What is web hosting?

Web hosting -- also known as website hosting or webhosting -- is the process where a web
hosting provider stores and maintains website files and applications on a server to make its
customers' websites accessible on the internet. Web hosting requires the use of one or more
physical or virtual servers to serve as the web host, as well as a domain name system (DNS) for
name configurations and pointing to the hosting service.

Typically, a hosting company -- such as GoDaddy, Bluehost or HostGator -- rents out website
space to its customers. These web hosting providers have the technology and resources required
to ensure a website's secure and continuous operation. However, in some cases, website owners
might choose to host websites on their own servers, although this requires extensive technical
skills and capabilities.

A hosting provider must obtain accreditation from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN) before they can sell domain names, particularly top-level domain names
(TLDs). ICANN is a nonprofit organization that oversees the DNS, root servers and central
database of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Moreover, ICANN manages the overall supply of IP
addresses.

How does web hosting work?

A website is a collection of different files, images, applications and databases. These components
are stored on a hosting provider's website server, which is continuously powered on and
connected to the internet. The amount and type of server resources allocated to a website by the
hosting provider -- such as bandwidth, random access memory (RAM) and disk space -- is
determined by the hosting subscription plan. Typically, most hosting providers offer flexible
plans, including shared and dedicated services.

After signing up for a plan, website owners typically get access to the web hosting provider's
server via a cPanel dashboard that simplifies the process of uploading and managing website
files. Alternatively, a website owner might install a content management system (CMS) such as
WordPress to build out the website.

The following steps take place when a user tries to visit a website housed on a hosting provider's
web server:
 1. A user enters the URL or domain name of the website into a web browser.

2. The browser translates the domain name into an IP address and sends a Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or HTTP Secure (HTTPS) request to the web server
renting the website space.

3. In response to the request, the web server locates the resources and transfers the files
needed to load the requested web page into the user's web browser.

This
image shows how DNS works, including ICANN, registries, registrars, registrants and resellers.
Types of web hosting

Each website has unique needs, whether it's a personal blog or a business website. In addition to
selling storage space on servers, hosting companies offer services such as server
management, antivirus options, website backups and technical support.

The following are the main types of web hosting services:

 Shared hosting. Similar to sharing a house with roommates, shared hosting stores
multiple websites on each server. The websites also share the server's resources, such
as RAM and a processor. Shared hosting is the least expensive of all hosting options
and is great for small businesses, beginners, first-time website owners and hobbyists.
User-friendly website-building tools, such as drag-and-drop website builders and
WordPress hosting, are usually included with a shared hosting service plan. The
downside of shared hosting is that website owners can't control server resources and
could suffer from performance degradation. But some hosting providers offer
 resource protection options for stable website performance, regardless of how many
sites share the server at any given time.

 Dedicated hosting. This type of hosting offers the website owner full control and
comes with admin and root access to the web server. Website owners can install their
preferred security tools and OS. Dedicated hosting is more expensive than other
options. It also requires technical expertise, as website owners are responsible for
managing the servers.

 Cloud hosting. Instead of a single on-premises server, cloud

hosting employs virtualization technology to pool resources from a collection of
servers provisioned in the cloud. This flexible hosting option lets website owners
manually scale resources up or down, depending on their usage requirements. It also
offers an autoscale option where resources are automatically increased during traffic
spikes. Cloud hosting is best suited for businesses that need a cost-effective option
that comes with extra resources, is fully scalable and doesn't require much technical
expertise. For e-commerce websites, a fully managed cloud hosting provider is a
good option, as they can quickly set up and run a store and also provide continuous
maintenance and support for the website.

 WordPress webhosting. This hosting option offers resources and servers that are
specially optimized for the WordPress CMS. WordPress installation is included with
many shared hosting plans, but a dedicated WordPress hosting plan offers additional
features, including site builder tools, premium design tools and automatic WordPress
updates. Technical support is provided with most WordPress hosting plans.

 Virtual private server hosting. VPS hosting allocates a dedicated portion of a

server, also called a partition, to website owners. Each partition provides dedicated
RAM and processing power for each website. Websites hosted on this type of
platform rarely suffer from performance issues. VPS hosting is less expensive than
dedicated hosting but costs more than shared hosting. But VPS hosting resources
might not be ideal for users who want to host large online stores or stream media
files on their websites. However, VPS hosting is suitable for small business owners as
it provides root access for customization and specialized software installations.

 Reseller hosting. With this option, web hosting plans can be purchased in bulk from
experienced web hosting companies at discounted rates. Those who purchase these
bundles frequently resell them to their customers to make money. The original
 hosting company offers the necessary hardware, software and infrastructure to host
the websites. This hosting is popular among web designers and developers as it offers
them the option to host their client websites. Resellers have the flexibility to set their
own web hosting plans and prices along with white labeling, which lets clients see the
reseller's branding and not that of the actual hosting company.

How to pick a web host?

The search for a web hosting service should start before the launch of a website. A web host is
responsible for making a website available online, as well as maintaining and directing traffic to
it. Therefore, it's crucial to pick a reliable and trustworthy host.

Website owners should consider the following key points before selecting a hosting company:

 Assessing the website requirements. Each website has unique needs and website
owners should analyze their website requirements before picking a host. For example,
the website for an established business might require more bandwidth and technical
support compared to a simple blog website that doesn't require much upkeep. Website
owners should also keep future needs and scalability options in mind when selecting
a provider.

 Bandwidth allowance. Bandwidth is the measure of the maximum data transferred in

a given amount of time. The amount of bandwidth a website needs depends on the
volume of data, the number of site visitors and the streaming of media files on the
web pages. Before signing with a provider, it's imperative for website owners to
provide a detailed service-level agreement (SLA) on the exact amount of bandwidth
required and whether the host will scale bandwidth during traffic spikes. As a rule of
thumb, the amount of bandwidth a hosting company offers can be an indicator of its
capabilities. For example, the higher the bandwidth, the better the speed, connectivity
and network reliability of the provider.

 Upgrade options. Most site owners start with a shared hosting plan, but over time
they might need to transition to a VPS or dedicated server to meet the growing needs
of their websites. In this case, a hosting provider with simpler and more transparent
upgrade options is preferable.

 Webhost's uptime. Reliability is important when a website needs to run and operate
around the clock. A website that's frequently down or is slow to load can lose
customers. To consider how reliable a potential web host is, website owners should
 check their uptime history, read reviews and consult their advertised uptime
guarantees.

 Refund policy and guarantees. Even top service providers can run into issues.
Therefore, when running a critical website, it's important to have an SLA that
includes a money-back guarantee or refund if the provider doesn't meet the uptime
promised. For example, DreamHost provides a money-back guarantee for 97 days,
which means a full refund is given to the customer if they cancel the service during
this time.

The benefits of paid hosting

Free hosting can't compete with the following benefits that paid hosting offers:

 Uptime and speed. According to a 2022 study by marketing services company

Portent, 86% of business-to-consumer websites load in 5 seconds or less. A website
hosted on a reliable hosting platform will most likely have increased load speeds and
uptime, which positively affects the user experience.

 Domain-based email address. A domain-specific email address looks professional

and helps website owners with branding efforts. Most hosting providers provide free
domain-based email accounts to their customers. However, the number of email
addresses provided is determined by the hosting provider. For example, some
providers might only provide one domain email, while others might offer an
unlimited number. Hosting services also enable website owners to check, send and
receive emails, as well as set up email forwarding.

 Tech support. A great benefit of a hosted service is support during outages and
downtimes. When a website goes down, every minute counts and can cost a website
owner visitors and sales. Reliable hosting companies offer 24/7 technical support as
part of their hosting packages, which helps reduce mean time to repair (MTTR)
during outages.

 Security. Reliable web hosting service providers use proper security measures to
ensure that the websites hosted on their platform are fully protected from outside
threats. For example, some providers offer fully guarded data centers with around-
the-clock threat monitoring.

 SEO optimization. While search engines aren't concerned with which hosting
provider a website uses, they consider certain ranking factors such as speed,
 reliability and uptime. Therefore, a website hosted on a platform that favors these
factors automatically ranks higher on the search engine results page (SERP).

 Short domain name. Free hosting platforms include a sub-domain of the hosting
provider as part of the website's domain name. With paid hosting, website owners can
purchase a concise domain name and have the option to use the top-level domain at
the end of the URL. For example, a free domain will be similar
to www.yoursitename.subdomainname.com instead of a paid domain such
as www.yoursitename.com.

Differences between web hosting and a domain name

Most web hosting providers sell both domain name and website hosting, but website owners also
have the choice to buy domain registration from a different domain registrar, such as
Domain.com, GoDaddy or Namecheap.

While domain name and web hosting can be purchased together, they serve different purposes.
The following are the main differences between a domain name and web hosting:

 Web hosting is a platform for hosting website files on a web server, whereas a
domain name is the address of their exact location.

 A domain name can be purchased before developing a website, but a website can't go
online without a domain name.