Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Website Hosting : An Overview

Website Hosting : An Overview

By Melia Kopps


The internet has become so much a part of everyday life and it is increasingly turning to be the hub around which we organize most of our activities. There are millions of websites thronging the internet, they range from personal websites to entirely business related ones. Website hosting is a critical part of what makes the internet function. Businesses, regardless of the scale are flocking the internet to acquire their own website. Given the current trend, "website hosting" has now become quite a common term. But what exactly is the concept of website hosting?

Web hosting is the service that allows both individuals and businesses to create their own website on the internet. Companies who provide web hosting services have servers or computers on which the data that makes up the website is hosted, hence the term website hosting. Website owners, also known as webmasters, upload their web content to the web host for storage and publication on the internet. There you go, the concept is pretty easy to understand. This is what allows people from virtually anywhere in the world to use the internet to access a particular website.

When you are certain that you need the services of a webhost, then you have to take into account several factors in order to end up with the right webhost. You must examine your options first and make a checklist of your specific requirements prior to shopping for the perfect server for your new website. Check the bandwidth and disk space being offered to you. These would largely depend on the type of website that you are going to build. Security and privacy are also of paramount importance, especially if you intend to use the website for business purposes. It would be wise to contact the website hosting company and inquire about their security and privacy features, and then compare them with other website hosts. You can then sift through the details and come up with the best webhost which could accommodate all your needs.

The next step would be choosing the appropriate hosting type. There are several types of hosting which include shared hosting, a dedicated server, and collocation or virtual private web server. For newbies, shared website hosting is the best option. This type involves many users who are using the same web server and share the server resources. A dedicated server is owned by a single user and is accorded complete rights over it. With this type, you can install your own software, use your own programming language, and as the name suggests, it is entirely dedicated for your website/s specifications. Dedicated servers will be useful for enterprise-level sites, dedicated hosting resellers, web designers and developers, corporate intranets, intricate sites with high traffic and secured information, and for sites with restricted content. However, dedicated servers will cost you 8 to 10 times more than the average web hosts. If you cannot afford the expenses of a dedicated server, then a virtual private server is the likely solution. Collocation is best suited for websites that require advanced functions such as custom software and hardware configurations, load-balancing and clustering.

The next stage involves choosing the web hosting plan. There are several types of website hosting plans, depending on the demand of every type of website. Personal web hosting plans are intended for personal websites and for starters in general. The rate of data transfer is quite low which explains why personal plans come with lower bandwidth and disk space. Business plans, as the name imply, are used by companies or organizations who require a higher bandwidth and larger disk space for high trafficking. The e-commerce sites which handle huge volume of products require the maximum bandwidth and disk space.

The next step would be the actual choosing of the web hosting plan. This is by no means an easy task because there are literally thousands of website hosting plans out there. Website hosting plans come in several types, each type catering to the demands and specifications of every type of website. Personal web hosting plans are generally intended for personal websites and for starters. The rate of data transfer is low that is why personal plans come with lower bandwidth and disk space. Business plans are the perfect type of hosting if you run a small or medium sized business. The plans come in reasonable prices but it does not mean quality and package options are compromised. This is something that would be greatly appreciated by small businesses as every saved expense is very important.




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