Web Hosting Explained: Guide For Beginners 2024

What is web hosting?

Websites are built by using files, code, images and applications, all of which needed to be stored on servers. Web hosts provide, configure and maintain the physical or virtual servers that store all the resources needed to build and run a website, in addition to other features.

Individuals, small businesses, startups, large enterprises and government organizations all use web hosting platforms. Web hosting providers generally offer features such as scalable storage, compute and bandwidth, security protocols, backups, technical support and other customizable options to meet user needs. Some providers also offer services such as DNS registration and configuration or access to a content distribution network (CDN).

It is common for web hosting platforms to offer various types of hosting packages with different levels of service based on customer needs. Overall cost is determined by several factors, including:

The amount of storage space and computing capacity allocated to the organization

The degree to which the site shares computing resources with other sites or is isolated from the impact of other sites sharing the same resources

The additional capabilities and services offered (for example, the number of email inboxes included with the domain name and blogging capabilities)

The degree of control and flexibility offered (for example, which operating system (OS) and content management system is used, or whether support for special web applications is included)

The extent to which the organization manages the website or has the service provider manage it

For example, an organization can choose a full do-it-yourself approach and keep the building, configuration management and maintenance of their websites in-house, only renting the server space needed to host website files and applications. Such organizations might choose to request root access, giving them the ability to make system-level and configuration changes. Or an organization can choose a full-service approach that includes building, designing and managing the digital marketing, email server, search engine optimization (SEO) and security of a site, in addition to hosting.

How web hosting works?

Web hosting plans are offered by internet service providers (ISP), specialized web hosting service providers and cloud service providers. A web hosting provider creates space on a server, or provides a dedicated server, to host a client’s website or web applications. 

The hosting provider provides a dashboard where the client can manage their websites and applications. The provider also provides access to resources such as CPU, RAM, bandwidth, security features, email management and more. The service level of the organization’s hosting plan generally dictates the type and amount of resources that the organization can access.

Hosting options vary depending on workloads, the technical requirements of a business or website and business objectives. When choosing a web hosting solution, enterprises can decide between several hosting options including shared hosting, dedicated hosting and virtual private server (VPS) hosting. 

In deciding, organizations consider whether internal IT operations (ITOps) teams will manage a website or if they expect the service provider to manage it.

Some web hosting companies provide domain registration—reserving the URL address that the organization plans to use—if the organization has not already done so. Some also offer domain name system (DNS) registration, hosting and configuration. DNS, the “phonebook of the internet,” converts human-friendly domain names into internet protocol addresses. DNS makes it possible for users to type a domain name into a web browser and connect with the website and content they are looking for. DNS hosting provides the authoritative name server for a website. This server makes the website available over the internet and connects users to the website.

Web hosting features?

Think of a web hosting provider as a management company that oversees web pages and offers various hosting tiers that provide different levels of service. Different types of web hosting platforms are available, including free web hosting options.

For example, organizations that require a specific operating system or content management system, operate high traffic sites, need a large amount of storage space or store data that is subject to high regulation and compliance standards will be priced at a higher tier.

For individuals and small businesses building their own sites, free web hosting platforms are an option. But these often come with many limitations on usage, storage space and speed. Organizations need to choose which option is most appropriate for their business.

Depending on the web hosting provider and the plan purchased by the customer, specific features might be included in standard packages, or offered as add-ons and plug-ins. Web hosting features include:

• Storage and compute resources
• Control panel or dashboard
• Bandwidth allowance
• Uptime guarantees
• Security
• Email management
• File transfer protocol
• Content management system
• Technical support

 

Types of web hosting

Types of web hosting include:

1. Shared hosting
2. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting
3. Dedicated hosting

1. Shared hosting-

In shared hosting plans, a service provider hosts the website along with others on a shared server. Server resources such as CPU, RAM, storage space and web server software are shared and allocated across several sites. Each of these components factor into the speed and quality users experience when using a website. Shared hosting plans tend to be less expensive since resources are shared with other website owners.

The downside of shared hosting is that spikes in traffic to one website can cause other sites on the server to experience higher latency, which can slow site performance. Generally, shared hosting does not offer many opportunities for customizing server configurations.

For personal websites and blog pages, businesses with a relatively low volume of transactions and sites with few security and compliance requirements, shared hosting is often an efficient and cost-effective option. Businesses with higher or more precise demands, e-commerce sites with high traffic volumes and other online businesses might need to explore hosting options that offer greater capabilities.

2. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting-

 

VPS hosting takes advantage of the partitioning capabilities of virtual servers to divide the computing power of a physical server. Like in shared hosting, multiple virtual servers share the resources of the same physical server. 

However, virtual servers have the unique ability to run on an independent operating system and reserve resources such as computing power, storage and memory for a specific function. This means that the activity of other virtual servers is far less likely to impact the performance of a website with a dedicated virtual server.

Virtual private servers, like shared servers, are a type of multitenant cloud hosting that offers virtualized server resources through the internet via a cloud or hosting provider. VPS hosting offers more configurable system options and controls than shared hosting without the high costs associated with dedicated hosting.

3. Dedicated hosting-

 

Dedicated hosting provides exclusive access to a physical server. Enterprises get full control over system and application software, can customize setup to meet organizational requirements and partition the server to host multiple domains. Because resources are not shared, the demands of other tenants do not impact service and security. This exclusivity also enables IT teams to resolve problems more quickly.

While dedicated hosting provides greater reliability and more customization and optimization capabilities, it is the most expensive model for website hosting. For one, in a dedicated hosting model, one organization is footing the bill for the whole server. In addition, the organization must maintain the server, and possess the in-house technical skill to do so—also costly. Enterprises should be conscious that scaling a dedicated server requires more planning, time and resources that scaling cloud resources in virtual servers. Because of these factors, this arrangement is usually most appropriate for large, established enterprises.