Web Hosting
Web Hosting explained: What it is, how it works, how to do it, hints & tips, advice, useful resources.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that publishes your web site on the internet. Although a web hosting computer is in principle no different from any other computer, it needs a constant, high-speed connection to the internet. Although your computer may have a high-speed connection through broadband (ADSL), this is only high-speed in one direction (incoming) and would not be fast enough in the other direction to give good performance in serving your web pages to other users. In addition to this, there are some complex technical issues involved in operating and managing a server, that make it something best left to specialists.
A web hosting company will rent you space on one of their servers and manage it for you so you don't have to worry about any of the technical issues, or maintain the expensive internet infrastructure required to give good performance.
What are the different types of web hosting available?
There are generally two types of web hosting available, shared and dedicated. With a shared web hosting service, your site will be hosted on a computer that hosts many other websites also. If there are too many sites being hosted on a computer then the performance will suffer, but generally the hosting companies manage this so that everybody receives an acceptable service. If the performance was not acceptable, nobody would use them so this is generally self-limiting.
If you require the best possible performance, or special facilities on the server, you may need a dedicated server. This is a computer located at the hosting company using their high speed connections but running only your web site. This gives you total control, but is obviously considerably more expensive. You will usually be able to configure your server to suit your requirements in terms of operating system (Windows, UNIX, Linux, Max OS X), hardware specification and the software that is installed upon it (e.g. MySQL, PHP, Access etc.)
Where is the best place to buy web hosting?
There are literally thousands of web hosting companies offering different types of plans at different prices. Look around on the internet and check some of the adverts on this page to see what is on offer.
There are two that we recommend as usually having particularly good deals
and that are big enough to get it right. These are GoDaddy.com (don't
worry about the unusual name, they are one of the biggest in the US and
Globat.com who
usually have some amazing deals.
Don't be concerned that you're paying in Dollars if you're outside the US - take advantage of the weak Dollar! The web is global so it doesn't matter where your hosting company is based.
Most hosting companies also offer domain registration and vice-versa so you sould be able to find everything you need in one place.
Latest News articles on Web Hosting
06/02/2012 Infographic showcases web hosting evolution From 1MB of space on GeoCities to the cloud over two decades
06/02/2012 Canadian Web Hosting Unveils New Website Canadian Web Hosting’s new website highlights new cloud hosting offerings and expanded CA Cloud Infrastructure.Richmond, BC (PRWEB) February 06, 2012 Canadian Web Hosting (http://www.canadianwebhosting.com), a leading provider of web hosting and infrastructure services in Canada, today announced the launch of a new version of its corporate website at http://www.canadianwebhosting.com. The ...
03/02/2012 Web Hosting Sales and Promos Roundup – February 3, 2012 February 3, 2012 -- In the week leading up to the Superbowl, web hosting provider Brain Host has launched its "50-Yard Line Big Game" Special for half off its one-year hosting package. Web hosting provider WestHost has launched a .CO domain discount, A2 Hosting is offering a VPS hosting special and Action Web Group is offering a February special for ten percent off hosting.
03/02/2012 Web Host HostColor Adds NetDNA CDN to Hosting Plans February 3, 2012 -- Web hosting provider HostColor announced on Friday that it has added NetDNA content delivery network to its reseller, VPS and dedicated hosting services. To celebrate the launch, it is offering a free one month trial of NetDNA CDN to its customers. This announcement comes more than a month after Host Color disclosed its plans to start supporting its hosting plans with CDN. In ...
03/02/2012 HostUCan Releases New Feature to Analyze the Strength of a Web Host LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HostUCan.com, an industry-leading web hosting search and review platform, today announced the release of their new feature to help webmasters understand the strength ...