Hosting is a service that allows you to place certain content on the Internet. Basically, no website could exist without hosting, so the term is often associated with website hosting. In this article, we will discuss exactly this process and the aspects related to it.

What is website hosting?

Website hosting is defined as a service that hosts your website on a specific server. This means that any Internet user can access it at any time from any location. If you do not host your website on a server, it will not be accessible to users. Servers are usually located in European, American, and Asian countries.

The operating principle of website hosting is based on a rental agreement. This means that you are renting space on a physical server that hosts all the data and photos you need to run your website. When a user visits a website, the data he/she needs is sent from the server. Every website is assigned an IP address, but to avoid having to remember all the numbers, we use a web domain that starts with www.

How to host a website?

You can also host a website yourself, but this is a complex process that requires technical knowledge. Self-hosting requires proper settings, configurations, etc. from scratch, and you have to maintain the entire website operation yourself.

Therefore, there are website hosting and other hosting providers that simplify this process. When you purchase this service, you rent server space from the provider, and the provider takes care of the smooth operation of the website and other aspects such as protection against cyber attacks, SSL certificate, website installation, control panel, and so on.

Types of website hosting

There are many types of website hosting available these days. The most popular of them are:

• Shared hosting. This is a type of hosting where many users share the same server. This hosting is very simple and requires no technical knowledge and is also price-friendly. It is ideal for small businesses with small websites, but not suitable if the site requires more configurations or has a lot of traffic (then the speed of the site may decrease);
• WordPress hosting. This hosting is designed for WordPress sites, so it is not very suitable for other types of sites. Its principle of operation is similar to shared access hosting. Often has pre-installed themes and plugins;
• Virtual private server hosting. With this type of hosting, you also share the server with other users. But the difference is that you get your virtual position with the assigned amount of resources. It is suitable for medium-sized websites, but requires technical knowledge to manage this hosting;
• Cloud hosting. This type of hosting uses multiple servers. This means that if one server has a problem or there are too many visitors, the other one will take over. So, this type of hosting is suitable for businesses that have many websites as well as large websites with a lot of visitors. This option is faster but more expensive.

There are also related hosting services that are related to website hosting in one way or another. This includes backup creation and storage, domain registration, domain renewal, and email hosting.