What is web hosting anyway? What do I get when I buy a web hosting solution?

To make thing clear from start let’s just say how it all works.

Web pages basically consist of text and images. Generically, information contained by these files is called content. The look of web page is called design.

In order to be accessible to online users, all these files must be stored on a web server. You can think of web servers as computers storing files of tens or hundreds of web sites. These computers are all connected to Internet through high-speed connection.

When you access a web page, your browser connects to web server that stores that page and downloads it to your computer.

So a web server is a must when you plan to share your web site content with online users via Internet.

There are thousands of web servers in world, and there are companies that own them. Such a company is called web-hosting provider. A web-hosting provider can have dozens of web servers hosting thousands of web sites. The web server computers are found usually in large numbers and are all housed in special buildings or sections of buildings called data center.

Apart from high-speed Internet connection, these locations are set up to ensure optimum operational conditions and security for web servers. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning) control, fire protection, virus protection, data backup facility, power backup, even autonomy in case of disaster. Another term for web servers in data center is a web farm.

To be able to run your site properly you need a space on web server to store your data and an Internet connection to it. The amount of data available to you on a web server is simply referred as space and is usually quantified in MB.

The Internet connection needed so that your web site can be accessed online is referred as bandwidth and is also measured in MB or even GB. Having glimpse of basics, it must be said that different web-hosting providers offer different space and bandwidth. Space and bandwidth are usually main characteristics of a web-hosting plan.

The terminology associated with web hosting can be quite dazzling: virtual web hosting, dedicated hosting; co-locating hosting, shared hosting reseller hosting.

Shared Web Hosting

Shared web hosting or virtual web hosting are two terms for same thing.

Shared web hosting means that on a web server are hosted many web sites that all have a defined quota of HDD space and bandwidth. They all run simultaneously and there can be from hundreds to thousands of web sites on same web server.

Given high number of web sites should you worry about exceeding performance of web server, issue better known as slow server response, meaning that your visitors will have to wait too long for your web pages to load.

That is usually not a real problem when dealing with serious web hosting providers, because operational parameters of web servers are monitored and appropriate actions will be taken in order to maintain level of service contracted.

There are major benefits of dedicated web hosting, as discussed below. However, major disadvantage, cost, is quickly being overcome. Because of continual growth in dedicated web hosting industry, rates for dedicated server plans are rapidly declining. A competitive environment drives up level of service and decreases cost. This reduction is powered by an increase in small and medium-sized businesses gaining an online presence and rapid proliferation of web hosting providers.

Advantages: Dedicated server hosting is favorable because of 2 major assets: control and reliability.

Since a dedicated web administrator has more control over a dedicated server, it tends to be more secure, compared to a shared web server. By knowing what exactly is installed on a dedicated server through full root access, a system administrator is able to confidently make decisions on software and application updates necessary to maintain dedicated web server and keep it running in its most optimal configuration.

Increased reliability is another major asset of dedicated server web hosting, as a server administrator has self-sufficiency to optimize page loads by tweaking variables such as page load speed and general server resource allocation. This server reliability translates to customer satisfaction and an increase in bottom line goals of a web site’s presence.

Disadvantages: While benefits of dedicated web server hosting is apparent, bottom line consideration, especially for business purposes is cost. Dedicated web hosting is significantly more expensive compared to shared or virtual web hosting, and until recently, could most commonly be quoted at several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month. Although cost may still be exorbitant, most businesses are able to justify use of dedicated servers through a true web analysis to weigh resources necessary to run applications and code. Another drawback is need to be able to monitor, install, upgrade and configure programs, add sites, deal with potential hacks, and troubleshoot systems. Therefore, necessary system administration skills, if one does not possess them, may definitely inhibit successful implementation of a web site hosted on a dedicated web server.

Benefits: The direct benefits of a dedicated web hosting plan surround ability to totally administer a web server. The advantage to be able to effectively maintain a dedicated server lies in one’s ability to control variables associated with reliability and stability. In a dedicated environment, server overload, malicious scripts from other users, and too many installed applications are variables which can be controlled, as compared to this loss of management in shared server hosting.

Furthermore, a dedicated server allows one to only install applications or software that applies to major hosting goal at hand. Conversely, shared web hosting has installed software that may or may not be related to web hosting goals.

Reliance on web host repair services and time delays of platform repairs can be minimized, as one may intervene and provide solutions to existing problems with dedicated web hosting. Having option to add patches, upgrade software, or tweak performance is invaluable and allows dedicated server administrator to work with 24 hour access to perform adjustments, corrections, or updates.