What You Need in Web Hosting
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Henri Sant-Cassia
Web Hosting Basics
Web hosting means literally placing a web site in a physical location from which pages can be served. To host a website you need a computer to store your web pages, a permanent connection to the internet and some software which acts as a web server. Web hosting is generally carried out by a professional firm, or internet service provider. Some enthusiasts however host their own websites. Web hosting providers usually have a range of different web hosting plans to choose from.
Options include different levels of disk-space, the number of email accounts, number of domain names or even extra features like virus scanning or automatic backups.
There are different layers required to carry out web hosting. At the most basic level, a computer, usually in a data-centre, stores HTML and other web objects. This server, usually a rack-mounted server, is connected to the Internet by leased line. These are very fast permanent Internet connections, which enable the server to connect to many users at high speed. The computer program which runs this process is called a web server.
Web hosting is usually carried out using either Unix/Linux or Windows 2000 though there are other web hosting software languages available. The final level is the webpages themselves, along with photos, videos or music files.
The Importance of Quality Web Hosting
Web hosting is critical for any Internet business. Your clients must always be able to view your website. It is very expensive and time consuming to drive customers to your website. If they find your web address and type in your domain name or click a link it reflects very badly on your company if the web page is not visible. It is therefore essential to learn how to host your website safely and reliably. Whether you use an Internet service provider or if you decide to host your own website it is important to source a quality service.
The speed of your web hosting is critical. If your web pages take a long time to download when a user visits your website they will inevitably get bored and move onto another website. Every web host decides how fast to make the connection between
Web Hosting Problems
The major problem for any web hosting operation is reliability. The causes of reliability problems are many and varied. Viruses and hackers are responsible for attacks on web hosting servers which can prevent websites from loading correctly. It is very costly to protect against this sort of problem which is why many people use large ISPs for their hosting.
Another problem with web hosting is failing to anticipate your needs. Using the cheapest or easiest web hosting service may not take in account the increasingly sophisticated needs of the Internet. Does your web host need to provide you with a database? Do you need to be able to check your email using web mail? Do you need to know how many people have visited your website? These and other questions must be answered before you can be certain you have chosen the correct web hosting package.
