When we want to create a website, our first task is to choose a hosting. We see different types of web hosting offers on social media. If you do not have a complete idea about web hosting, there is a possibility of easily falling victim to scams and buying cheap hosting services. Buying the wrong hosting will not only cost you money, but it will also waste a lot of your time. If you do not want to deal with such annoying problems before publishing your service online, this article will help you get a complete idea about web hosting.

What is web hosting?

Every website stores a lot of data such as images, text, videos, etc. Now, storage is needed to store all this information or files. The main function of the memory card or hard drive in our mobile or computer is to store files. From where we can use the files as needed or delete unnecessary files. Just as files are stored in the storage of a computer or mobile. Similarly, a website needs storage to store files. And this storage facility is provided by web hosting or server. That is, the storage system used to store files related to the website or web app is called web hosting.

Simply put, hosting is a computer with many hard disks. Where there is a motherboard, processor, RAM, storage, etc. and the entire computer is connected to the internet. The information and data of our website are stored on the hard disk of that computer.

When we enter the website, our personal computer is connected to the server computer via the internet. In this, we can browse the images, audio, video, text, etc. files on our server.

In short, hosting is a system where server space is rented to store website data. It is where all the files and databases of a website are stored and can be visited from anywhere in the world using the internet.

What are the types of web hosting?

There are some common hosting systems in use in the world today. Below is a discussion of the types of web hosting and what they are.

Shared hosting

Shared web hosting is a bit like a bachelor’s house with one room. Just as a bachelor’s house has many tenants at the same time, a shared web hosting service has many users. Currently, shared hosting is very popular for creating personal or blog websites.

The main reason for creating shared web hosting is to provide services at a low price. Because in a bachelor’s house, a common room, bathroom, and kitchen are shared by everyone. Similarly, in shared hosting, a specific server is shared and used by several customers.

In this, server resources such as processing power, RAM, and storage are divided among each user. In the panel that you will be given from the hosting service, you can see the resources allocated to you, but you cannot increase or decrease them as you wish. Because in shared hosting, the hosting provider manages everything himself.

You can use this service even if you have no idea about security or hosting management. It is usually very convenient for very basic users to use shared hosting services.

Dedicated hosting

Once upon a time, there was a chips advertisement on BTV where the actor took a packet of chips and closed the door of the room and said, “If you want to eat alone, eat with the door closed.” In the advertisement, the actor uses this method so that he does not have to give his share of chips to anyone.

Dedicated hosting is just such a thing. That is, dedicated hosting is completely different from shared hosting. In shared hosting, a specific server is shared among all the users. Due to which there are some problems with this server. Although shared hosting can be used to host small websites, dedicated hosting is required to host large or high-traffic websites.

Although in shared hosting a server is shared among everyone, in dedicated server, an entire server resource is allocated to one user. That is, in dedicated hosting service, you will be given the resources and storage as per your requirement. You can increase or decrease the server resources depending on your budget.

Suppose you have an e-commerce website that gets 100,000 visitors per month. Now, to run such a website, you will need at least 30 GB of space and unlimited bandwidth. If it is less than this, the server will respond slowly if the website receives more hits, which will annoy the visitors.

Dedicated servers are usually more applicable to advanced users. However, in recent times, hosting provider companies are offering two types of dedicated servers, considering the users.

Managed hosting: The provider sets up the entire server. Especially the network, space, security, etc., and configures the necessary software, from installing it. This saves you from the hassle of setting up or configuring the server. Hosting companies add extra charges to their services to configure these.

Unmanaged server: Unmanaged servers are for experienced people. That is, if you are experienced in hosting management including network management, then you can take an unmanaged server. Because we feel more comfortable in a room decorated according to our own preferences than in a room decorated according to others’ preferences. Similarly, you can configure an unmanaged dedicated server according to your own preferences. Since you do not have to spend extra to configure the server, the total server cost will be saved a little.

VPS hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) is an advanced form of shared hosting. A VPS server can be compared to a room inside a building. Suppose you have bought a flat inside that building from a builder. Where you have separate electricity, water and gas connections allocated for you.

Now you do not have to share anything from the facilities allocated for you with the members of other flats neighboring that flat. Every room in your flat is under your own control and you can decorate or modify the rooms as you wish, and your neighbours cannot interfere with it.

VPS hosting is such a thing. Here you get a personal hosting space which is under your control only. Here you can do everything as you wish. That is, here you can host a website or host more than one service. In this, you do not have to share your resources with any other user.

That is, a VPS server works like a dedicated server within a shared server. Although it is cheaper than a dedicated server, the functionality is like a dedicated server. Moreover, in VPS hosting, you are given root access, so you can install or remove software as you want.

On the other hand, VPS servers are run by a virtual operating system. Which uses virtualization technology to connect to the host. Although a virtual private server looks like a physical server, it is actually not. Using a virtual operating system, software creates an environment with hardware that makes it seem to the user that they are directly using a server in the data center.

Cloud hosting

Load balancing and uptime judge the good or bad of a web hosting. How effective and user-friendly a server is is determined by its uptime and load handling ability.

And here there is no alternative to cloud hosting. Because cloud hosting is not like traditional hosting servers. Here, instead of using a single server, multiple servers are used to create hosting services.

A specific server space gateway is used to host websites on other servers. In this, the user can only use the resources allocated for that server. But in the cloud hosting system, a centralized resource pool system is used. In this, the website shares resources from several interconnected servers instead of a specific server.

In this, even if a server crashes, the website loads from another server without any problem. Cloud servers are currently taking over the entire hosting market due to its security, unlimited space, uninterrupted resource share system and other reasons.

WordPress hosting

WordPress hosting is a sub-category of web hosting. This hosting is actually like other hosting but it has some different features. WordPress hosting is mainly designed to host websites built on WordPress.

It has all the features that are only needed to run WordPress websites. That is, the hosting provider provides hosting services that target only WordPress users. WordPress hosting is configured to run only WordPress-based websites. You cannot run Shopify, Joomla, HTML websites if you want.

WordPress hosting is divided into two categories based on configuration, such as shared WordPress hosting and managed WordPress hosting.

Reseller hosting

Reseller hosting is mainly a business model. Hosting companies open up hosting for resale in order to develop their services and increase business profits. Reseller hosting is buying hosting from the hosting company and selling it directly to the customer.

Usually, hosting providers separate some space from their main server space, configure it for resale, and rent it to the reseller based on a specific control panel. For this reason, the person or organization that takes the reseller does not have to create, operate, support, or manage any other server. The main company will do all this and the reseller will get some commission from the middle.

After all, reseller hosting is reselling the hosting services of hosting providers using the affiliation method.

Co-location hosting

Co-location hosting is basically server housing. In this hosting system, a third-party data center company allows you to access physical servers located inside their building. That is, suppose you have a website that has a lot of important data that you do not want anyone else to access. You want that data to be on your own server and the operator you hire to manage that server.

Now it will cost a lot to build and maintain such a server. Now if you can do the same job inside an established data center using their modern equipment and security, then the problem is solved.

Nowadays, many organizations have started using co-location services to keep their data safe. To use co-location hosting, you need to have your own operator where your server will be kept. You will need a one-time cost along with equipment movement and other things. Apart from that, managing co-location hosting is a very expensive affair.

How does web hosting work?

To create a website, the first thing you need is a domain name. That is, the name we will call the website is determined by the domain name. Then to keep the website, we will need hosting.

We have already learned that hosting is a medium where all the files of the website can be stored. When you enter the domain name in the web browser, that website takes data from the hosting and displays it in front of us.

So web-hosting works mainly depending on different packages. When you go to buy any hosting, you will see that different packages are created depending on the processing power, memory power and storage capacity.

Basically, Web Hosting works depending on RAM, processor core, storage and bandwidth. These things are maintained by hosting management software which helps the server to work in different parts.

Advantages and disadvantages of web hosting

Web hosting is a great thing for every online based service. In this current technology era, there is no alternative to web hosting. Despite its many advantages, some of its disadvantages are given below.

Benefits of web hosting

• Accessibility: Due to web-hosting, we can access our website or web application from any part of the world through the Internet. Which helps us to establish communication with the people of the world.
• Affordable: Web hosting services are currently available at very affordable prices. Due to the low price, large companies as well as small companies or ordinary people can buy hosting and publish their services or websites online.
• Scalability: We can use web hosting within our budget by increasing or decreasing the space as needed. This allows us to get the desired results without spending extra.
• Technical Support: Many technical problems have to be solved to manage a website. If you do not have experience in the related sector, you will have to face a lot of losses. To overcome this problem, every web hosting provider provides technical support.
• Full Service Control: In web hosting services, the user will have full control over the functionality including website design, development.

Disadvantages of web hosting

• Downtime: While using web services, you have to deal with downtime problems due to server complexity. For this, you have to look at 99% uptime while taking hosting services.
• Security: Nowadays, almost all hosting providers use high-quality security systems. However, to buy hosting at a low price, we go to cheap providers where there is no good quality security support. Due to this, our website is subject to malware attacks and virus attacks.
• Resource scarcity: There are some web server plans where you are given a certain amount of bandwidth, storage and processing power. In all these web hosting services, you cannot use anything except the resources allocated for you. Therefore, if your site requires more resources, the site will crash or be down for some time.
• Dependency: How your website or service will perform depends entirely on the hosting company. If their hardware and software support is weak, then you will not be able to upgrade it from your place. You have to depend on the provider for all these tasks.
• Limited Customization Access: A web hosting company will never give you full access to their service. They will only give you the customizations they need. This means that not all hosting providers will allow you to install all kinds of scripts or software on your server.

Web hosting is a modern and dynamic technology that has made the internet so beautiful and informative. In the above discussion, we have gained a detailed understanding of the types of web hosting and its advantages and disadvantages along with its requirements.

Get 20% Extra Discount with My Referral Link

If you are considering Hostinger for your website, I have a special link that offers you an additional 20% discount on top of their current pricing. This is a great opportunity to start with a reliable and affordable hosting service while saving money. Simply use this link to claim your discount offer:
Hostinger 20% Discount Offer