any website and hence web hosting companies that offer secured backups should be considered.
7. Control Panel
Control panel is important since you need to manage all your website essentials for panels and companies generally offer C-Panel unlike Hostinger who offers H-Panel and it’s really helpful for easy navigation.
8. Support
Without proper support it’s hard to sustain online hence a web hosting service with great support must be considered and always look for support before making an informed decision.
Why Is Web Hosting Important?
Web Hosting is extremely important because without it technically you cannot launch and maintain a website online, especially for business hence web hosting must offer website performance, reliability, data security, technical support, and moreover scalability as it’s obvious.
5 Amazing Types of Web Hosting
There are many different types of web hosting and choosing a web choosing depends on one desires, goals, needs, amount of traffic, purpose, and size.
1. Shared Hosting
The most affordable type of hosting shared hosting allows users to share their resources for a friendly budget as multiple websites share the same server. Great for personal blogs, and small businesses.
Advantages
- Lost Cost
- Easy to setup
- Beginner-Friendly
- Websites with low to medium traffic can start with shared web hosting
Disadvantages
- Limited resources
- Once you receive high traffic i.e. views you have to upgrade for better performance, or else your website will slow down.
2. VPS Hosting
VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting is a very special type of hosting and generally is highly suitable for people who want something more than shared hosting. It’s good for developers and medium-sized businesses.
Advantages
- Great customization and control
- Offers more resources than shared resources.
- Can handle more traffic than shared traffic
Disadvantages
- Cost is higher than shared hosting
- You need a bit of technical knowledge.
3. Dedicated Hosting
These types of hosting offer exclusively entirely separate physical server for your website and it’s great for speed, performance, and security. It’s great for high-traffic and E-Commerce websites.
Advantages
- Enhanced performance and security
- Enhanced workload efficiency and can handle high-traffic
- Full control for many specifications, enhanced satisfaction
Disadvantages
- You need advanced technical skills
- Expensive compared to shared hosting especially for beginners
4. Managed Hosting
Managed hosting offers optimal performance, speed, and security and is optimized especially for WordPress, automatic updates, and specialized support. Great for content creators, businesses, and freelancers focusing on WordPress.
Advantages
- Expert WordPress Support
- Optimum performance
- Fantastic WordPress sites performance
Disadvantages
- Limited and only for WordPress websites
- Expensive compared to shared hosting
5. Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is probably one of the most intriguing options among the 5 types of web hosting because cloud hosting utilizes many servers connected via a network and we get fantastic performance, security, and speed along with superb scalability.
Downtime is minimal here and it’s great for personal sites, freelancers, businesses, and E-Commerce websites.
Advantages
- Great for high-traffic websites.
- Fantastic performace
- Minimum downtime
- Great speed and security
- High scalability and reliability
Disadvantages
- Setup and management can be complex so beginners can avoid it if they want to and start with shared hosting and later upgrade to cloud hosting.
- Costly for beginners.
FAQ on What is Web hosting and it’s features and importance
Can I use my PC as a web server?
Yes, you can definitely use your PC as a web server if you want to but you must have an internet connection and install web server software.
Who needs web hosting?
Everyone willing to create a website for some purpose needs web hosting to grow online and make an impact including individuals, governments, businesses, corporations, NGOs, and so on.
What is the difference between hosting and domain?
It’s simple, hosting is like the land or plot and the domain is your address.
Think like that hosting is where your website files are stored and domain is the address of your website where visitors can come and access your website and content.
Is Web Hosting mandatory?
Yes absolutely, web hosting is mandatory and required to run a website online.
Do apps need web hosting?
Yes, apps do need web hosting as they tend to be hosted somewhere and can’t always be managed from your PC right? Apps are a crucial part of the online Industry.
Conclusion On What Is Web Hosting, Types And Essential Crucial Features
Web hosting is a must for any website success and we must look for some amazing trustworthy, reliable, and performance-efficient web hosting companies.
Remember, there are many companies offering web hosting so choose wisely and I really hope now you know very well what is web hosting and how does it work.
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