How to Host a Website: What to Expect From a Web Hosting Service

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how to host a website

Web hosting can be a bit confusing if you’re new to setting up web sites. You have the domain name, and you know something about WordPress. What’s next?

You have to know how to host a web site. Your hosting plan can have a huge impact on your business. Site speed, conversion rates, SEO, and cart abandonment rates are all impacted by your web host.

That makes web hosting a vital part of your blog or business. Would you like to know how to host a web site?

Keep reading to find out all you need to know about web hosting.

This is What Web Hosting Means

One of the first questions people have when they start a new site is what’s a web host?

They’re already familiar with different CMS options like WordPress or Drupal, they have a domain name, but have no idea what a web host does.

A web host plays an important role in how people access your website. Your website is made of a lot of ones and zeros. These ones and zeros make up files and folders that create your website.

These files and folders have to reside somewhere. Enter the web host. With a web host, you’re essentially leasing space on their computer, also called a server, to store your files and folders.

When someone types in your URL or clicks on your site, your host’s computer will then serve those files and folders to the person that wants to visit your site. That’s why the host’s computers are called servers.

How to Host a Web Site

How to host a website actually starts with you. You have to look at what your business needs are and then you can take a look at what type of plan and web host will work for you.

Take a few minutes to answer these questions. Later on, you’ll learn how to use this information to decide the perfect web host for your needs:

  • Are you building a brand new web site?
  • How much traffic does your site get now and how much traffic do you see your site getting in the next couple of years?
  • Do you plan to have more than one site?
  • Is your site multilingual?
  • How much can you spend on web hosting?
  • Do you plan to use WordPress, Wix, or another CMS?
  • Are you going to maintain the site yourself or will you have a web developer do it for you?
  • Do you plan to have an e-commerce component to your site?

Now that you know a little bit more about your needs, let’s take a look at how you can find a web host.

Look for Web Hosting Plans

If you were to start researching web site hosts, you’re likely to get confused. There is a lot of terminology to decode.

Self-Hosted vs. Hosted

The most common types of hosting are self-hosted and hosted. A self-hosted website means that you work with a web site host and you have more control over the files.

A hosted site is packaged, so you have the site hosting, website templates, and support for one monthly fee. Some examples of hosted sites are Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, and Shopify for e-commerce sites. These are good for beginners, but they offer little flexibility in terms of customization.

They’re mostly out-of-the-box solutions.

When you’re looking at self-hosted options, you’ll see even more types of plans.

Shared Hosting is one of the most common forms of web hosting. It’s also the least expensive.

With shared hosting, you’re leasing space on a server along with many other accounts. This is a good option for beginners or for a site that doesn’t have a lot of traffic every month.

The downside to shared hosting is that you’re almost at the mercy of other sites you share the server with. If one of those sites gets a spike in traffic, it can slow your site down dramatically.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a shared server that tends to have a higher level of security than a standard shared server.

Dedicated Hosting means that you have a server dedicated to you and you alone. If your site gets a lot of traffic or you have an e-commerce store, this would be a good option for you.

Find the Right Website Host

Finding the right website host can also be a bit of a mystery. There are thousands of hosting companies of different sizes out there. These are the things you need to look for to find the right host for you.

Service & Support

A lot of hosting companies offer similar services. The big difference will be in the support.

Do they offer 24/7 service? Do you have to email or call support? How quickly do they respond?

Take these things into consideration as you’re evaluating hosts.

Up Time Guarantee

Website hosts will guarantee that their sites will be up a certain amount of the time, usually 99.9%. No company can guarantee that they’ll be up and running 100% of the time. If a host claims that, run away as fast as you can.

Reviews and Recommendations

As you’re researching web site hosts, you’ll notice that there will be a few hosting companies that seem to rise to the top of recommendations. Pay attention to these reviews and recommendations, because they hold a lot of valuable information.

Companies like Bluehost, A2Hosting, and SiteGround have all developed stellar reputations in the industry. There’s a reason for it, and it’s usually down to site speed and excellent service.

How to Host a Web Site in a Few Easy Steps

Entering the world of the World Wide Web can be pretty intimidating. Learning how to host a web site isn’t easy. There’s a lot of technical jargon to know and understand as you set up a web site for yourself.

Once you understand your needs, it becomes easier to find a web host to suit your needs. There’s a lot riding on the web host that you choose, so you want to make sure you get it right.

Looking for more great content? Read this article that gives you the 101 on content management systems.