When we visit a website, our internet browser displays a web page that is downloaded from a web server. Website is a collection of many web pages and to allow the visitors to view these pages on the internet we need to place them on a web server. Web servers are powerful computers with large hard drives and owners of web server offer the space of their server\’s hard drive on rent. Now web hosting is a service which gives us a space to place our website on a web server so that people can view our website on the internet.
A web server gives us an opportunity to own web space on rent. They will give us storage place (up to some limits) and bandwidth for what we will pay them certain amount of money as a rent. Web hosting provider gives us many plans that include different web space and bandwidth depending on the plan we want to buy from them. The more we will pay, the more web space and bandwidth will be given in return.
A large web space provider can host thousands of websites on their server. Larger companies have more powerful and multiple servers that can entertain a lot of websites at same time. All these web servers are connected to internet with high speed internet connection and they remain connected 24/7 throughout the year. These companies develop extensive power backup system, HVAC to control the temperature, virus detection, and disaster recovery and data backup facility to provide excellent service to their clients.
Types of Web Hosting:
Hosting can be divided in to many types depending on the resources and nature of the facilities you want in your package plan. Below are few important types that you might need to know.
Shared Hosting:
In this type a single web server is shared by many websites. When you will buy a shared hosting plan you will get a share in web space, bandwidth and other resources of the server. Sharing websites on the server depends on the power and storage of a server. In this type server is managed and maintained by service provider. It is very cheap and many people prefer this type as this type meets their needs on a very low price. Shared hosting is very easy to use as this the web provider provides a user friendly environment.
There are two major problems in shared hosting, first is the low security as you are sharing same server with other people and second is low software and database support.
Dedicated Server Hosting:
In this type you will get entire server for your website and you are the only person that is using all the resources of the server. In this case service provider has nothing to do but to provide management and maintaining of the web server and every thing except this is client\’s property.
Dedicated Server hosting is reliable, secure and very fast. It is very costly as you will have a web server alone and only large organization can afford this. As in this type you have all the resources thus your website is easy to access and also 100% reliable.
Root Server Web Hosting:
This type is also known as semi managed hosting. This is similar to dedicated server but in root server, you need to control the server by your own and there will be no one else but only you to access the root directory of the server. It is very flexible and also you will get un-interrupted connectivity with your server. This type is best for the people that need their website to be customized on regular intervals however it is also costly service.
Co Location Web Hosting:
In this type the user have its own web server but it is placed in a secure data center of a regular services provider. The benefit of this type is that you will get full resources of your server and as it is in a secure data center your server will be monitored and managed by experts to provide first class service. In this type you will not pay for the server but only have to pay for the monitoring service and security provided to your own server at the data center.
What to Look When Buying a Web Hosting Plan:
When you are going to buy a plan from any hosting provider you need following things to know before you buy a web hosting plan.
Price and Service Duration:
First of all it is important to check the price of the plan according to duration and services the provider is offering. Remember each web service provider offer different plans with different prices and services, so check the best suitable for you.
Extra Space and Bandwidth:
Ask the company about the prices of extra space and bandwidth. Web space is essential and sometime you need more than your package, please check this facility so that you can avoid any hassle at the time when you need more space.
Management Tools:
Learn about the management tools offered by a web service provider and check them according to your needs. It is best idea to take demo of control panel and user interface etc before buying a plan.
Scripts Support:
Know about the script support and also learn about free scripts. At this time almost all web hosting providers are offering scripts like Joomla, WordPress and Mambo etc for free, check the scripts that you will need for your website and also know about their price before buying a specific package.
Supported Database:
Almost all websites need a database, first learn what type of database your site uses and than search for best deal from web hosting provider that support your database.
Domain Name and Sub Domain Names:
There are a lot of web hosting providers that also give a free domain name and sub domain name when you will buy a plan from them. Ask the web hosting provider about free domain name and sub domain names. It is also wise to ask the price of additional domain names you might need in future.
Customer Support:
Customer support is essential for web hosting to consult with any type of problems relating your website. A good web space provider gives a phone number along with email and online chatting system. It is good decision to work with a web services provider that provides good customer support.
Recent Comments