You’re thinking about creating a website for your company, but you’re stuck on which type of hosting to go with.
Choosing a web hosting business is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make. There are a lot of options available, and deciding which one is ideal for you might be difficult.
When picking a web hosting company, there are numerous things to consider, but the most crucial are performance – speed and uptime.
Aside from performance, you should look for dependable customer service (ideally with 24/7 live chat), domain name, backups, site migration, and, of course, inexpensive cost.
It can be difficult to decide which option is best for the website you have in mind when there are so many to select from. Let’s take a look at how hosting works, and then we’ll look at all of your website hosting options.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting, in simple terms, is an online content storage service that allows websites to be accessed over the internet.
If you develop your website with a site builder, web hosting will most likely be included in your plan; but, if you use WordPress, you will need to pay web hosting separately.
In other words, web hosting is the process of making your website available for others to view on the internet. You can achieve this with the help of a web hosting service or provider (also known as a web host).
The servers that host the website are turned on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Web hosting businesses are in charge of these servers. Each server is assigned a unique IP address.
Due to the difficulty of remembering IP addresses, webmasters point their domain name to the IP address of the server where their website is hosted.
When someone visits your website and clicks on a link or types the URL into their browser, they’re requesting to connect to your web server.
When this request is accepted, the web server returns the requested web page file together with any associated files. This is what causes your website to appear in the browser of a visitor.
What are the different types of web hosting?
For small, medium, and large businesses, there are a variety of hosting solutions to consider. Let’s look at some of the most popular ones.
- Shared Hosting
The hosting business puts thousands of websites on the same physical server in shared hosting. Each customer is given a certain amount of physical web space and a certain amount of bandwidth.
Because all websites share the same physical memory, MySQL server, and Apache server, a high-traffic website on the server will effect the performance of all other websites on the server. - Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
VPS hosting is a little more expensive than shared hosting, but it’s great if your website gets a lot of traffic on a regular basis.
Even while VPS hosting is technically still a sort of shared hosting, it simulates having a dedicated server exclusively for your website. - Dedicated Server Hosting
A single dedicated server is set up for just one customer in this type of hosting. Businesses that require the power, management, and security that a dedicated server provides frequently use it.
This implies your company has complete control of your server’s operations, security, and everything else. - Managed Hosting
Managed hosting entails the web host taking care of your server’s operation, security, and maintenance so you don’t have to.
This is perfect for small firms who don’t have or don’t want to pay someone who knows how to manage a web server. - Cloud Hosting
A virtual server is used to host websites in cloud hosting. Traditional web hosting services, on the other hand, often hold one or more websites on a single physical server.
The public cloud, which is similar to a shared server and consists of a group of networked machines, is one of your options. Because the hardware is shared among numerous virtualised accounts, the resource’s cost is shared as well.
What is a dedicated web server?
A dedicated server is a very powerful hosting option that gives the user complete control over the server’s hardware and software. Renting a dedicated server can be expensive, and maintaining one needs a high level of expertise.
Many websites are tiny enough to be served from a machine shared by a number of customers, referred to as shared hosting. A larger site with a lot of visitors, on the other hand, can suffer with the shared arrangement’s speed, memory, or bandwidth limits.
Dedicated servers help websites with high traffic demands to provide a constant and reliable user experience (UX) to its visitors, even during peak periods.
Dedicated servers also allow you complete control over the specifications of your server, including the software it runs and the security infrastructure it employs.
Unlike shared hosting, dedicated hosting typically does not include maintenance, management, or security as part of the basic subscription.
These additional services can be purchased at a higher cost, but major firms are more likely to have in-house resources and team members to manage it. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive choice overall.
What are the top features of dedicated web hosting?
When considering upgrading to a hosted dedicated server, keep in mind that not all dedicated servers are created equal, and neither are the hosting solutions provided by service providers.
We’ve compiled a list of the most important characteristics to look for when choosing a service because it might be tough to know what to search for. They should hopefully give you a better idea of what to look for.
- Technical Support
When your hosting server goes down or has any technical concerns, the first person you should contact is the technical support team. This technical assistance must be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and easily accessible by mail or phone. - Server Management
Most SMEs pick dedicated server hosting as their web hosting solution because of its reliability. A team of IT experts monitors and maintains a fully managed dedicated server, ensuring a strong online presence and enterprise-grade site performance. - Security
Security is the most appealing feature of dedicated hosting. This type of hosting is ideal for all mission-critical websites since it provides unrivaled security. Users with dedicated hosting have the option of installing firewalls or anti-malware solutions. - Scalability
On-demand performance is guaranteed with a dedicated host. A WordPress server with a MySQL database and an Apache and PHP front end is an example of a server with several responsibilities. The dedicated server will be able to handle a large amount of overhead as the company grows. - Backups & Restoration
Everything on your website should be securely backed up on a server separate from the primary server. Some hosting services additionally offer scheduled off-site backups, so you don’t have to bother about backing up your website’s data manually.
What are the benefits of using dedicated web hosting?
A dedicated server allows a company to create a workload-optimized IT environment while maintaining complete control over the hosting setup.
These single-tenant servers offer a significant advance over shared hosting in terms of performance, dependability, scalability, and security.
Because they are not sharing capacity with several clients and instead have complete responsibility for all aspects, including hardware ownership, a company that chooses this option will have more freedom in terms of pricing plans.
There are numerous other benefits to having dedicated web hosting! Let’s take a look at it more closely.
- Full Server Control
You have complete control over the device with dedicated servers. This means you have a wide range of operating systems, content management systems, database formats, and other possibilities.
You also have more control on uptime by deciding whether or not to upgrade or make other changes. - Professional Management
The key benefit of dedicated hosting is that it is professionally handled. Your site will be routinely monitored, maintained, and updated by the host.
When you purchase a dedicated server, the hardware belongs to the supplier, not to you. In most circumstances, though, you have a choice of where to put the server. - Reliable Performance
When you share a server, the performance of your website is directly influenced by the performance of other sites on the same server.
Fortunately, if you choose dedicated web hosting, you won’t have any problems with this. You won’t have to worry about sharing the server’s resources with others, which might jeopardise the server’s stability. - Unique IP Address
Dedicated hosting gives the server its own IP address, which it only shares with one site. A unique IP address is essential for an e-commerce site that handles credit cards. It assures the safety of not just the website but also the customers who visit it. - Quick Customization
Dedicated hosting gives the server its own IP address, which it only shares with one site. A unique IP address is essential for an e-commerce site that handles credit cards. It assures the safety of not just the website but also the customers who visit it.
How to Choose the Best Hosting for Your Website?
You want to be sure you’re obtaining a decent and dependable hosting service when you’re shopping for one. When picking a web host, there are numerous aspects to consider, but there are several characteristics that all excellent and reputable hosts should meet.
Some of the most significant factors to consider when selecting a web hosting company are listed below, which will also assist you in selecting the best web hosting package for your website:
- Your Data Needs
Before considering a web host, think about how much data you’ll need, how much traffic and bandwidth you’ll need, and how much storage you’ll need. Because not all hosts are made equal, it’s critical to choose the proper one for you.
You’ll need a host with plenty of storage and bandwidth if you have a lot of data to store or expect a lot of traffic. Any simple web server will suffice if you don’t have a lot of data or traffic. - Server Uptime
The only way your business and website are useful is when they are accessible and visible to your users 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Longer durations of website downtime can jeopardise your website’s success and perhaps cause users to abandon it. Furthermore, if your website is frequently down, your search engine rankings may suffer as a result. - Subscription Period
When it comes to contract lengths, many web hosting companies provide a variety of possibilities. Monthly and yearly plans, as well as discounted pricing for multi-year contracts, are likely to be available.
This means you’ll need to consider how long you’re willing to commit ahead of time. It’s often a good idea to check out a new host for a few months to get a feel for it. - Server Security
When looking for a web host, you should think about the server’s security. Some hosts are less secure than others, and picking an unsecured host could put your website at risk.
DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks, malware, and other security breaches can all affect servers. You can ensure the safety of your website and data by knowing potential dangers and taking steps to minimize them. - Customer Support
Any company’s backbone is its customer service solution. As a customer, you must assess whether your selected web host provides customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and through which channels.
Most hosting companies provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week via tickets, live chat, and phone calls. We recommend that you double-check that these services are genuinely available at the times stated on their website.