Web hosting is an online service that allows you to launch your website on the internet. A server is a physical computer that runs without interruption, ensuring your website is available all the time, and anyone can access it from anywhere in the world.

A web hosting service lets you rent some space on a physical server to store all the files and data your website needs to work correctly

How Does Web Hosting Work?

Once you decide to start a new website, you need to find a hosting provider to deliver the server space you need. When you sign up for a web hosting service, your web host becomes responsible for running and maintaining the server on which your website will be hosted.

They are the ones that need to make sure your content is successfully transferred from the server to the website while placing safeguards to protect your website data from any potential malware attacks. When someone types your domain name into their browser, the web host is the one that transfers all the files needed to fulfill their request.

This is why it is crucial to find a reliable provider and choose a hosting plan that fits your needs.

Types of Web Hosting

Now that you know what web hosting is, we will continue by going through the various hosting types and briefly explaining their differences to help you find the best one for you. Most web hosts offer multiple hosting options that serve different client needs.

Whether you own a major company or just wish to start a simple blog site, you’ll need help from web hosting services, so let’s see what your options are.

Choosing the hosting type depends on several factors, including the type of site you intend to launch, your budget, and your level of technical knowledge. Here are some of the most popular options:

1. Shared hosting
2. VPS hosting
3. Cloud hosting
4. Dedicated hosting
5. WordPress hosting

Now let’s go through some web hosting examples and check out all of the options in more detail.

1. Shared Hosting

This type of hosting includes one server and multiple clients, and it is a popular option for starter websites such as personal blogs and sites built for startups and small businesses. As you share the server with other clients, this option is very cost-effective and simple to use.

One shared server can host hundreds of websites. These clients would share the same main directory; however, they wouldn’t see each other’s files as they do not have root access to the server.

Apart from the main directory, these websites also share the available disk space, RAM, and central processing unit (CPU) power of the server.

2. VPS hosting

VPS or virtual private server hosting is a type of hosting in which a single server hosts several clients but provides private resources for each client. To have this type of web hosting easily explained, just think of it like this: clients share a server but get their own resource allocations in terms of bandwidth, RAM, and CPU power.

There are two types of VPS hosting – unmanaged and managed.

Unmanaged VPS hosting is a good option for web developers and people with technical skills as it requires users to run and maintain the server themselves. The user is the one that needs to look for the security threats, monitor the activities, and install and update the software.

If you don’t have much technical knowledge, managed VPS hosting is an excellent option. For a better understanding of this web hosting type, you should know that the web host will take care of the virtual server, maintain it and keep it running for you. You only need to decide which VPS hosting service is best for you and let the server admin take it from there.

Managed VPS hosting plans usually cost higher than unmanaged ones, as they include server maintenance.

3. Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is one of the most reliable solutions you can find on the market these days. In the following part of this article, we will answer the question, “What is cloud-based web hosting?” and explain how this popular form of web hosting works.

This type of hosting gives you the option of distributing web files across several virtual servers. Your web host provides you with a cluster of servers on which all your files and resources will be replicated and stored. Cloud hosting employs the computing power of numerous machines. This gives the user more processing power than they would have while using traditional hosting based on using a single server.

4. Dedicated Hosting

The next part of our guide will be about dedicated hosting. So what is dedicated web hosting, and who is it for?

Dedicated web hosting is a type of web hosting in which a client has a personal server dedicated solely to the needs of their website. This dedicated server gives the clients flexibility, allowing them to manage their website(s) as they wish. Dedicated hosting gives them an option to choose the operating system they want to use, configure the server as they like, and set up the whole hosting environment based on their business needs.

Final Words

If you wish to launch your own website and do it properly, you should consider getting a web hosting service. Since there are multiple types of web hosting, you ought to read our guide carefully and think about what option works best for your website.

Once your website takes off, you will be able to reach millions of users all across the world. We don’t want to be dramatic, but, realistically, choosing the right hosting provider can mean the difference between success and failure for your business, so choose well!