What is web hosting?

As this is the digital age and the percentage of people that are online and have access to the internet is ever increasing, there is a need to adapt to the times. As a business owner looking to cover more grounds, it is pertinent to the growth of your business that you have a website which would be the first point of contact for your potential clients. It doesn’t matter whether or not your site contains a whole lot of information or it is scanty. All that matters is making a good first impression which is one of the purposes of a website. 

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Creating a functional and engaging website irrespective of the magnitude of services you provide doesn’t always have to be expensive; this is where web hosting comes in. With web hosting, both small and large scale businesses can create an impressionable public presence that is professional and polished. For a small fee, a web hosting company can provide your business with a domain name and publish a reliable and protected website that attracts customers to your products and services.

Web hosting is the provision of storage space for a website or application on a server on the internet. Once the website has been placed on this server, then other people can access the website or application from their own devices. In other words, a web host is a company that rents out its services intending to help to host websites on the internet. This definition draws importance to the use of web hosting and as such, it is important to pick the right web hosting company to help you out with this.

Do you own a website that you want to host on the internet? Have you been wondering how to go about this? Then you have come to the right place! In this article, we would be considering how to choose a web hosting company; things to look out for and things to follow.

Things to consider when choosing a web hosting company

Now, there is a large variety of web hosting companies to pick from and some of the things to be considered before this decision is made are:

• The type of website it is: Your website can either be a blog, an e-commerce portal, a site for sharing recipes, anything! The point is to know what function the website is set to fulfill as this would invariably affect the amount of traffic it would be receiving regularly.
• Storage space needed: Web hosting services will offer various amounts of storage depending on your needs. The amount of storage space needed is mostly dependent on the capacity of your business and its website.
• The bandwidth: A business also ought to consider the volume of data to be gotten from the web hosting company. A small business or blog does not need as much data as one that disseminates a considerable amount of data every day
• The cost: Most web hosting services will offer their basic services at a reasonable price. For example, a web hosting company like HostGator is currently offering their services for as low as $2.75 per month. However, this is a promotional price and it might go back to normal.
• Customer Support: Apart from considering technical details, customer support should also be considered. A solid support system is a very important factor in your decision-making process; it is probably the biggest differentiator. The best web hosting companies offer modified 24/7 customer support through live agents via phone or chat, and many supplements that with a knowledge base that allows for self-service for less technical issues.
• How secure the web hosting service to be provided is: Small businesses are mostly the ones that fall victims of hackers and online attacks. This is why a secure web hosting system has to be gotten. Web hosting companies like Bluehost and Siteground are more than capable of meeting this need for you.

• Transfer of existing websites: This is useful for websites that previously existed on another web hosting service. In many cases, you will want to transfer the existing website over to a new web hosting service; depending on the website, this can be a difficult task to complete on time. Some web hosting companies will offer the help of expert migration personals to make the transition from one host to another as quick and seamless as possible.
• Running time: If your website is one that has to be accessible to potential clients almost every time (especially websites where sales are carried out frequently) you have to look for a web hosting company that can provide you with that service. In the true sense, however, 100 percent cannot be guaranteed but 99 percent can so it is best to look for a web hosting company that can ensure that you have up to 99 percent running time.

What to know about choosing a web host?

The servers provided by web hosting companies can be classified into four categories. They are: 

• Shared: This is the most common option for businesses with minimal traffic. Shared hosting means that the website is stored on a single server alongside other websites. It is a relatively cheaper option which is why it is mostly considered by startup companies who are not looking to spend a lot of web hosting services. Bluehost is an example of a web hosting company that offers this kind of service. It has an easy to use interface, is relatively easy to navigate and their shared hosting services per month is very affordable.
• Dedicated: This is when a website has a single server to itself. It is normally more expensive than shared hosting. Getting a dedicated sharing system depends on the needs of the business and its performance. A business performing brilliantly would need a secure and dedicated hosting compared to one that is not. 
• Cloud hosting (VPS): This is very similar to shared hosting in the sense that more than one website can make use of the hosting system. The only difference is that the VPS is a cloud-based server system. It is scalable, flexible and it offers more features also. It is perfect for businesses whose features vary from time to time. On Bluehost, this service normally goes for about $7.99 per month.
• WordPress: WordPress pages are mostly used by bloggers, content writers, and the likes. A WordPress server can be hosted on any of the other three hosting systems. Bluehost is one web hosting company that offers WordPress hosting services at affordable prices.

The type of web hosting company and service to be chosen in the end determines the needs of the business and the service requirements as previously mentioned. To make sure that you are choosing a web hosting company that can conveniently cater to your needs and that of your business, you should make a thorough and well-detailed assessment of your business and its current status. Thought should also be given to its future and potential needs as it grows. This would enable you to be more flexible in your decision.  

Following these guides and keeping in mind what you want for your business, you should be able to find the best web hosting company to meet your needs.