Web hosting is renting server space to store data for a website. Different types of hosting are available, including free and dedicated options. Prices vary, and there are other considerations such as restrictions on content and privacy policies.
Web hosting is a method by which a person or business rents a server to store data used to view a website, accessed via the Internet. Every website that can be found and accessed online is hosted on some type of server or similar machine, and various companies offer a number of different methods for this hosting. These can include free hosting for people who don’t need many options, as well as dedicated systems that are more expensive but provide more control.
Basic functionality
Servers are powerful computers that have extremely large hard drives, or an array of hard drives, that can be rented out to those who want a website on the Internet. Every server on the Internet has a unique numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address. If the servers act as metaphorical condominiums with unique addresses, each housing unit within these buildings rents space for individual websites. Just like real condos, each unit also has an address based on the “building” it’s in, which is the IP address for a particular website.
When a person or business rents out server space through web hosting, then it’s basically “setting up your home” on the Internet. That website can be reached from a unique address, which is based on the server address. Most people type in a domain name to find a site, like “www.wisegeek.com,” but the actual address is a number that corresponds to that particular site.
Tips on hosting
There are many different types of web hosting available, depending on a person’s needs and budget. Most commercial packages come with certain user features, such as scripts that enable interactive features, forums, or email addresses. Shared hosting services provide multiple users with data storage on a single system. Dedicated systems, which are usually more expensive, give each user a unit or server dedicated exclusively to their site, providing faster speeds and more powerful options. There are also “virtual” dedicated systems, which use software to mimic the power of dedicated methods in a more practical and shared system.
Hosting prices
Prices for web hosting vary widely, including free options for personal websites that don’t require special tools and have low traffic. Free web hosting is affordable but has some drawbacks. Usually, it includes the presence of advertisements on a website hosted on a free system, such as “banner ads” at the top of the page or “pop-ups”. Most free hosting services offer an alternative plan that removes such ads for a monthly fee.
For business purposes, there are also web hosting services that offer commercial packages and business tool packages, such as online “point of sale” packages and credit card processing. The amount of storage space for website data and utilities such as website email addresses also tends to vary depending on the pricing of a service. Free services often create website addresses as extensions of the server address, such as “www.examplewebhost.com/hostedwebsite”. A business or individual who simply wants something like “www.example.com” usually has to pay to register that domain name in addition to paid hosting.
More concerns
There are other considerations when looking for web hosting aside from price. Some hosting services have policies that restrict certain content, script languages, and other features. Webmasters should also read the privacy policy of any hosting service they consider using, to see how the company might use the personal or professional information you provide to them.
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