What is Web Hosting?

If you have decided to make your own website, but are not very certain about what a web site is and are unfamiliar with the phrase "web hosting", this article is dedicated to clarifying these concepts in plain terms.

What precisely is a web site?

A web site is a combination of webpages gathered systematically. It has a special address, also referred to as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A website may be comprised of just one webpage and sometimes may even have as many as 1000 webpages.

What is a web hosting server?

A hosting server enables you to upload your site onto it. In some instances, there might be even 1000's of websites on a single web hosting server. The hosting server basically is a computer with special hardware, which is housed in a datacenter with special cooling systems, whose mission is to safeguard the smooth functioning of the hosting server and all the web sites located on it.

In brief, a web hosting server will be indeed a launch pad when the time arrives for you to launch your web site. It could be any kind of web site - a corporate website having lots of web pages, or a site, which contains just several webpages and which you have created simply for your chums and relatives.

You've made a decision about what your web site will be, now what?

As soon as you have reached a decision about what kind of website you wish to create, the next move is to discover what type of web hosting service you must pick for your online adventure. Basically, there are two types of web hosting services - free website hosting services and professional paid website hosting services. The charge-free website hosting solution is commonly utilized by persons that do not own a business-related web site.

Strengths and weaknesses of the free-of-cost website hosting solution

You will not get many options with a free website hosting package. Features such as web traffic, memory and server storage space are restricted and insufficient for an elaborate e-commerce web site or a business-related site, or even for a site with a lot of graphics. In addition, there are a lot of web banners placed on your website by the hosting company. These adverts take up a lot of space on your web site and are very embarrassing.

Shared hosting

The paid shared hosting services tend to be more stable and include numerous advanced features beside the high-end web hosting server that will accommodate your web site and its data. Yet, it is essential to find out which features your site needs before choosing your web hosting plan. You should not rush and end up buying something that your website does not require.

Select your hosting vendor

It is not difficult to find a web hosting distributor. You have to just carry out an online search in order to find a web hosting company that fulfills your website's requirements. Before you take your actual decision, take a look at the features of the plans supplied by the web hosting distributors that have caught your attention. We, for instance, are among the best web hosting service providers on the marketplace at the moment. The enormous range of hosting solutions and our prices are what makes us an alluring option. Even so, you must ascertain what type of hosting solution you require and whether the price suits your allowance. Furthermore, you must not forget to take a look at the web hosting provider's Terms of Use prior to subscribing to confirm that your site is not violating them.

Signing up for a hosting account

As soon as you have found out what features are best for your site, the next step is to open an account with the hosting accounts provider of your choosing. You will have all the necessary tools for managing your website files and databases. With us, for instance, you will receive a web hosting Control Panel, which consists of domain name, website, database and mailbox account administration areas. You log into the hosting Control Panel using a unique user name and password, which grants you secure access to the portion of the server where your website will be located.

Uploading your web site

You can either upload your files through an FTP program or, as is with most web hosting suppliers, via a web-based tool that is integrated within the Control Panel. With us, the File Manager is very user-friendly and offers features similar to those found in Windows Explorer, which makes file management extremely easy. We offer additionally a web site builder and a PHP-based script installer, which you can use to set up your site if you possess no programming knowledge and are taking your very first steps in web design. The web-based website building tool, whose name is SiteStudio, will also save you the time and effort of making a website on your PC and then uploading it through FTP or the File Manager interface.