What is web hosting? a definitive guide

When building a website, secure and reliable hosting is a must. Otherwise, your site may be vulnerable to malicious attacks and server downtime, all of which can affect your site’s performance.

Web hosting is the process by which your website, its content, and files (along with its code and images) are distributed over the Internet. When users need to access your site, they make a request to the server by typing a URL into their browser. The browser then sends a request to the server, which returns the files and code needed to display your site.

To understand how essential secure web hosting is to build a website, we’ll look at the main types of web hosting available. We’ll explore the differences between web hosting and domain names and explain the features of reliable hosting.

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the storage and delivery of your site’s files, components, and content to an Internet browser. When a user enters a domain name, it is translated into a series of specific IP address, which connects them to the server hosting your site. The server then delivers your site content to users as requested, so that they see your home page when they arrive at your domain name.

You can think of web hosting as renting storage space. The interior is where your site’s content and files are stored. A server is a physical computer or virtual system that provides information and data over a network.

Where and how your site is hosted impacts its performance. So you need to make sure that the web hosting service you choose is safe and reliable. When a server is unable to respond to a request to view a site, it can be difficult or even impossible for users to access your site. It can cost you repeat users, conversions, and sales.

The main types of web hosting

There are several main types of web hosting. The type of hosting you should choose for your website depends on its size and expected traffic, as well as your future scalability needs. Below, we’ve outlined some popular hosting types and included examples of where each type of hosting works best.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting involves multiple sites sharing a physical server. If you have a new, small site with limited traffic, shared hosting is a good entry point. Historically, shared hosting is the cheapest type available.

However, this type of accommodation has its drawbacks. Shared servers are not always able to cope with sudden traffic spikes. For an e-commerce site prone to traffic spikes during the holidays, shared hosting is not the best option for this reason. In this case, your site needs a type of hosting that can handle high traffic volumes without disrupting your business.

Even if you don’t manage a site with a sudden spike in traffic if other websites are on the same server as your site, your website – and by extension, your business – can also be affected by downtime. from the server.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting refers to a physical server, divided into multiple server units. Each of these units hosts a separate website, handling only that site’s traffic requests. One of the benefits of VPS hosting is that it allows for customization – your server part is yours to configure as you wish.

VPS hosting requires some degree of server management, which increases costs. Also, as with this type of hosting you always share a server with multiple sites, and your own website is vulnerable to increased traffic.

Cloud Hosting

Once the new kid is on the block, this type of hosting uses multiple virtual servers that run from the cloud. Cloud hosting is one of the most reliable forms of hosting available and for several reasons.

The main advantage of using multiple cloud servers is that if one server is too busy with traffic requests, another can handle it step by step. This allows servers to respond efficiently to sudden traffic spikes without affecting website performance. For this reason, cloud hosting is the best choice for busy sites, which cannot afford sudden or extended downtime. .

Cloud hosting is also the best option for sites with heavy international traffic. Virtual servers and CDNs (Content Display Networks) can be deployed in multiple geographic locations. This means that when a user enters a domain name for a particular website, cloud hosting serves the site from a virtual server in the same region as that user. This has a positive impact on improving page loading and speed, ensuring a consistent user experience across multiple sites.

But where cloud hosting really comes into its own is scalability. It is the perfect solution for sites looking to increase traffic, as a hosting solution it can handle increased traffic to sites without subsequent performance degradation.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting occurs when a site is hosted on a single server and is the hosting choice for large sites with thousands of daily users. This form of web hosting is similar to owning your own on-premises server and usually includes full management services. Besides handling large amounts of traffic, the main advantage of dedicated web hosting is having full control over the server configuration and the operating software it uses.

In contrast, dedicated hosting is expensive and requires intensive management and maintenance. This means that any issues with your particular server will affect your site until resolved. This is a disadvantage that, for example, cloud hosting circumvents because its multiple servers allow more flexibility.

Hosting reseller

Used more as a source of income than a type of hosting, this form of hosting is unique. Reseller hosting is when a website owner buys server space, uses some of it, and then rents the rest out to another site. This can be driven by revenue and, in some cases, the use of unused server space.

Reseller hosting presents the same challenges as shared hosting, as it means dividing storage and bandwidth with multiple sites on a single server.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is not a specific type of hosting in itself, but refers to a service offered to those who choose cloud, dedicated, or VPS hosting. The service covers all installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and general server management and hosting arrangements.

Managed hosting is ideal for providing a complete service including data backup and full server and software management. For website owners, this often means peace of mind in terms of your site’s security and performance. Many web hosting providers, including Wishcarry, will include it as part of their service, regardless of the type of hosting customers choose (cloud, dedicated, or VPS).

Web hosting vs domain name

Web hosting and domain name are two separate entities that work together to deliver your website to users. While web hosting deals with where and how a website is stored and distributed online, a domain name is its address online. A domain name is essential for visitors to find your site, and it’s what triggers your server to deliver content to them.

Web hosting and a domain name are required to create a website. Although both can be purchased separately, many people prefer a website builder tool like Wishcarry where free cloud hosting is standard and you can create a custom domain name using the same service.

Essential Web Hosting Features

A reliable web hosting platform should include several key features. More importantly, the web hosting you choose can grow with your site. As your website grows, both in terms of content and traffic, you will need more storage space and bandwidth. Make sure your web hosting service is able to handle this increase, otherwise, your site’s functionality and performance may suffer.

It is increasingly important that your host can scale automatically. What does it mean? Let’s go back to our e-commerce example. Online stores are more sensitive to seasonal traffic spikes. This puts pressure on servers and can cause websites to go offline, preventing sales on the busiest day of the year for your business.

With a web hosting service that automatically scales hosting like Wishcarry, no matter how busy your site or server is, it will prove stable and reliable – so much so that you won’t even have to think about it.

01. Security

Every individual or business should have an understanding of the basics of cybersecurity. Attacks on websites through servers, including Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, are devastating and difficult to recover from. You need to be confident that your web hosting is secure enough to protect your site content, as well as user data and privacy.

With Wishcarry, free web hosting includes 24/7 security monitoring, as well as HTTPS and SSL certificate protection. Combined with an extensive bug bounty program and specific DDoS protection, you can rest assured that your site is safe from server-level threats. All Wishcarry sites are also protected by Transport Layer Security (TLS) which secures communication between your browser and Wishcarry servers. This eliminates the risk of website security breaches and protects your site from server downtime.

02. Server Reliability

Server reliability is critical to your website and ultimately the smooth running of your business, as downtime can have a detrimental effect on your site’s performance and usability. This will affect its search engine rankings and may result in search engine penalties. It can also prevent your site from working properly and prevent users from making sales or other calls to action.

To avoid this, choose a web hosting service with high uptime that will ensure your site is always connected and accessible. It should be able to handle global traffic (including locally deployed servers and CDNs) for optimal performance.

Even better, your host should be proactive in monitoring traffic and be able to circumvent spikes or outages that affect a particular server. Continuous monitoring of server performance is an important part of your host’s reliability.

03. Domain Name Hosting

While there’s usually no problem sourcing web hosting and domain names from different providers, the easiest way is to combine the two. Many website builders bundle these services together, which means they can be connected instantly without much hassle. A Wishcarry Premium plan, for example, includes a free domain name for your site, allowing you to start your branding journey with a professional, personalized domain name.

04. Scalable bandwidth and storage

Bandwidth refers to the number of bytes needed to transfer a site from the web host to users. So, when choosing a web hosting provider, it’s important to understand your storage and bandwidth needs.

If you’re building a content-heavy site, you may need more storage and bandwidth than is initially provided by your web host. Sites with lots of videos and images are good examples. Some web hosting plans impose a limit on bandwidth and once you reach the threshold, your traffic numbers may be capped.

05. Service d’assistance

Unless you’re a technical expert, there’s not much you need to do other than choose a secure and reliable option to maintain or manage your web hosting. A great website builder will take care of all of that for you and provide the professional technical support and customer service you need to help run your site.

06. Linked Email Accounts

Beyond security and reliability, it’s also a good idea to choose a host that allows you to integrate your site with business management. This can include hosting services, a domain name, and linked email accounts that share the same address.

Nothing improves your business more than aligning all of your assets online. When it comes to building a site, linked custom email accounts are becoming an essential feature of domain name generators as well as web hosting.

How to host a website?

Now that we’ve explained exactly what web hosting is and the main types available, here are four very simple steps to hosting a website:

01. Research the types of hosting available – including all possible hosted services

02. Choose the right type of hosting for your site

03. Select your hosting platform or provider

(In 2021, Wishcarry was named the 3rd best web hosting provider in the world, visit our Web Hosting Center to learn more.)

04. Decide and connect your domain name