Web Hosting

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet. A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed in the Internet. Websites are hosted, or stored, on special computers called servers. 

When Internet users want to view your website, all they need to do is type your website address or domain into their browser. Their computer will then connect to your server and your webpages will be delivered to them through the browser. 

Most hosting companies require that you own your domain in order to host with them. If you do not have a domain, the hosting companies will help you purchase one. 

If you decide to create and host your website with Website.com, you can get a custom domain, email addresses, and web hosting all bundled into onesubscription.

History

Until 1991, the Internet was restricted to use only ...for research and education in the sciences and engineering... and was used for email, telnet, FTP and USENET traffic - but only a tiny number of web pages. The World Wide Web protocols had only just been written and not until the end of 1993 would there be a graphical web browser for Mac or Windows computers.  Even after there was some opening up of internet access, the situation was confused until 1995.^[

To host a website on the internet, an individual or company would need their own computer or server. As not all companies had the budget or expertise to do this, web hosting services began to offer to host users websites on their own servers, without the client needing to own the necessary infrastructure required to operate the website. The owners of the websites, also called webmasters would be able to create a website that would be hosted on the web hosting service's server and published to the web by the web hosting service.

As the number of users on the World Wide Web grew, the pressure for companies, both large and small to have an online presence grew. By 1995, companies such as GeoCities, Angelfire and Tripod were offering free hosting

Types of Web Hosting

As technology has progressed different types of web hosting have appeared to meet the different needs of websites and customers:

·         Shared Web Hosting

·         Website Builder

·         Cloud Hosting

·         Dedicated Hosting

Different Types of Web Hosting Servers

Generally, there are four different types of hosting servers: Shared, Virtual Private Server (VPS), Dedicated, and Cloud Hosting.

While all types of servers will act as a storage centre for your website, they differ in the amount of storage capacity, control, technical knowledge requirement, server speed, and reliability. Let’s dig in and look at the main differences between a shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting.

Shared Hosting

In shared hosting, one’s web site is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU.

As cost is extremely low, most websites with moderate traffic levels running standard software are hosted on this type of server. Shared hosting is also widely accepted as the entry level hosting option as it requires minimum technical knowledge.

Disadvantages- No root access, limited ability to handle high traffic levels or spikes, site performance can be affected by other sites on the same server.

 Shared hosting providers: A2 Hosting, iPage, One.com, and WebHostFace.

Dedicated Server Hosting

A dedicated server offers the maximum control over the web server your website is stored on – You exclusively rent an entire server. Your website(s) is the only website stored on the server.

Disadvantages- With great power comes… well, greater cost. Dedicated servers are very expensive and it’s only recommended to those who need the maximum control and better server performance.

 Dedicated hosting providers: A2 Hosting, Host 1 Plus, Interserver, and People’s Host.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

A virtual private server hosting divides a server into virtual servers, where each websites is like hosted on their own dedicated server, but they’re actually sharing a server with a few different other users.

The users may have root access to their own virtual space and better secured hosting environment with this type of hosting. Websites that need greater control at the server level, but don’t want to invest in a dedicated server.

Disadvantages- Limited ability to handle high traffic levels or spikes, your site performance can still be somewhat affected by other sites on the server.

 VPS hosting providers: InMotion Hosting, Interserver, Liquid Web, and SiteGround.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting offers unlimited ability to handle high traffic or traffic spikes. Here’s how it works: A team of servers (called a cloud) work together to host a group of websites. This allows multiple computers to work together to handle high traffic levels or spikes for any particular website.

Disadvantages- Many cloud hosting setup do not offers root access (required to change server settings and install some software), higher cost.

 Cloud hosting providers: DreamHost, WP Engine, Pressidium, and Hostgator.