What is web hosting? What are the types of web hosting? Which web hosting should I use? What are the differences?
These are the questions most non-techies are always asking. So we decided to explain it extensively here for best understanding.
Web hosting is a service that works by storing your website or web application files in a high-powered computer known as Server, which is connected to a high-speed network.
So when someone types your website address, the Internet connects to the webserver where your website files are stored.
It will then transfer your website information back to their computer. From there, people can view the pages or contents of your website.
Every website that exists online must be connected to one server or the other.
The big websites of today, such as Google and Facebook, have what is called a data house.
It is also a kind of server, but in this case, privately owned and managed.
The reason is because of the amount of traffic that goes through their web application, and their users’ information also has to be stored and protected.
Web hosting exists in different types. The hosting you will want to choose will depend on the type of business you have online, as well as the level of resources you are willing to invest.
Although sometimes the condition of your online business may cause the migration from one hosting service to another.
As a blogger, you may want to start with Shared Hosting because it’s the cheapest.
But if your blog starts driving so much traffic, there will be a need to migrate to maybe a Virtual Private Server. To have more server resources that will accommodate your site users.
Likewise, some who run a giant eCommerce that accepts online payments may decide to start with a Dedicated Server for security reasons.
If your online business involves so much uploading and requires more space than regular, i.e., a social network, or a music download site. In this case, cloud Hosting may be much preferable, although it may vary in most cases.
There are so many other great web hosting types you can explore.
The fact is trying to identify which is the best web server for your project is daunting.
But with a guide like this, you’ll discover everything you need to know about choosing the best type of web hosting you need.
Irrespective of the kind of website you want to host, you need to know how much bandwidth will require.
You also need to know if you’ll need an SSL certificate. What is the cost of hosting a website? What other added value such as free customer support can you get in choosing a web hosting provider? Although these are by the way,
That suggests the need to consider “your needs”, “budget” and certain “hosting options” available.
Some web hosting companies offer free, shared, virtual private server (VPS), dedicated, and cloud-based web hosting services at different costs.
Assuming you need just a personal website, it is a waste of resources to host such a website on VPS where an ordinary free or shared server will suffice.
To choose the right web host type, use the list below.
Table of Contents
Is free web hosting good or bad?
Several web hosting services promise to host your website without a dime. But as far as I’m concerned, I would never encourage you to host your business website on a free server.
And neither would I condemn any.
You can ask yourself before giving them a try if you can really trust and rely on them?
A lot of risks are attached to free web hosting services.
Take for example, how can you explain hosting your business website without paying for the service and feel safe?
What’s the rationale behind you making money while your host makes losses?
It means there must be an ulterior motive behind a free web hosting service and this includes:
Hidden charges
It’s possible they have hidden charges. The company will give you close monitoring and suddenly withdraw some of their services and forcefully demand payments later.
If you refuse to comply with the terms, you give them no choice but to suspend your account. Meanwhile, paying them at that moment isn’t an issue.
But if you’re overcharged, you’ll be in a tight corner and have no choice but to pay.
Insecure services
Aside from hidden charges, some crooks offer free web hosting services to steal customer-sensitive information.
That makes a website hosted on a free server prone to malware and other cyber attacks.
However, customers are at great risk, sharing sensitive information on a website hosted on a free server.
You won’t find it funny if your website becomes a window for hackers to hack your customers.
If you don’t end up facing criminal charges, your reputation will be at stake.
As the owner of the site, you’ll be liable for whatever damages you cause others out of your ignorance.
Permanent shut down
Free web hosting companies can shut down their servers at any time. If any damage results from this action, you can’t hold them responsible.
Free web hosting platforms are therefore not recommended for business. For this reason, it’s unprofessional to host your website on a free server.
Remember, they’re free, so they’re prone to several issues.
Instead of using a free web host, the top hosting providers reviewed above are cheap web hosting companies in Nigeria. You can go back to the list and find the best one with great web hosting plans.
Types of Web Hosting Services
In shared web hosting, your website server is also some other people’s website server.
Shared web hosting creates a kind of framework where a particular web server is shared with many people.
If you host your website on this type of server – you are not allowed to know those sharing the same server with you.
You will only get a tiny portion of the server space allocated to you.
Shared hosting is the cheapest among every other type of hosting. And as well it has the highest number of users. Far above 50% of active websites in the world today are on shared hosting.
The biggest downside of shared hosting is that the activities of a user of the server can affect other users. If no limits are pegged.
2. Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting package that allows owners to use their allotted hard drive space and bandwidth to host websites for third parties.
The reseller purchases the host service wholesale and then sells it to customers, for profit-making.
A company that owns chains of web-based services may also prefer reseller hosting, to allocate server resources to each of their services.
Most web hosting companies you see in the world today don’t have a server of their own.
They capitalize on the reseller hosting platform to create their own hosting company.
Some features of reseller hosting
- Free website templates to choose from
- White-label technical support (means that the hosting company will handle your clients’ technical issues)
- Private name servers (This will make resellers appear to have their server.)
3. Cloud-Based Hosting
Cloud-Based Web Hosting is a hosting technology that allows many servers to work together at the same time as one giant server.
Cloud-based web hosting seems to be the most expensive web hosting platform.
It’s usually used by websites which has huge files and databases, mostly; music upload sites, social networks with unlimited unloading, bustling online forums, and portals.
Cloud-based web hosting can accommodate the surge of traffic – rather than shutting your website down.
4. Dedicated Server
Choosing a dedicated server means that you are renting a physical server from a hosting company all by yourself – which will give you full control if you so wish.
With a dedicated server, you won’t need to worry about other websites sharing resources with you, or slowing down your site.
5. Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Using a VPS, you will be sharing a physical server but act like it’s multiple separate servers.
It allows a specific amount of server resources to be directed to each user.
The virtual private server is in between shared hosting and dedicated hosting.
It is always faster than the shared server, and as well has more functionalities.
The VPS avoids the problems of having your hosting neighbors bring down your hosted website. At the same time, it prevents the cost of buying a full dedicated server.
6. Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress Hosting was introduced due to the increasing number of WordPress users. It is used to host only WordPress sites.
Managed WordPress hosting service will keep your WordPress installation up-to-date and help protect it from security threats.
On this server or hosting package, you are only allowed to host WordPress sites. Other types of web scripts may not work here.
This hosting package is capable of withstanding turns of traffic coming to your WordPress site.
It also has strong firewalls to protect your website from hackers and spammers.
When it comes to backups, you will love this hosting package. It provides a regular backup of your site, to give you absolutely nothing to worry about.
RELATED ARTICLES
It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to
be happy. I have read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things
or suggestions. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article.
I desire to read even more things about it!