All You Need To Know About Website Hosting

Are you planning to finally open a website in 2023 after years of mulling over it? Well, in order to have a website up and running and for people to be able to see it, you need website hosting. 

When setting up a website or planning to have one, there’s nothing better than having a complete guide to help you out along the way. 

As an overview, let's examine how websites function and how web hosting is related to them.

Web Hosting 101

To get a better understanding of which web hosting to go with, you need first to understand what web hosting is. 

Website hosting is an online service that enables websites to exist. It acts as a storage space where you upload your files, and data, on a server. Web hosting allows people to access the information that you are trying to share with them.

In other words, web hosts like Verpex let you rent out a space as well as resources on their servers so your website can exist. Once you choose a hosting plan, you will also need a domain name with which people can easily find your website. 

Domain name - Every website that people visit consists of two components, a web server and a domain name. The web server is the home of your website, while the domain name is the address. If you do not have a domain name, users won’t be able to locate your website.

Now let’s have a look at the different types of hosting solutions out there and how to choose one. 

Types of Web Hosting

There are several types of hosting solutions available. We are going to take a look at shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated hosting, and virtual private server hosting (VPS).

Shared hosting - If you are just starting off your first blog or business, or you already own a small business and want to expand your online presence, shared hosting is your top choice. The reason being is that usually, startups or small businesses have low-to-moderate traffic at the beginning, which is what shared hosting is ideal for. 

Shared hosting, as the name suggests, distributes server resources among users. Meaning there are multiple websites on the same shared server. Websites that have high traffic are not good for this type of hosting. They will hijack other users' resources, which can lead to higher downtime. Hosting providers will not allow that.

WordPress Hosting - If you are someone that already used WordPress as your platform, then WordPress hosting is a no-brainer. We all know that it offers its users a lot of options, especially those that are less tech-savvy. You can easily choose between different templates for designing your websites, and if you are up for it, you can ask a friend or a professional to customize your website to your needs.

WordPress hosting will allow all your website modifications to function flawlessly. It is the ideal solution since it is completely compatible and optimized for WordPress. 

Cloud Hosting - If you are someone that has already established some online presence and your website is growing, you should consider upgrading to cloud hosting. One of its well-known features is the instant scalability and no chance of going down. 

Since cloud hosting is a network of servers, if one server fails and goes down, another one will take on the operations. And what we mean by scalability is its easy upgrade and pay-as-you-go option. In other words, you only pay for the resources that you are using instead of paying for additional features that you might never use.

Dedicated Hosting - This type of hosting is known for its full administrative control of the server and complete root access. All the resources and the entire server are for yourself and your use only. You may customize anything as you see fit, ideally for mid-to-big corporations and businesses that are dealing with heavy volumes of traffic. 

VPS Hosting -  This hosting solution can be described as a better, higher version of shared hosting with dedicated hosting features. Just like dedicated hosting, you get to customize your server to your liking, the only difference being that you share the server but have your own resources on it. VPS is recommended for moderate-traffic businesses that do not require the power of dedicated hosting. 

Conclusion

Before choosing your hosting, take a  look at the features and characteristics of the above-mentioned hosting solutions. They are all unique in their own way, and with proper research, you will figure out which one is the best fit for you. Find out your website needs and wants, go over your budget and make a decision.