Web design and web hosting are distinct tasks in building and maintaining a website. Web design involves creating web pages, while web hosting makes them available on the internet. Some hosting companies offer web design services, but they can be purchased separately from designers or combined from web design and hosting companies.
While both web design and web hosting are necessary tasks in building and maintaining a website, the two functions are very distinct in terms of how they are run and what they accomplish. Often offered as a dual service from the same provider, some people have come to believe that web design and hosting are one and the same. Here is some insight into what each business involves and how to get the right help with your web design and hosting needs.
Web design has to do with the creation of web pages themselves. In much the same way that typographers once arranged elements on a template used to create the individual pages of a newspaper, a web designer will combine different elements to create the desired effect. Elements such as text, graphics, images, font sizes and colors are all used to design and produce pages for a website that are informative and attractive. In a very real sense, a web designer is the creator of the website, as each page is designed individually while blending well with all the other pages that make up the site.
In contrast, web hosting is the process of making fully designed web pages available to anyone using the Internet. A web hosting company will contract with businesses and individuals to provide bandwidth and space on a server where the website can actually reside. As part of the hosting process, the web host will ensure that there is enough bandwidth to sustain the amount of traffic that regularly arrives at the website on a daily basis. Some of the best web hosting companies include automated checks and notifications to let site owners know when traffic is getting close to exceeding current bandwidth restrictions.
Part of the reason some people confuse web design and hosting is that a number of hosting companies also offer web design as part of their service packages. In some cases, the design is laid out as templates that site owners can use to create web pages. Other hosts offer full-time web designers who work one-on-one with clients to design pages from scratch. As a result, many business owners may choose to rely on a hosting company as much for their web design services as for the quality of their hosting capabilities.
You can purchase web design and hosting services from two different providers. A number of designers can be found online today, many of which offer the option of a free consultation session to determine if it’s right for the job. At the same time, web design and hosting companies are affordable, make it easier to ensure that the code used to design the site works with the hosting company, and can often be purchased for a lower combined fee. Anyone interested in building or repurposing an existing website should look into both options and determine which solution would work best.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
