We are all familiar with websites such Google and Amazon, and these sites, plus all other websites, are hosted on servers that are connected to the internet. These servers can be part of a company’s network or can belong to a web hosting company which rents out space to individuals or companies.
How Does Web Hosting Work?
Companies that rent out space on their servers are called web hosts, and there are quite a few to choose from, such as Names web hosting, and they all offer different services at varying prices. To have a website, you will need to register a domain name so that anyone typing in your web address (the domain name) in a browser can get to your website. Your website will normally consist of several pages, the design of which can be carried out personally using a web design package (such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop or others), or the web hosting company can help with the design. When a website is accessed, the home page will normally be displayed first, and other pages can be then accessed by clicking on links on the home page.
Selecting the Right Web Hosting Package
Web hosts generally offer a number of different hosting packages. Typically, there will be a starter/personal package, a professional/business package plus a WordPress package that can be used for blogs, e-commerce or anything else. Some website hosting companies can also offer a high-traffic, high-bandwidth hosting package as well. It is possible to get a free domain and email addresses with the hosting packages. Whilst these hosting packages are all available on shared servers, it is possible to have a dedicated server that is not shared. Obviously, this will be more costly than using a shared server.
Other aspects that should be looked at when selecting a web hosting provider are SEO, security, support and uptime. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) helps a website to be found when using a search engine. The website hosting company should have good security and be able to offer support to its customers whenever needed and should also have a history of uptime of at least 99.9%.
Conclusion
Web hosting allows a website to be available on the internet. Before selecting a web hosting provider, make sure that they offer SEO, adequate security and support and at least 99.9% uptime with a variety of hosting packages.