What is hosting on a website?
Before I give you an insight into what web hosting is, let’s first get to know what a website is.
A website is a compilation of web pages interlinked under one domain to be made publicly visible to the target audience.
The web pages are fed with information to suit the owner’s preference.
The same way a physical business requires rental space, a website requires a virtual space to save all the data, files, and information that constitutes the website.
The virtual space is what we refer to as the website host. Now I think you have a clear picture of what web hosting is.
Requirments for web hosting?
Before you host your website, there are two things that you need to look for.
1.Web Hosting service provider
With service providers, web hosting is simplified since they will take care of all the technical aspects.
As the website owner, you will be provided with easy-to-use tools to help you manage your hosting.
2. Domain Name
A domain name is an address to your website that people will type in their browser to visit your website.
There are companies licensed to sell domain names. Some popular ones include Bluehost and Goddady among others.
Step by step guide on hosting a website
1. Compare and choose an ideal web hosting service provider
Just like any other product, you can’t just randomly choose any hosting provider. You have to do some background research on a few selected companies to come up with the best company that suits your needs. There are numerous web hosting companies and below is a list of some that I find competitive.
Bluehost
DreamHost
SiteGround
HostGator
Hostinger
InMotion
WP Engine
Go Daddy
A2 Hosting
2. Set your budget and select your hosting plan
Your ideal budget for web hosting depends on the features and type of hosting you need. Hosting plans may vary from $1 to $2,000 per month.
Features provided are stated on each plan and therefore it’s up to you to decide which plan is pocket-friendly and has the most desirable features for you.
3. Register a domain name
Without a digital address, no one will find your website on search engines. Don’t look further, you can still get a domain name from the web hosting provider that you have chosen.
It may even come free depending on specifications listed on the hosting plan.
The best choice of domain is one that is short and easy to remember.
At times, short domains tend to be slightly more expensive but remember cheap is not always the best.
Most common domains end with .com but others end with .xyz or .co.
Don’t, worry about the ending part, as long as it fits your brand it’s fine. When you are done with this step, you can now put your website live on the web.
Points to note
• You should always do some background research on the host to determine the ideal one.
• Always remember that cheap will often yield poor results.
• There is an option of self-hosting which is not commendable since it’s complex, unstable, and very unreliable. Self-hosting is a bad idea especially for beginners, so I don’t want to spend much time talking about it.
Wasn’t that easy? Start your website today and look for a reliable web hosting service provider.
Things To Consider Before Web Hosting
The purpose of a review is for someone to tell others what he thinks about anything, whether it is a book review, a movie review, or a review of any document to highlight its advantages and demerits and also to scrutinize thoroughly to confirm its validity or recommend modifications that are needed.
Similarly, web hosting reviews are performed to identify and customers’ opinions on a specific hosting provider. Websites can do a lot with the technology available today.
Of the review, search for the following characteristics in a company: It is critical and worthwhile to consider customer reviews before engaging in any business with a hosting firm.
When comparing and reviewing, quick and polite service is of the utmost importance. You must assess the technical assistance given, as 24/7 service means no technical excuses or runaround. You must also consider the provider’s features and capabilities.
The best web hosting businesses take customer complaints seriously and offer affordable web hosting plans. The purpose of the website may be personal or commercial, the company with the latest technology, loading of graphic pages and loading time required to be considered, fast hardware – Nobody wants to sit in front of a website that opens up slowly and patience running out means guaranteed reliability, easy to use control panel – time tested and easy to use
According to experts, the following factors should be considered while choosing a web host:
Price should not be a criterion, which implies that many people believe that the lowest price is the best. When it comes to affordability, shared web hosting is the way to go because you’ll be sharing space and costs, but server uptime and customer service are critical. As a result, it is essential to strike a balance between the price and the services offered by service providers.
If you make a marginally good living from your website, the best VPS-hosted solution with your virtual server unaffected by other users is appropriate. This is because shared hosting plans or low-cost plans provide you with lesser and shared resources used by hundreds of customers. As a result, a VPS Account would provide more significant resources in the form of dedicated RAM for your website, which is far superior to shared accounts.
Depending on the size of the business, traffic, emails, and client interfaces such as feedback data or eCommerce enabled, a dedicated server with security measures would be appropriate.