Web hosting is one of the most important aspects of any website. When someone visits your website, web hosting is what allows them to see your site.
When creating a site, It’s important to know everything about web hosting and choose the best web hosting provider for your type of business, create a website filled with original content using the best writing tools, and even run and monetize an online business with effective email marketing.
In this article, we will discuss how web hosting works and some of the things you should look for when choosing a host for your website.
How Does Web Hosting Work?
This is how web hosting works:
- Web hosting is a data center, or a remote server, that stores all of the files that make up your website.
- When someone types in your web address, they are actually requesting access to those files from the server (the web hosting provider).
- The web hosting company then serves up those files to the user’s browser – it allows your site’s visitors to view your site.
- Web hosting companies usually offer different levels of service, depending on how much traffic you expect to your site and how much you’re willing to pay.
How Web Hosting Works
Web hosting companies started to appear in the early 1990s as a way to provide businesses and individuals with an easy way to host their websites.
Before web hosting, if you wanted to host a website, you had to either have your own server or rent space on someone else’s server.
This was expensive and required a lot of technical know-how. Web hosting companies took care of all of that for you, for a fee.
Now, anyone can create a website without having to worry about the technical details.
All you need is a domain name (web address) and a web hosting account, and you can have your website up and running in no time.
Types of Web Hosting and How They Work
Shared Hosting
The most basic level of web hosting service is usually shared web hosting, which can power a small personal website or a blog. With shared web hosting, you can store your HTML files, WordPress site, images, and other types of files.
It’s usually the best way to get started because it’s the most affordable option. Also, most web hosting companies offer easy-to-use tools that make it easy to create a website with shared hosting.
Although shared hosting plans have many advantages such as a free SSL certificate, free domain name (with most web hosting companies), and free work email accounts; they also have some disadvantages.
For example, your website is on a shared server with other websites, so you don’t have complete control over the server resources (like CPU and RAM) and your site might be slow during peak traffic times.
Shared hosting is perfect for people who are just starting out and don’t have a lot of traffic to their site. Once your site starts to grow, you can always upgrade to a more powerful web hosting plan.
WordPress Hosting
WordPress hosting is a type of shared hosting that is optimized for WordPress websites. It can power a simple WordPress blog or a complex WooCommerce store.
With WordPress hosting, you get all of the benefits of shared hosting (like a free domain name and SSL certificate) plus some extra features that are designed to make your WordPress site faster and more secure.
For example, most WordPress hosts will automatically install and update your WordPress software, install security plugins to help protect your site from hackers, and commit to faster website hosting using cache plugins and a content delivery network (CDN).
WordPress hosting is great for people who are looking to create a simple WordPress website or blog. If you’re planning on running a WooCommerce store, then you should look into managed WordPress hosting, which we’ll discuss next.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting is a type of WordPress hosting that takes care of all the technical details for you. This includes things like installing and updating your WordPress software, backing up your site on a daily basis and providing 24/7 security monitoring.
Managed WordPress hosts will also usually provide a staging environment, which is a copy of your live site that you can use to test out changes before making them live.
For example, most managed WordPress hosting companies will offer extensive support when it comes to helping you move your site to their servers, configuring WordPress for optimal performance, and providing expert advice on how to grow your WordPress site.
Managed WordPress hosting is great for people who want to create a complex WordPress website or online store. It’s also perfect for people who don’t want to deal with the technical details of running a WordPress site.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server hosting is a type of web hosting that gives you your own virtual server. This means you have complete control over the server resources (like CPU and RAM) and can install any software you need.
With VPS hosting, you also get all of the benefits of shared hosting (like a free domain name and SSL certificate) plus some extra features that are designed to make your site faster and more secure.
For example, most VPS hosts will offer a managed service, which includes things like installing and updating your WordPress software or any other software like drupal, Magento, and others.
VPS hosting is great for people who are looking to create a complex website, web app, or online store. It’s also perfect for people who want complete control over their server resources and don’t mind paying a bit more for that privilege.
Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting that allows you to sell hosting plans to other people. As a reseller, you can create your own shared, WordPress, VPS, or dedicated hosting plans and set your own prices.
Most reseller hosts will also give you guides and 24/7 support to help you get started, if it’s a REST API, for example.
For example, Reseller hosting could be best for companies who want to add a web hosting service to their current offering. These companies may offer website building services, domain registration, content marketing, and more.
Reseller hosting is great for people who want to start their own web hosting company. It’s a cost-effective way to get started in the hosting business, and it allows you to offer a variety of hosting plans to your customers.
Dedicated Hosting
For larger websites that receive a lot of traffic, dedicated web hosting might be a better option.
With dedicated web hosting, your website has its own server, which means you have more control over the resources and performance of your site.
Dedicated web hosting is more expensive than shared or VPS hosting, but it’s worth it if you have a large website that receives a lot of traffic.
For example, Dedicated Hosting would be best for eCommerce websites, high-traffic blogs, and resource-intensive applications.
Dedicated hosting is great for people who have a large website or online store that receives a lot of traffic. It’s also perfect for people who want complete control over their server resources and are willing to pay more for that privilege.
Web Hosting Features List
Most web hosting providers usually include these features:
- Free domain name registration (for the 1st year)
- Free SSL Certification
- Unlimited storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- User-friendly control panel
- One click WordPress installation
- Customizable work email accounts
- Website builder
- Pre-installed apps
- 99.9% Uptime guarantee
- Daily backups
- Free website migration
- Website templates
- Free caching and CDN (Content Delivery Network)
- 30 days money back guarantee
- 24/7 Customer support by live chat, email, and phone
- Unlimited Websites
- DNS Management
- Subdomains
- FTP and SSH Access
#1 Free domain name registration (for the 1st year)
A domain name is the address of your website (example: yourwebsite.com). It’s the address that people type in their browser to find your site.
Web hosting services usually come with a free domain name when you sign up for a hosting plan. The free domain name is usually for the first year only, and then you’ll have to renew it at the regular price. In some cases, you can get a discount if you renew your domain name with the same web hosting provider.
#2 Free SSL Certification
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security protocol that encrypts data between your website and users’ web browsers. This makes it harder for hackers to intercept and steal sensitive information, like credit card numbers and passwords.
Most web hosting providers include a free SSL certificate with their hosting plans. This is a great way to increase the security of your website and give your visitors peace of mind.
#3 Unlimited storage
Storage is the amount of space on the server that your website uses. It’s important to have enough storage for all of your website files, including images, videos, and documents.
Most web hosting providers offer unlimited storage, so you don’t have to worry about running out of space. This is a great feature if you have a large website or online store.
#4 Unmetered bandwidth
Bandwidth is the amount of data that your website can transfer in a given period of time. It’s important to have enough bandwidth to handle the traffic that your website gets.
Most web hosting providers offer unmetered bandwidth, which means there’s no limit to the amount of data your website can transfer. This is a great feature if you have a high-traffic website.
#5 User-friendly control panel
A control panel is software that allows you to manage your web hosting account. It’s where you can do things like creating email accounts, installing apps, and setting up subdomains.
Most web hosting providers offer a user-friendly control panel that makes it easy to manage your account. This is a great feature if you’re not familiar with server administration and setting up web software like WordPress or Magento.
The most popular control panels are cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin.
#6 One-click WordPress installation
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily create and manage a website.
Most web hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installation, which makes it easy to get started with WordPress. This is a great feature if you’re new to WordPress or don’t want to deal with the hassle of setting it up yourself.
#7 Customizable work email accounts
A web hosting provider can give you custom email addresses that use your domain name. For example, if your domain name is yourdomain.com, you can create email addresses like sales@yourdomain.com or support@yourdomain.com.
This is a great way to create professional-looking email addresses that are easy to remember and promote your brand.
Most web hosting providers offer customizable email accounts as part of their hosting plans.
#8 Website builder
A website builder is a tool that allows you to easily create and customize a website without having to code.
Most web hosting providers offer a website builder as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you’re new to web design or don’t want to hire a designer to build your website.
Some of the most popular web hosting providers have website builders as part of their offering.
#9 Pre-installed apps
Web hosting providers often offer pre-installed apps that you can use to easily add functionality to your website. For example, you can install a shopping cart app to create an online store or a forum app to create a community.
Most web hosting providers offer pre-installed apps as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you want to add functionality to your website without having to hire a developer.
Some of the most popular pre-installed apps are WordPress, Magento, and Drupal.
#10 99.9% Uptime guarantee
Uptime is the amount of time that your website is available and accessible. It’s important to have a high uptime so that your website is always available to your visitors.
Most web hosting providers offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee, which means that your website will be up and running most of the time. This is a great feature if you want to make sure that your website is always available.
The most popular web hosting providers offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
#11 Daily backups
Backups are copies of your website that are saved in case something goes wrong. It’s important to have backups so that you can restore your website if it gets hacked or corrupted.
Most web hosting providers offer daily backups as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you want to make sure that your website is always safe.
#12 Free Website Migration
Website migration is the process of moving your website from one web hosting provider to another.
Most web hosting providers offer free website migration as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you’re not happy with your current web hosting provider or if you want to switch to a different one.
#13 Website templates
Website templates are pre-designed websites that you can use to quickly create a website.
Most web hosting providers offer website templates as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you want to create a website without having to hire a designer.
#14 Free caching and CDN (Content Delivery Network)
Caching is the process of storing copies of your website’s files so that they can be loaded faster.
A CDN is a network of servers that deliver your website’s content to visitors around the world.
Most web hosting providers offer free caching and CDN as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you want to make sure that your website is always fast and available.
#15 30 days money back guarantee
A money-back guarantee is a guarantee from a company that they will issue a full refund in case you want to cancel their service up to a certain amount of days.
Most web hosting providers offer a 30 days money-back guarantee. This is a great feature if you’re not sure about a web hosting provider and want to make sure you’ll get your money back in case you’d want to cancel your hosting plan.
Although hosting companies offer a money-back guarantee, be sure to read the fine print before signing up for a web hosting plan. Some providers have hidden fees or restrictive terms and conditions when it comes to their policies.
#16 24/7 Customer support by live chat, email, and phone
Customer support is the process of providing help and assistance to customers.
The best web hosting providers offer 24/7 customer support by live chat, email, and phone. This is a great feature if you need help with your website or have any questions about your hosting plan.
Great customer support is crucial when hosting a website, as they are the ones who can help you with any technical issues you may have.
#17 Unlimited Websites
Unlimited websites mean that you can host multiple websites on one account.
This is a great feature if you plan on expanding your business and hosting multiple websites under one account.
The best web hosting providers offer unlimited websites as part of their hosting plans. Be sure to check the terms and conditions before signing up, as some providers have hidden fees.
#18 DNS Management
DNS (Domain Name System) management is the process of managing your domain name’s DNS records.
The best web hosting providers offer DNS management as part of their hosting plans. This is an excellent feature if you want to make sure that your website’s DNS records are always up-to-date.
Be sure to check the terms and conditions before signing up, as some providers offer DNS management for a fee.
DNS management is a crucial part of hosting a website, as it ensures that your website’s domain name is pointing to the correct server.
Without DNS management, your website would not be accessible to visitors.
But mostly, your DNS is managed with your domain registrar and not with your web hosting provider.
#19 Subdomains
Subdomains are a part of your domain name that you can use to create different websites.
For example, if your domain name is example.com, you can create a subdomain named blog.example.com.
The best web hosting providers offer subdomains as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you want to create multiple websites as subdomains under one account.
Be sure to check the terms and conditions before signing up, as some providers have hidden fees or restrictions when it comes to subdomains.
Subdomains are a great way to create different websites without having to register multiple domain names.
They are also great for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as they can help you rank for different keywords.
For example, if you have a website about cars, you can create a subdomain about car parts and another one about car insurance.
This way, you can rank for different keywords and get more traffic to your website.
Subdomains are also a great way to test different website ideas without having to register multiple domain names.
For example, if you want to test a new website design, you can create a subdomain and test it out before making any changes to your main website.
#20 FTP and SSH Access
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and SSH (Secure Shell) are two protocols that you can use to transfer files to and from your web server.
The best web hosting providers offer FTP and SSH access as part of their hosting plans. This is a great feature if you need to transfer large files to or from your website.
Be sure to check the terms and conditions before signing up, as some providers offer FTP and SSH access for a fee.
FTP is a great way to transfer large files to your web server. You can use an FTP client like Filezilla to connect to your web server and transfer files.
SSH is a great way to securely connect to your web server. You can use an SSH client like PuTTY to connect to your web server and run commands.
Both FTP and SSH are great features that you should look for when choosing a web hosting provider.
Can I host my own website?
The answer is yes, but we don’t recommend it unless you have a lot of experience with web hosting and server administration.
It takes a lot of time and effort to set up your own web server and make sure it is secure. If you are not experienced with server administration, we recommend you use a web hosting provider.
Web hosting providers will set up and manage your web server for you. They will also provide support if you have any problems with your website.
If you want to know more about what web hosting providers offer, take a look at our features list above.
How does a website get hosted?
A website gets hosted on a web server. A web server is a computer that is connected to the internet and stores your website files. When someone types your website address into their browser, the browser will connect to your web server and load your website files.
The most common way today to host a website is to use a web hosting provider.
Web hosting providers will set up and manage the web server for you. They will also provide support if you have any problems with your website.
If you want to know more about what web hosting providers offer, take a look at our features list above.
What does web hosting normally do to a website?
Web hosting is a service that stores websites for customers and provides the infrastructure and the tools necessary to develop and maintain websites. Web hosts are those who provide hosting services.
Web hosting companies offer various hosting plans, including disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, and more. Most web hosts also offer domain name registration services.
When you purchase a web hosting plan, you are essentially renting space on a server that will store your website files. The amount of space you need will depend on the size of your website.
Most web hosting providers also offer additional services such as website security, email hosting, and more.
What is the difference between domain and hosting?
Domain names are used to identify one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name “google.com” represents the IP address “74.125.224.72”.
Hosting is a service that provides space on a server for websites. When you purchase a web hosting plan, you are renting space on a server that will store your website files.
The domain name is used to identify the location of your website on the server. The hosting plan is used to store your website files.
You will need to purchase a domain name and a hosting plan in order to have a website.
Domain names can be purchased from web hosting providers or from domain registrars.
Hosting plans can be purchased only from web hosting providers.
Wrapping Up
We hope this article has helped you understand how web hosting works. It’s always better to have a clear understanding of how something works before you use it.
Web hosting is a vital part of any website. Without web hosting, your website would not be accessible to anyone on the internet.
If you are planning on starting a website, we recommend you choose a web hosting provider that offers all the features you need to get started.
We also recommend that you take some time to read our article and choose the best web hosting provider for your needs.
Happy hosting!
