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4 Different Types of Web Hosting Explained

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Rima Chandra
4 Different Types of Web Hosting Explained

From running a business to blogging, everyone wants to create an online presence because, in an increasingly digitized world, the bigger the online presence, the larger the customer reach. To this end, websites are the magic bullet. However, to publish a website online, it has to be hosted on a web server.

So now, what is web hosting?

Web Hosting Explained

The article will take you through the process of web hosting and the different types of web hosting.

How are Websites Hosted?

Websites are hosted on web servers, which can be hardware or software; they act as a storage place for your website. All the data, such as images, videos, HTML documents, CSS stylesheets, Javascript files are stored on the servers. It also has an HTTP server that understands the URL typed (or the domain name) and finds the requested content that the end-user needs.

Imagine you have a website, and a user types your domain name in the browser. For example, a user types “xyz.com” in the browser. The computer connects to the server and the pages stored on these servers are displayed on the user’s computer screen.

Apart from this, when you want to host your website, there are several types of web hosting servers and platforms like Linux and Windows to choose from.

Web Hosting Provider

A web hosting provider offers the service of hosting websites. Usually, they offer more than just hosting services. Other services include:

  • Creating email accounts with domain names
  • File Transfer Protocol access if the client wants to transfer HTML files from the computer to the webserver
  • Hosting domains on WordPress sites
  • Issuing free SSL certificates

While choosing a hosting provider, go for the web hosting provider who offers all the services and support you need to run your website without any hassles.

Types of Web Hosting

Now that you know that websites are hosted on servers, let’s dive into the types of web hosting. When it comes to web hosting, different types of web hosting will do the job. The question of choice boils down to your needs in terms of:

  • Server speed
  • Storage capacity
  • Control
  • Prerequisite of technical knowledge

The following sections will help you understand the most common types of web hosting to choose which one is the right fit for you.

1. Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the simplest type of web hosting. As the name suggests, a website hosted in a shared hosting plan shares a server with other websites. Therefore, the operating costs are shared by multiple parties bringing down the costs.

It’s a great entry-level option of web hosting because it requires very little time to configure. However, all the websites in this plan share the same CPU, RAM, and other resources with other websites on the same server; so, when there is a spike in web traffic or usage, it will result in compromised user experience. Therefore, shared hosting makes an excellent choice for beginners and websites that do not see high traffic.

2. Virtual Private Server Hosting

When hosted on a Virtual Private Server (VPS), though a website shares a physical server as in shared hosting, the website has its own space on the server. Thus, it eliminates the bad neighbor effect—as it happens with shared hosting—where a site suffers from downtime or slow loading speed because another website hogs the server’s resources. With VPS, even if one website goes down, other websites will remain unaffected and stable. So, this is ideal for websites that have outgrown a shared hosting plan in terms of traffic.

VPS hosting is affordable and gives as much control as a dedicated server. It also allows website owners to enjoy more customization and storage space. Overall, VPS is an optimal choice for website owners who need particular software but does not possess the technical knowledge. It is also a great option for businesses that want high uptime and fast loading speed.

3. Dedicated Server Hosting

In this type of web hosting, website owners pay to rent the entire server where the website is stored. Since there are no other websites to share the server, the website loading time is fast; the website also benefits from high uptime.

Though website owners have complete technical control over security, operating system, and configuration, they need technical expertise to install and manage the servers. However, some web hosting providers offer various levels of control that one can choose from, like: self-managed, managed or fully-managed. Therefore, dedicated server hosting is a perfect choice for websites with a high volume of traffic and website owners who need control of the server.

4. Cloud Hosting

In recent years, this type of web hosting has been gaining popularity in the technology world. In this type of hosting, there’s no single physical server; the resources for a website are taken from multiple servers. Data are stored in the cloud across several computers and accessed through a network of servers.

Since there is no tangible server that a website depends on, there are no constraints that are present in the physical server. For example, it has a high uptime even when there is huge traffic. It is also easily scalable, and the website owners pay only for the resources they use making it the right fit for website owners who are looking for a scalable option.

Selecting a hosting package can be pretty intimidating as there are a lot of things to consider. Hopefully, this article helped you to differentiate between the different types of web hosting and what you can expect from each. Apart from choosing the hosting package, choosing the right web host provider is also essential for a smooth experience.

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