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Hosting
Hosting. What it is?
Host and Guest
The source of the meaning for these words in IT comes from real life.
host - invites guest and shares with her / him some goods he has. For example somebody who is making party is sharing with guest food and drinks.
In IT - his server which serves some data to guest.
guest - is somebody who is using goods of host. On the party he is using host’s food and drinks and is having good time.
In IT - this is computer or any other device which connects to host and is using its data.
Web hosting
Web hosting is simply making a website available on the internet. All websites are hosted on web servers, which store and process all the files that make up webpages. This includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and other web application programming languages. Web servers also provide storage for media content, such as audio, images, and video.
What is a web hosting server?
A web hosting server is a high-powered computer that processes user requests to access a website. Each time someone types a uniform resource locator (URL) in a browser or clicks on a website link, they are asking to connect to a web server. The web server processes the request and sends the web page files plus the associated media files back to the browser, where that person can view the website.
While it is possible to host a website on your own IT equipment, this option requires more time and therefore cost. All web server configuration and ongoing maintenance of always-on resilient systems needs to be carried out by the organisation or person who is publishing the website. It also requires a high level of technical knowledge to manage the infrastructure, which most individuals and many businesses may not possess. This is where the services of a web hosting service or provider come in.
What is a web hosting service?
A hosting provider, or web host, offers services that make it easy to publish, maintain, secure and back up websites online. From individuals who want to publish a blog to a large enterprise looking for professional hosting services with a high level of assurance, there are numerous advantages to using a web hosting provider. Not only do they provide additional security and automatic back-up, they also avoid the need for a business to purchase IT equipment and data storage. Plus, the heavy lifting of upgrades, security patches and maintenance is carried out by the hosting provider.
Web hosting services usually include 24/7 monitoring to ensure each client’s website is always up and running. Built-in anti-virus and threat protection, as well as website backup are usually provided as part of the service to minimise service disruption. In most cases, customers remain responsible for managing back-ups and ensuring they have available storage, usually in a secure offsite location.
How web hosting works
When a user rents space on a web hosting provider’s server, they get access to a range of services and technologies to host their website, usually with a range of upgradable performance options. Put simply, when a hosting provider hosts a website, it enables user access to your website’s server. Each user request will then deliver your web files for viewing in a web visitor’s web browser.
Different types of web hosting
There are several web hosting services that businesses and individuals can choose from according to their needs: free, shared, dedicated, virtual private server (VPS) and cloud hosting. We will look at each one in turn to help decide the best web hosting option for you.
Free hosting
When budget is the only consideration, a free web hosting solution offers a no-cost option. While this can sound attractive, when anything goes wrong there are typically no support services. Plus, all technical problems must be solved by the user, which can often cause some downtime. When considering this option, remember that your website is your shop window to the world. A basic paid-for hosting service is very affordable and can help keep your reputation and business intact.
Shared hosting
This model is where many users share the same server resources for their websites, including memory, processing power, bandwidth, and storage. Shared hosting is the most popular choice, since server space, compute power and storage is shared with many other websites, minimising costs. It is ideal for businesses that don’t have the technical resources to manage a web server — this is carried out by the hosting provider, along with security and maintenance. Since shared hosting is fully managed, users are freed up from having to concern themselves with infrastructure management, writing their own code or having to handle web application and website files. It is ideal for WordPress website hosting and for using a well-known content management system (CMS) such as Joomla or Drupal. Shared hosting is often chosen by small businesses, and individuals, where web traffic is relatively predictable, although many companies offer more sophisticated and powerful shared hosting services for popular e-commerce sites.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting
One step up from the shared model is VPS hosting. Users still share a single server, except it is split into individual virtual compartments that help to protect data from other users. It also reduces any performance impact if other websites on your shared server are experiencing traffic spikes. Using VPS hosting requires more technical knowledge since the web server, operating system, plus website files require maintenance and management by the user.
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting refers to a dedicated server — also known as a Bare Metal server — that’s unique to an individual client, is not shared with other users, and usually requires complete resource management by the user as with VPS hosting. This option comes with maximum performance and security and is fully customisable.
For example, clients can choose the software and operating system they want — and still get technical support from their service provider. While this all comes at a higher cost, it is ideal for high-traffic websites, websites with databases or ones with large amounts of video, because users are given more control over their resources. Often when a business or entity has outgrown a shared hosting plan, it will turn to dedicated hosting.
Cloud hosting
When a business reaches a certain size and gains a larger web audience, cloud hosting is a popular option. Instead of relying on a single physical server that could go down, cloud web hosting uses a network of virtual servers to evenly distribute web or web application data over multiple machines. This means the website is more available to its audience and can easily handle sudden spikes in traffic by automatically scaling to meet demand.
Cloud hosting is based on the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, where users can benefit from pay-as-you-go services, having to pay only for what they use. This option is usually chosen by organisations with strong technical expertise. DevOps engineers can manage the infrastructure, including server resources for the website, databases, plus handling graphics processing units (GPUs), and the overall information architecture (IA) that organises, structures and labels content.
What type of web hosting is for you?
So, what are the questions to answer when choosing the best web hosting service? It might seem obvious to say that you should choose web hosting services according to your web needs and by how much you are prepared to manage yourself.
Using a web hosting provider will minimise the technical aspects you need to manage yourself. If you want more control over the use of operating systems or open-source distribution, you will need in-house technical experts to manage these. With such a large range of hosting services available, there are several considerations to look at, including the type of website you want to build in the first place. Is it a blog, an e-commerce site or do you need a website for a small or large business? Do you want unlimited web hosting for multiple websites?
Next, what kind of resources do you need? Do you expect your business to grow, or do you need to reach customers globally? Are you just starting out? If so, do you have a domain name yet and will you need email services?
Initial considerations when selecting a web hosting company
Domain names
Before considering creating your website, a domain name is the necessary first step, based on the domain name system (DNS). This is your digital online identity and what web visitors will type in to connect to your webpage. Many web hosts offer you the ability to register your domain name with them, with a wide variety of domain extensions for top level or generic domains, country specific ones and more.
Many will allow you to transfer a domain name over to them if you have already purchased it. Some web hosts also provide free, low level web hosting, suitable for blogs or small businesses to help them get started. Look for a web host that offers plans for multi-domain hosting if you have multi-site projects in mind.
An email that matches your brand will build trust and demonstrate professionalism with your intended web audience, so it’s important to have an email that uses your registered domain name. Web hosting mail services are worth considering as they are easy to procure and manage, and mailbox size can be upgraded quickly when needed.
Larger companies might want to opt for collaboration features such as shared calendars and mobile access. A good hosting company should be able to offer a broad range of email options to suit specific business needs.
Selecting Hosting
It’s a tough decision with so many options available, making it difficult for someone just starting out.
A comprehensive review of the market can be found in the following article (Status for 2023): https://firstsiteguide.com/web-hosting-stats/
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