There are so many web hosting companies available, which do you choose? You may not know much about the technology, and don't want to get a degree in internet technology! As you read this article, we will go through the types of web hosting plans and services you may find.
::: What is web hosting? :::
To be able to have a website that is accessible to all, requires a computer that is dedicated to web hosting that site. A website can be hosted on your own computer, and in fact, in the early days of the net, this is how web hosting was conducted. As you can imagine, this turned out to be costly, especially when you had to pay per hour to use the net! Websites would only be available at some points in the day. A solution was needed, and dedicated web hosting companies started to spring up.
::: How does web hosting work? :::
A website is simply a whole load of html files, php files, and a number of other possibilities. When you either design your site or get a web designer to design your site, there are files which are stored on your computer. These need to be transferred to your dedicated space with your web hosting company.
Your domain is like an address, which you lease. No one can buy a domain, so to speak, we can only lease it. This is true whether for ebay.com or joeblogs.com. With a technology called DNS, DNS servers points whoever goes to your domain to route that user to your web hosting space.
::: Types of web hosting plan :::
There are many kinds of web hosting plans from the various web hosting companies; however, they generally come under a banner of 3 different types of web hosting.
Shared web hosting is basically a server (a computer which holds the sites), and is shared on a server with many other sites. This is a great option if you plan to host 1 site or only a handful.
Reseller web hosting is for people who want a bit more freedom. It can be utilized to run your own web hosting company, web designers to offer clients web hosting services or if you intend to have more than 10 domains.
Virtual Private Server website hosting or dedicated web hosting gives you the most freedom; it is like owning property freehold. With dedicated, you basically get a dedicated server which you rent from a web hosting company. Virtual Private Server website hosting is slightly lower, and you might share the server with 3-4 other people.
::: Choosing a web hosting plan :::
Choosing a web hosting plan is pretty simple, once you look at your needs, however, you will need to look at certain factors which can either benefit you or not. If you intend to run a small site, then shared web hosting can be the best option to go for. Always look at if you can upgrade in future.
If you have a larger site, you may want to go the Virtual Private Server website hosting route; however, it can always serve to start with a smaller web hosting plan, then upgrade later. If you are a domain collector, then you may want to consider reseller web hosting or Virtual Private Server website hosting.
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