Your complete guide to Web Hosting 2021
The world is going online and so should you. Gone are the days of physical shopping. If you’re someone looking to expand their business and make the most out of this pandemic, you need to extend your realms and invite the online platform with open arms. But one needs to consider this isn’t an easy task. Going online and building your own website needs a lot of research and gathering information for you to make the right decision. For instance, how well do you know about web hosting and its types? If these seem like heavy technical terms for you, you’ve come to the right place. This article will tell you everything you need to know related to web hosting which will eventually help you promote your small business.
What actually is Web Hosting?
Before going in-depth, let’s understand the basics. What really is web hosting? To be direct “When a hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website. Web hosting makes the files that comprise a website (code, images, etc.) available for viewing online. Every website you've ever visited is hosted on a server.”
In simpler terms ‘Websites are hosted on servers, which are substantial pieces of hardware that house websites and data related to those sites. Every component of your website is stored on a server and accessed through your web host. Every component meaning files, texts, images, and videos etc.’
Now, if you want to publish your website, the first step is that you’ll need to sign up for a web hosting service. Today, finding one good, reliable web host isn’t that impossible but finding the best one for you can get tricky among the pool of thousands of options. Before signing up for web hosting services, it is important to understand what kind of service your website needs, the kind of server you or your business needs, your budget, and what type of services the web host offers.
A) Shared Hosting
In a shared hosting environment, your and other website owners shared one server. This includes sharing the physical server and the software applications within the server.
Best for: Shared hosting is a great choice for beginners and smaller websites. It’s cost-effective and doesn’t require lots of technical knowledge to get started. Recommended to everyone who is right on the budget but still wants the best on their website.
B) VPS Hosting
VPS stands for “virtual private server.” This hosting type is a step above shared web hosting. When a website outgrows its shared plan, it’s common for owners to upgrade to a VPS.
Best for: VPS hosting is best for small or medium-sized businesses that can’t afford to have unexpected downtime on their website. It’s a great option for website owners who have outgrown the resources of a shared hosting plan. Most recommended VPS hosting Provider- InMotion.
Why VPS Hosting is considered better than Shared Hosting?
Your site will generally perform better since you aren’t sharing resources. This means you’ll profit from faster loading times and higher uptime rates. You won’t have to worry about another website causing your site to crash.C) Dedicated Hosting
In a dedicated hosting environment, you have the entire web server to yourself. This allows for faster performance, as you have all the server’s resources entirely, without sharing with other website owners.
Websites being hosted on a dedicated server have complete technical control over the server settings. You choose the software, configurations, and anything else you need.
Best for: Large eCommerce sites and enterprises should consider a dedicated hosting plan because they can have complete control over the functions of their server. Sites that require the highest levels of security, such as websites that store financial data or medical information would benefit from a dedicated server. Don’t even consider this type of hosting if you’re still struggling to pull in a few thousand in traffic each month.
D) Cloud Hosting
Considered the updated version of a VPS but rather more cost-friendly, Cloud Hosting schedules come with multiple remote servers. With cloud servers, your website will have higher uptime rates and won’t have as much unexpected downtime due to server errors. Your site will remain fluid and perform at a high level.
Best for: Cloud hosting is the best option for medium and large business websites that are growing at an abrupt rate. If your website traffic is unpredictable and you’re planning on it scaling at a steady rate in the coming months or years, then you should consider a cloud hosting plan.