If you are a newcomer to websites, you might have heard the term web hosting but unsure what does that mean really.
Don’t worry—you’re not alone! Web hosting is one of those essential foundations of the internet, and so once you understand it you will be able to move forward in creating and managing your website.
No matter if you want to start a blog, an online store, or a business site, web hosting is an essential aspect of getting your site online, up, and running smoothly.
This web hosting guide for beginners will cover what web hosting is, how it works, the types of web hosting, and how to select the right hosting for your needs.
In this post, we will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each hosting type so you can determine the best choice for your needs.
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is basically a service that gives you the ability to keep your website files and make them available world wide on the internet. Every website you make is made of files like images, code, and databases.
You need to keep those files on a server, a bigger computer that is always on and ready to connect to the internet. These servers, and the technology that allows your site to run on your servers, are offered by web hosting companies. Without a hosting provider, there would be no access to your website.
When someone enters their website address (domain name), the internet connects them to your web host server and shows them your website on their screen! And this process happens within seconds, guaranteeing that your website will be accessible to anyone, anytime, as long your Server is working fine!
Analogy: Web Hosting=Renting a Space
Web hosting is simply like renting an apartment for your website. We can say that your website is like your furniture and belongings, and the web hosting company is the one who provides you with a place (server) to put everything on it.
Your website is similar to your house: — you still need a place where your website will be hosted to be live. Just like how a well-managed apartment ensures your lives are smooth sailing, the quality of your hosting is what dictates how well your website works.
Pros of Web Hosting:
- Keeps your Website Up and Running on the Internet at all times!
- Gives you security to secure your data.
- Enables scalability with the growth of your website.
Cons of Web Hosting:
- Costs will differ by hosting type and provider.
- Requires technical knowledge if you are looking for advanced level customization.
- An unreliable hosting provider can lead to downtimes.
How Does Web Hosting Work?
Knowing about web hosting functioning can help to us to make better decisions while selecting a provider. So here is the short description of how it happens:
- A hosting plan purchased from a web hosting provider where you will have your site files stored on a server.
- You upload your website files (HTML, images, videos, scripts, and databases) to the hosting server, making sure you have all your files set up.
- You link your domain name to the hosting provider so when someone types in your domain they are taken straight to your site.
- Your web host keeps your site online manages the available resources on the server as well as provides necessary security features like firewalls, ssl and back-ups.
Advantages of How Web Hosting Works:
- It gives a simple and easy method of making your site accessible globally.
- Maintenance and security are handled by hosting providers, thus reducing the technical burden.
- Accommodates modifications and features as your website grows.
The Disadvantages of How Web Hosting Works:
- Beginners who are not familiar with the hosting setup might need to invest time learning how to set everything with hosting.
- Who are you? Well most hosting providers have hidden fees and/or a complicated pricing structure.
- Hosting providers are not equally capable, and that is why slowdowns might occur.
Types of Web Hosting
There is a number of types of web hosting used as per the requirement. So lets go through them one by one.
Shared Hosting (Great for Newbies)
In shared hosting, many websites are hosted on the same server and also shares the same server resources.
This is the cheapest type of hosting — suitable for beginners. Since, all resources are shared, if one website creates a large amount of traffic, another website performance may be affected on the same server.
Pros:
- Very, very inexpensive, an easy cost for a novice.
- A piece of cake to setup requiring little technical know-how.
- Most hosting providers provide a web-based control panel such as cPanel.
Cons:
- On the other hand, shared resources can cause your website to perform slowly during peak times.
- There are security risks: Several sites are sharing the same server.
- Through this third party hosting, you get less control and customization options than with other types of hosting.
VPS Hosting (Higher Amount of Resources and Management)
With VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, your website is still on a shared physical server, but you are allocated dedicated resources in a virtualized environment.
This provides a middle ground between cost and performance, so more than adequate for sites that are in growth.
Pros:
- Extra resources and control over the server than shared hosting.
- Greater performance and security, because your website with dedicated resources.
- Provides more control over server settings and configurations.
Cons:
- Not beginner friendly as cost more than Shared hosting
- Need basic technical knowledge in managing the server settings.
- Less powerful than a dedicated server, making it inappropriate for very large sites.
Dedicated Hosting (Ideal for High Volume Websites)
When using dedicated hosting, it means that you have an entire server for your own website. Which means highest performance, security and customization.
Dedicated hosting is usually chosen by businesses or high-traffic websites to achieve the best performance.
Pros:
- Total access to server configurations and settings
- Dedicated resources: Fast and efficient loading times.
- Better security with no other sites on the server.
Cons:
- Costlier than other hosting services.
- Expensive technical know-how to operate.
- Excessive for small or medium-traffic websites.
Cloud Hosting (Highly Scalable for your Needs & also Reliable)
Instead of relying on a single physical server, cloud hosting employs a network of servers. This means scalability, your website can endure traffic surges without crashing.
Pros:
- Very scalable — suitable for sites with various loads.
- Increased redundancy with servers, load dichotomy
- For hosting, it offers investment-friendly and cost-effective pay-as-you-go pricing.
Cons:
- Even budget writing is difficult as they vary based on resource usage.
- Others use terribly complicated pricing models.
- It needs Cloud Infrastructure Knowledge to be optimized well.
WordPress Hosting (Best for WordPress Sites)
This kind of hosting is particular to WordPress, and provides you with updates, security and performance handling automatically.
Pros:
- Readymade for the finest performance with WordPress.
- Reduced maintenance with automatic updates/ security patches
- Improved page load speed due to internal caching and optimization capability.
Cons:
- Restricts flexibility because it only works for WordPress websites.
- Costlier than usual shared hosting.
- Restricted for the server settings, may not be for expert users
