How does web hosting work?
Have you ever wondered how everything online is available at any time of the day? That’s because content online is being hosted by servers. These servers are computers that run non-stop so your website is accessible anytime. There are various types of web hosting.
Types of web hosting
Let’s briefly go through the different types of web hosting and their main features. If you want other web hosting features explained concisely, just keep on reading.
WordPress hosting
WordPress is one of the biggest content management systems online. Many users choose WordPress because of their one-click installation. Moreover, it’s easily customizable. It’s ideal for those who are already familiar with WordPress’ interface.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting, as the name implies, means sharing a server with other multiple websites. Plenty of people choose shared hosting for its cost-efficient benefits. However, it may affect your website’s loading speed especially if the websites you’re sharing a server with receiving high traffic.
Cloud hosting
As previously mentioned, your server is the one that stores all your site’s data. With cloud hosting, your data is spread throughout multiple virtual servers or the ‘cloud’. It is mainly chosen for its scalability and affordability.
Dedicated hosting
In this type of web hosting, a website gets its own dedicated server. Thus, the website owns the server and won’t be sharing it with other sites. It’s an ideal web hosting type for sites that expect high levels of traffic.
Domain Name vs Hosting
Beginners tend to conflate choosing a domain or a domain name with website hosting. These two are completely different processes but are both crucial in building your first website.
Domain Name
Domains are typically registered. It is your stepping stone to creating your website. A domain consists of a domain name and a domain extension. For example, the website Youtube’s domain name is Youtube, and its domain extension is ‘.com’. It is essentially your permanent address on the web.
In registering your domain, you also need to provide your personal information as well as payment methods. Most web hosting packages come with a free domain. Just watch out if the free domain they offer expires. Oftentimes, a web host will give you a domain for free for a year. After that, you will have to pay for it.
Web Hosting
Web hosting involves a plethora of processes such as creating, customizing, and choosing templates, and adding pages like About, Contact Us, and other additional sections. Moreover, it also involves adding tools and widgets that enhance the functionality of your site. Everything you put on your website will be handled by your web host and stored in servers.
Email Hosting
If you want to seem professional, you would want an email that matches your domain. For example, if your website is ‘medsuppliesasap.com’ then, you would want your email to be ‘@medsuppliesasap.com’. This creates credibility for your brand and improves communication overall. If this is a vital requirement for your website, you should check if email hosting is listed in your web host’s package.
Not all web hosting packages come with email hosting. Oftentimes, you would need to pay additionally for a personal email.
Back-up
It is unheard of to lose some important data on your website because of some unforeseeable circumstances and issues. That is why you need an automatic back-up for your website so you won’t have any risk of permanently losing these data. While most web hosts include automatic back-up in their packages, it’s best to check if it’s something they offer for free or if you need to pay an additional fee.
Privacy and Security
Websites are prone to cyber threats, hacks, and other issues. You never want to compromise your new website, as well as your potential customers’ data if you collect them. Even if you’re not dealing with inherently confidential data, it’s still in your best interest to protect your website. Thus, you will need some of these features in your web hosting package.
Secure Sockets Layer or ‘SSL’
Check if your web host offers an SSL certificate. This is encryption that everything that goes in and out of your website is private and secure. Furthermore, this certificate makes you a Google-friendly website.
Firewall
The firewall acts like a gate that allows or blocks traffic to your website. It protects your website on a server level. It can also filter through messages and any unauthorized access to your site.
Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS Protection
DDoS attacks are very common online. It involves multiple computers going through a website to load them with heavy traffic. This results in the website to crash and become inaccessible. You should look for DDoS protection in your web hosting package.
Technical Support
You shouldn’t forget about a web host’s reputation when it comes to their tech support. Remember that your website never sleeps. Thus, issues may arise at any given time of the day. When this happens, you want to reach out to your host as conveniently and quickly as possible. Ideally, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than 24/7 tech support.
