In simple words, Web Hosting is how a website is stored “on” the internet. A Web Host provides the necessary storage space for a website. Websites need to be stored somewhere so that people can easily and quickly access it.
A Web Host is a company that owns and maintains Web Servers with the purpose of hosting web sites. Web Servers are computers that are part of a network that enable you to access content via the internet any time, day or night. You rent space from these companies and in return they will maintain and service the server. Find the below break-down steps to understand the basic Web Hosting needs.
Let’s break it down into steps.
Step 1. – Requirement Study
If you are looking for a small website with static pages you should consider a basic Web Hosting. Most of the web hosts provide PHP and MySQL. If you need ASP or MSSQL, you should consider it. your site will work on a Shared Hosting, or do you need VPS or Dedicated Servers? If your site is going to be large with a couple hundred thousand visitors, choosing a Shared Hosting plan will only cause you problems. In this case you need to think about the VPS or Dedicated solutions.
Step2. – cPanel or easy to use administration interface
cPanel is the most used and probably the most intuitive user interface. You can change settings, setup email addresses or use other services through cPanel.
Step3. – Email addresses? How many?
If you want to have an email address like you@yourdomain.com, you have to look for a host that provides Email Hosting also. If you want to have a business site, the number of email addresses are important as well.
Step 4. – FTP Access
With FTP you can upload your files much faster than on the administration panel. It can be a time saver. If you have multiple people editing your site, the number of FTP accounts is important. It means that you can give your employees a different access, for example, for a specific library to upload, so they only have access to that one library.
Step 5. – Space and Traffic
When your site grows quickly, you will need more space and traffic. If your provider doesn't give you space to grow, you can find yourself in a situation when you have to move your site. That can be a lot of work, but you can save it if you choose a good hosting plan at the beginning.
Step 6. – Customer Service
This is perhaps the most important step. If your site becomes unreachable/down and you want to have it fixed immediately! Imagine that you cannot reach your Web Hosting company or the long wait after creating the support ticket. So when you are looking for a Web Hosting provider, make sure the host is available when you require them to be.