If you are thinking of creating your own website or if, on the contrary, you already have one and are looking for a better web hosting service, you probably have many doubts concerning web hosting: what exactly is it, what are its different types, why do I need it, etc. For this reason, here we offer you a clear and simple guide to web hosting.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet so that it can be consulted at any time and from any place and device.
The content of the websites is stored, therefore, in web servers. These servers allow the content to be accessible via the World Wide Web. For all those who do not know the term, a web server is a piece of computer equipment that is much more powerful than any conventional computer and that is connected to the Internet 24 hours a day to enable access to the contents it stores.
Different types of web hosting are offered based on the web server: shared hosting, VPS, cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, elastic hosting, etc. These services are offered by web hosts such as Webempresa, which provide space on a server for use by clients.
Why do you need web hosting?
Web hosting allows your website to be always online and available worldwide and for everyone. Therefore, even if you can afford to buy your own server and have a fast internet connection, it is advisable to hire a web hosting service, as it will be much cheaper.
Web hosts have their own servers to host their clients' websites. These servers are located in a Data Processing Center (DPC): an infrastructure that has the most advanced security systems and stable and secure internet connections, which prevent errors in the services.
What are the different types of web hosting?
Although there are different types of web hosting in the market, the most common are the following: shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, cloud hosting, reseller hosting, and WordPress hosting. Each of them meets the needs of a particular group of customers.
Shared hosting is the most basic type of web hosting. The provider rents small spaces on a single server to different websites. In this way, all customers have their own space to host their content, while sharing server resources such as CPU, processor, RAM, bandwidth, or IP address.
In contrast, a dedicated hosting service is a type of web hosting in which the client leases an entire server and does not share it with anyone else. Although shared hosting works very well, a dedicated server stands out because it is never affected by existing traffic and because it has a higher level of security.
A virtual private server (VPS) is basically a server running within a server. One physical server hosts multiple virtual servers, each isolated from the others. Each VPS runs its own operating system, independent of the others. The features offered by a virtual private server are very similar to those of shared hosting. At the same time, it offers all the benefits of a dedicated server.
Cloud hosting works in a very similar way to the "cloud" where we store all kinds of documents. This is because all the resources that are used to collect the information of a website are executed from a cloud server. The main difference between cloud hosting and other web hosting types is that, in this case, you only pay for the services you use.
Reseller hosting is another type of web hosting. It is basically white-label web hosting. A person buys hosting from a provider and then resells those services to his/her clients. This allows the creation of hosting plans and external domains or subdomains.
The last type of web hosting we will talk about here is email hosting, which allows you to register a domain name and therefore have a professional email service. This type of web hosting is highly recommended for businesses or individuals that intend to convey an image of seriousness and trust. Thus, thanks to email hosting, you will be able to have a personalized email address, more storage space, and a higher level of security.