If you are thinking of launching a digital project, you will probably have many questions related to the services you are going to need: “What is hosting”, “What types are there”, “Which is the most appropriate for my project?
A hosting is a storage service that provides you with a server, so that you can host your website on the Internet. This is a very basic explanation, so if you really want to understand what a web hosting is in order to set your project on the right basis, stay with us:
We solve all your hosting-related doubts in this article.
Let’s get started! ⬇️
Definition of hosting
A hosting is a hosting service for websites. To understand it easily, think of all those folders you have created on your computer to store all your files, and how they are saved on your hard drive, so you can access them whenever you need them.
That’s more or less how web hosting works. But there is one basic difference: when you turn off your computer, you can’t access your folders. Right? In the case of web storage, we need a kind of machine that is running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not only running, but also with a much higher bandwidth than the classic home connections.
This is what we call ‘web servers’.
So… What is web hosting?
Hosting is the storage service provided by these servers, so that you can host your website and access it at any time; from anywhere.
In short:
- A server is a piece of hardware equipment connected to the Internet uninterruptedly, so that the contents it stores are accessible at all times and from anywhere. It is a physical computer equipment that offers different types of hosting to store websites.
- A hosting is a hosting service for websites, which allows the contents of the website to be visited at any time and from any device connected to the Internet.
Now that you have an idea of what hosting is, let’s take it a step further.
What is it for?
We have mentioned that hosting allows you to store a website on the Internet and to access it at any time and from anywhere. But in addition, web hosting services offer other functions related to web administration, such as:
- Tools for developers
- Automatic website backups
- SSL Certificates
- 24/7 customer support
- Email hosting
- Semi-automatic installation of web management software, such as WordPress or Drupal
Bear in mind that hosting companies have an infrastructure with the most powerful and advanced security systems. Not only hardware, but also hardware. In addition to this, they have their own servers to guarantee permanent and secure Internet connections, which prevent crashes and other errors.
That is why it is so convenient to choose to hire a hosting service from a web provider when launching a digital project. But… How do you know which one is the most suitable for your project?
Types of hosting
Each type of website requires a different hosting service.
It is not the same to create an eCommerce, a blog, or the website of a large company, because each case has very different needs and, as such, requires specific solutions.
Let’s take a look at the main types:
Shared hosting
This is the most commonly used. As its name suggests, the accounts of different users are integrated simultaneously on the same physical server. The most common in these cases is to contract a basic service, in which several users share the server’s resources, such as CPU or RAM memory, so that, yes: the behaviour of one user can affect the rest.
However, some providers offer unlimited traffic services, so that the operation of your website -and the rest of the users-does not have to be influenced if at any given moment you reach a consumption peak. The same applies if it happens to your ‘hosting neighbours’.
Virtual VPS Server
This is a virtual private server. Although users also share the same physical server, as in the previous case, the VPS is divided into multiple independent virtual machines. That is, each account has different resources that are not shared with anyone else, which increases flexibility and power.
As with shared hosting, VPS costs significantly less than dedicated hosting and each user has access to their own resources. However, this type of service is not limited to space and transfer consumption, but also assigns each account its RAM and CPU.
Hosting dedicate
It is a physical computer equipment destined exclusively for a client, which manages all the disk space and bandwidth. As we mentioned above, the price of this hosting is much higher than the shared ones, but it is necessary for those websites with a large amount of monthly traffic or that, given their needs, require high flexibility, performance and intensive use of transfer resources.
WordPress Hosting
It is a server configured on a WordPress platform and optimised for websites based on this CMS.
Find out here: 9 tips to choose the best hosting for WordPress
Elastic hosting
This service is a sort of combination between VPS and shared hosting, as users share a physical server but also have the resources guaranteed by a VPS.
How to choose the best hosting?
There are several factors that you should take into account when hiring a hosting for your website: the space you need, the number of email accounts you want to link, the applications you want to install, your monthly data traffic, extra services…
In addition, it is very important that you pick a server that gives you all the guarantees of availability to avoid crashes of your website and, in addition, a quality technical support and available 24/7.
From Doowebs we recommend that you first consult the technical characteristics of different providers and then compare the prices of the hosting you are most interested in. If you have any doubts, contact the technical support service to receive advice from the hosting experts.
Now that you know what hosting is and what types exist, you can take the first step to launch your digital project.
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