Web Hosting Basics: What You Need to Know

When you decide to build a birdhouse, the first step you take is to find blueprints and learn how its done. The same routine should be repeated when you are seeking out a reliable web host. This article will serve as your blueprints, explaining what you need to know before you begin the research needed to find a place to host your website.

Many people face a dilemma right away: do I use a free web host, or do I have to pay for one? Each offering has its own pros and cons, of course. A free host is, well, free, but you will have to put their ads on your site and won’t be able to place your own on any page. On top of that, you have no recourse if your website goes down, and if the website is lost, it is lost forever. Paying for a host ends both of these problems before they begin.

If you plan to go the paid route, you now have a second decision to make. Should you choose a virtual shared server, or buy your own server? A shared server is just like your computer at home, only many people have their websites on a single drive. Imagine that the drive is partitioned into many different sections, so your site is on C:, while Bob’s site is on D: and Eva’s site is on E:, etc. That means you all share the bandwidth, or the internet connection, and the RAM. If there is one site on the server which surges in popularity, all of the sites could possibly go down due to the increase in traffic.

If you have a small site which won’t have millions of people visiting per day, or you don’t mind a little down time here or there, then a shared server will be the best, most affordable option for you. If, on the other hand, you plan to run a store online, which therefore needs to be available 24/7, you need your own server. This is also the case if you plan to have millions of visitors or your site will be a bandwidth “hog”, such as a site which offers streaming video.

There is another option for hosting today which is different than all the rest. Cloud hosts offer your website in what is basically a shared environment, only the set-up is totally dynamic. Your site is hosted on many different machines at one time, so it is not only guaranteed to be available at all times, but it can scale up dynamically with your server needs. For example, if you are mentioned on CNN and your visitor count rises exponentially, your site won’t go down because of the crush of popularity. Instead, more servers will be added as necessary until you have enough to meet your needs.

Now that you know a bit about web hosting and what your choices are, you are better able to make a decision about where to host your site. Now you should have the confidence necessary to find a great company and get your site up on the web. All you have to do is get to work to do it.