Website hosting is an online service that allows you to publish your website or web application on the Internet. When you sign up for a shared web hosting service, you usually rent space on a server where you can store all the files and data you need for your site to function properly.
A server is a physical computer that works non-stop so that your site is available all the time for those who want to visit it. Your hosting is responsible for keeping the server running, protecting it from malicious attacks, and transferring your content (text, images, files) from the server to your visitors’ browsers.
How does website hosting work?
When you decide to launch a new site, you need to find a hosting company that will provide you with resources on the server. Your hosting provider stores all your files, resources and databases on a server. Whenever someone enters your domain name into their browser’s address bar, your host transfers all the files it needs to serve the request.
You need to select the hosting plan that best suits your needs and purchase it. In fact, web hosting works in a similar way to renting a home, you need to pay your rent regularly to keep your site up and running.
While cPanel, the hosting platform used by most hosting providers, is a powerful tool, it can be intimidating for non-tech-savvy users who just want to get a website up and running quickly. Therefore, our team decided to create their own control panel for our users.
We can proudly say that Hostinger’s control panel has a beautiful and intuitive interface, you can immediately figure it out, even if you are using hosting for the first time. Our clients have already come to love it, as the user-friendly panel helps them to manage their account with confidence and ease.
In addition to providing server space for your site, hosting providers may also offer other site management services such as:
- SSL certificates (https: // protocol is used to ensure site security)
- Email Hosting Email
- Page builders
- Developer tools
- Customer support services (usually with online chat)
- Automated creation of backups (data backups)
- 1-click software installers (e.g. CMS WordPress or Drupal)
Different types of hosting
Most providers offer several types of hosting to suit different customer needs. The most commonly provided hosting types are:
- Shared Hosting
- VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting
- Cloud Hosting
- WordPress hosting
- Dedicated server hosting
The larger your site, the more server space is required. It is best to start small with a shared hosting plan, and as your site grows larger, upgrade to a more advanced plan or change hosting type.
Hosting providers usually offer more than one hosting plan for each type of hosting. For example, at Hostinger, our shared hosting has three hosting plans.
WordPress hosting
WordPress Hosting is a type of shared hosting specifically designed to host WordPress sites. Your server is configured in a certain way most suitable for the needs of the CMS WordPress, on your site there are ready-made pre-installed plugins for such important points as, for example, caching and security.
With a highly optimized configuration, your site loads much faster and runs with fewer hassles. Hosting plans for WordPress sites often include additional WordPress-related features such as additional WordPress themes, drag-and-drop page builders, and dedicated developer tools.
Advantages:
- Low cost (usually available at the same price as shared hosting)
- Beginner-friendly
- One-click WordPress installation
- Excellent performance for WordPress sites
- The customer support team is well versed in WordPress matters
- Pre-installed WordPress plugins and themes
Disadvantages:
- It is recommended to use only for WordPress sites (there may be a problem if you want to host more than one site on your account, and not all of them use WordPress)
Shared hosting
Shared hosting (sometimes referred to as shared hosting) is the most common type of web hosting and is a great solution for most small projects and blogs. When you hear “web hosting”, most often the speaker is referring to shared hosting. Shared hosting assumes that you share the resources of the server with other clients of your hosting. Websites located on the same server share their resources such as memory, processing power, disk space, and others.
Advantages:
- Low cost
- Convenient for beginners (no special technical knowledge required)
- Configured server
- Intuitive control panel
- Server maintenance and administration are performed by support team
Disadvantages:
- Limited ability to configure (customize) the server
- Traffic flows on other sites can slow down your site
VPS hosting
With VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, you still share the server with other users, but your ISP will allocate a separate partition for you on the server. This means that you get dedicated server space and a reserved amount of processing power and memory. In fact, VPS hosting can be great for midsize projects with fast growing sites
Advantages:
- Dedicated resources on the server (no dedicated server fees)
- Traffic flows to other sites do not affect the performance of your site in any way
- Root access to the server
- Easy scalability
- High customization
Disadvantages:
- More expensive than shared hosting
- Technical and server management knowledge required
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting is currently the most reliable solution on the market as it literally runs smoothly. It provides you with a cluster of servers. Your files and resources are replicated (copied) on each server. When one of the cloud servers is busy or has any problems, your traffic is automatically routed to another server in the cluster.
Advantages:
- Short or missing simple
- Server crashes do not affect the performance of your site
- Resources are allocated on demand
- Pay as you go (only pay for what you use)
- More scalable than VPS
Disadvantages:
- It is difficult to calculate the cost in advance
- Root access is not always provided
All in all
Now you know enough about website hosting to get started on your new website. Overall, web hosting is the service you need for your online presence. In fact, having a website gives you incredible benefits, allowing you to easily reach millions of users around the world.
Good hosting allows you to serve your content online seamlessly, provide your visitors with a great user experience, and drive as many users to your site as possible.
Source: hostens.com
