6 web-hosting services that you can consider using.
If you are going to operate a blog or website, deciding on a web host might present a bit of a challenge for you.
There are free hosting services and paid services. Free services are good if you aren't running a business website. Free web hosting services often come with a few catches. One is advertising. Of course, it costs the hosting company money to operate, and if they offer their service to you for free, they have to cover their costs and make a profit. So, if you use their free services, they might advertise on your blog or website.
What is web hosting service?
Web hosting service is a type of internet hosting service that makes it possible for individuals and organizations to make their website accessible to the rest of the world through the World Wide Web. Web hosting companies provide individuals and organizations space on a server that they own or lease for use by their clients as well as provide them internet connectivity for servers typically in a data center. There are a number of companies that offer these services, but choosing the right host service is an important task and should be done with utmost care.
The kind of web hosting services that you will need for your website will completely depend on your web hosting needs. Every person that maintains a website will have different needs for that site. For example, if you are running an online e-commerce site your web hosting needs will be entirely distinct from those sites that just offer information on various things. Therefore, determining the needs of your website is the first step towards selecting the best domain and web hosting services for your site.
Web hosting services
The following listed below are the best web hosting services that you can consider if you are going to operate a blog or websites:
1. Shared web hosting
Shared hosting means just that. Your website is hosted on a server shared by other websites. The advantage of this setup is the shared cost. You can pay as little as $5-$10 per month for sharing a super server with (probably) hundreds (or thousands) of other websites.
The downside is that all the sites share a single server's resources, so huge traffic spike on Site A may impact the adjacent sites' performances. When most people start an online business, they usually start out with a shared hosting plan to minimize costs, and they're not likely getting a ton of traffic initially.
Shared hosting is good for a brochure type site or a newer site that doesn't get a lot of traffic. Bluehost is a popular shared web hosting option.
2. WordPress web hosting
With the increasing popularity of WordPress as a web building platform, many web hosting servers are offering what referred to as "Managed WordPress Hosting. In a nutshell, managed WordPress hosting is a service where the web hosting provider will keep your WordPress installation up-to-date which can help protect your site from security threats that would allow hackers to your website.
WordPress hosting is for people who want to build their sites on the back of the popular WordPress content management system (CMS). Many WordPress hosts automatically handle backend stuff, so you don't have to worry about updating the apps and CMS, and enabling automatic backups.
3. Reseller web hosting
Reseller hosting packages are a shared hosting account with extra tools to help you resell hosting space. Reseller packages come with greater technical control (often via the Web Host Manager (WHM) control panel), billing software to help you invoice clients and other extra perks. Some of those perks include:
- Free website templates
- White label technical support -- that means the hosting company handles your clients' tech support issues.
- Private name servers -- make your business seem even bigger by telling your customers to point their domain name servers to ns1.yourwebdesignfirm.com.
4. Cloud based web hosting
Cloud Based Web Hosting refers to a relatively new hosting technology that lets hundreds of individual servers work together so that it looks like one giant server. The idea is that as the need grows, the hosting company can just add more commodity hardware to make an ever larger grid or cloud.
5. VPS web hosting (virtual private server)
VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that multiple sites share the same server, but the similarities end there. A dedicated web host houses fewer sites per server than shared hosting, and each website has its resources. Virtual private servers share one physical server but act like multiple, separate servers. A VPS is a stepping stone between shared hosting and getting your dedicated machine. Even though each VPS instance shares hardware resources, they allocated a dedicated slice of the computing resources.
6. Dedicated web server
When you have a dedicated server, it means you are renting one physical server from a hosting company. You can have full control (called "root" permissions in Linux) if you want it. With a dedicated server, you don't have to worry about other websites on a shared server taking up your resources and slowing your site down.
A dedicated server is the highest level of the server you would need if your online business grows into a presence that is getting a lot of website traffic. While the costs of a dedicated server are significantly higher than shared hosting, your business will be at a point that can easily afford the necessary costs of having your server.
Factors to consider before choosing a web host
The following are some of the important factors to consider when selecting a web host service if you are going to run a blog or websites:
- Cost-You should first take a look at what features each provider offers. After you have found suitable hosting providers, then you can compare the prices.
- Technical specifications- Take a look at your site and think about what you want to do with it in the future. Then you can try to find a hosting plan that has the hardware to match your needs.
- Support- Technical support is a big thing. If your website goes down, you could be losing customers. You want to choose a host which has a good reputation for providing high-quality customer support.
- Specific Features- If a particular feature is important to you, then it’s a good idea to find a company that offers the specific features you are looking for, and investigate them further.
- Customer Reviews- One of the best indicators of good hosting is to see what other customers have to say about the company in question.
- Growing Your Website- You should also consider whether your chosen hosting provider can accommodate your future plans. As your site becomes more and more popular, you may outgrow your current plan.
Thirumalesh Prasad C G (Thiru) is an entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO of Inboundsys. He has over 22 years of experience working for various multinational IT products and services companies in India and abroad. He was a significant member and worked as a user interface architect, designing the user interface for many web applications and products. In addition to running Inboundsys, he is an advisory board member in various other design studios and digital marketing agencies. He is a passionate blogger who loves writing on digital marketing, inbound marketing, lifestyle, philosophy, positive thinking, and motivation.