Web Hosting. What is it?

The question that arises here is: How do you choose your host? We can understand this by a simple analogy that will apply to most of us, even if we are not in the technical field. A counter-question now is: “How do you choose a home?” Based on who you are, where you are from, what your biases are, what is the standard of living you prefer, what your budget is, you may be able to come up with some characteristics that fit your requirements when looking for a home to rent or buy. These will also include other considerations such as accessibility, proximity to nearby service providers, cost-effectiveness,
will the apartment be shared, and more. In the same way, we can select a web host based on what our requirements are, and which kind of hosts best fit those requirements. Web hosts come at a price, but you may find some which provide their services for free. Needless to say, such services provide limited capabilities, and may even have underlying malicious intent. It is always better for you as a company to opt for paid web hosting services that are bound by a contract and offer a range of associated services for you to use as well.

Just like a house can be big or small, the space allocated to you by a web host on the internet can vary based on the type of hosting service. These services include shared, dedicated, and virtual private servers. Although there are even more types of web hosts, these are the most commonly used. They are differentiated based on the technology they use, the authoritative access they supply, and the additional services they offer.

What are the types of Web Hosting

There are multiple types of hosting that depend on the kind of service the web host has to offer. Over time, the requirements of the customers have evolved, and the service providers have had to change with them. This is how most things work, and web hosting is no stranger to accommodating the consumer’s needs.

The most commonly used types of web hosts include the shared, dedicated, virtual private servers. Apart from this, there are cloud web servers that accommodate clients with large, sensitive data. These different types of web hosts are discussed in detail.

• Shared Web Hosting: Just like in the housing analogy, a web server can be home to more websites apart from yours. You share the same services on the server like everyone else on it. This is one of the most common types of web hosting because it cheap and easy to set up. It is usually a good option for smaller websites which are just starting out and don’t create a lot of traffic for the rest of the websites. If you want to start a personal blog, or a website for a startup business, you can consider Shared Web Hosting. However, if you are looking for a professional website on a shared web host, you must make sure that the host you are considering offers the services you need. Not all shared web hosts offer specialized business services, so if this is something you want to go for, know your own requirements first, and check to see if they are being fulfilled by the host you are considering.

• Dedicated Hosting: If you don’t like sharing your space, you buy or rent your own house. The same applies to web hosting. There are options for acquiring entire servers that are dedicated to your website, however, it is much more pricey as compared to shared web hosting. Most customers opt for dedicated web hosting only if they know they will be getting a lot of traffic on the website and they need the space for all that traction. A big plus of Dedicated Hosting is the greater liberty that comes with it. Customers enjoy total control over the server, and access to all administrative facilities. The only trade off here, is that you will need the technical personnel to be able to manage the platform, because no one else will do that for you!

• Virtual Private Server (VPS): This is also known as a Virtual dedicated server (VDS), and is a combination of both shared and dedicated hosting. In a VPS, the large server isolates the processing of a website in such a way, that it appears to be working independently on a server, even though in reality, it is sharing the space with other websites as well. This has its own pros and cons, but is most suitable when you are looking for a cheaper option but want to maintain your own control over your space on the server. It is often opted by smaller companies and is a cost-effective way to share a web server while also retaining a sense of privacy and control.

• Cloud Hosting: Cloud Technology is new to the market, and Cloud hosting is even newer. It is becoming increasingly popular, and operates on servers that are physically located very far from where you may be. This service is salable and can accommodate very large amounts of data, while also being an affordable alternate to online repositories. It is also highly reliable, offering unmetered bandwidth and unlimited disk space for endless domains. If you are a growing company, then cloud web hosts are an easy choice. They’re highly effective and efficient, and can handle variable and voluminous data with much ease.

• Reseller Hosting: An owner of an account on a web server can use their own allotted space to host another website on behalf of a third party. In this way, the original host “resells” their space for someone else’s use. It is most beneficial if the space is currently not being utilized, and the resources are idle. This becomes a recurrent source of income for server or account owners, just as those with apartments put them up on rent when they are not living there themselves.

As is evident from the discussion above, we can see that for every set of requirements, there is a different type of web hosting to prefer. It is important for you, as a customer, to understand what your digital needs are, and what services you can afford. With this knowledge under your
sleeve, you will be able to make the best decision when choosing a web host.

Best Types of Web Hosting to consider in 2021

We can see that there are many different types of web hosting available to choose from, just like there are many homes, villas, and apartments available to rent or buy. But based on our needs, only a particular kind of estate will suit them. In the same way, the biggest deciding factor when looking for a web host is the size of your organization, as that is where all your needs stem from. Let us see what web hosting works best for you, based on where you are in your business journey.

If you are a big organization, opt for a dedicated web host. The reason for this is, that you will have a large customer base, as well as a diverse set of employees. To accommodate your consumers, workforce, and all the data that goes back and forth, you will need a dedicated web host through which you can control the administrative access, as well as ensure that everything is working under your direct supervision. For such a large system, it is better to have a specialized technical team handle all your website requirements. This is why a dedicated web host would work best if you have a big firm.

If you are a growing firm, then VPS hosting is for you. The reason for this, is because it is a step up from shared hosting, and you can maintain an adequate level of authoritative accessibility through it. VPS hosting is also a cheaper alternate to a dedicated web host, and allows you to be in control by isolating your website from the other traffic on the server. Bear in mind, that your traffic will affect the others sharing the server space, and vice versa, as the isolation is more of an illusion than reality. But on a practical standpoint, it is definitely a go-to option for increased services at an affordable price. You may consider a cloud-VPS hybrid, if you feel you are growing rapidly, as this allows for much better scalability, and is a good middle option if you don’t want to switch to a dedicated server yet.

If you are a new startup, go for shared hosting. It’s cheaper, uses lesser resources, and gets the job done. As a new startup, your focus will be on setting up many different things, and everything has to be from scratch. You may not have a specialized technical team to handle the comings and goings of data on a big, complex server, so stay away from a dedicated web host till you are ready. As for services you might need for your startup purposes, there are many shared web hosts that offer multiple business and e-commerce services that will suit your needs, so you don’t have to worry about not getting what you need from a shared web host. Do a bit of your own research to find the shared web host that offers what you need, and go for it!

This year, the corporate world is slowly reviving from the pandemic that hit us brutally last year. 2021 is the year for growth, and you must use the digital platform to grow your own endeavor, taking it to even greater heights. With this information, you are well-equipped to make a decision about which web host you need to pick for your own business website. Gauge your own needs, recognize your business opportunities, and make the call for what would work best for your organization!

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