What is Web Hosting?

If you have made a decision to launch your own site, but are not very certain about what a website is and are not aware of the term "web hosting", this article is dedicated to clarifying these notions in plain language.

What precisely is a website?

A website is an amalgamation of webpages gathered in a systematic fashion. It has a unique web address, also known as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A site may be comprised of only one single web page and sometimes may even be comprised of as many as one thousand webpages.

What is a web hosting server?

A hosting server enables you to upload your web site onto it. In some cases, there might be even thousands of websites on a single hosting server. The hosting server basically is a computer with special hardware, which is situated in a data center facility with special cooling systems, whose task is to ensure the smooth operation of the machine and all the web sites located on it.

In short, a hosting server will be indeed a launch pad when the time comes for you to launch your website. It could be any type of web site - a business site having a large number of pages, or a web site, which consists of just a few pages and which you have created simply for your associates and family members.

You've decided what your site will be, now what?

Once you have reached a decision about what type of site you wish to develop, the next move is to find out what type of web hosting service you must pick for your online project. Essentially, there are two kinds of website hosting services - charge-free website hosting services and paid hosting services. The free-of-cost website hosting solution is usually utilized by persons that do not have a business-related web site.

Pros and cons of the charge-free hosting solution

You will not receive plenty of features with a free-of-cost website hosting package. Features such as traffic, RAM memory and web content space are restricted and insufficient for a complex ecommerce site or a corporate site, or even for a web site with a lot of graphics. Moreover, there are lots of banners placed on your website by the hosting provider. These ads take up lots of space on your website and are very annoying.

Shared hosting

The paid shared hosting services tend to be more dependable and offer plenty of powerful features aside from the high-powered web hosting server that will accommodate your website and its files. Nevertheless, it is essential to find out which features your site demands prior to choosing your web hosting plan. You should not rush and end up paying for something that your site does not need.

Pick your web hosting solutions provider

It is not tough to find a hosting accounts provider. You have to simply conduct an online search in order to find a web hosting provider that meets your web site's demands. Before you take your actual choice, take a peek at the parameters of the packages provided by the web hosting companies that have impressed you. We, for example, are among the top-notch hosting distributors on the marketplace today. The immense range of hosting solutions and our prices are what renders us an alluring option. Yet, you must ascertain what type of hosting service you need and if the price fits your budget. Also, you must not forget to take a look at the provider's Terms of Service prior to registering to confirm that your web site is not abusing them.

Opening a hosting account

Once you have determined what features are optimal for your site, the next step is to sign up for an account with the hosting plans provider of your choosing. You will gain all the important tools for handling your web site files and databases. With us, for example, you will obtain a web hosting Control Panel, which contains domain name, website, database and email management sections. You log into the web hosting Control Panel using a unique user name and password, which gives you safe access to the part of the server where your website will be located.

Uploading your site

You can either upload your files through FTP client software or, as is with most web hosting service providers, via an online tool that is integrated within the web hosting Control Panel. With us, the File Manager is pretty user-friendly and offers features similar to those found in Windows Explorer, which renders file management exceptionally easy. We offer also a site building tool and a PHP script installation tool, which you can utilize to build your site if you possess no programming skills and are taking your first steps in web design. The web-based website builder, dubbed SiteStudio, will also spare you the time and effort of creating a website on your PC and then uploading it using an FTP client or the File Manager interface.