Basic Web hosting essentials
Welcome to the web world – domain names, web hosting, dedicated servers, dedicated IP address, ssl certificates. Confused yet? If you are new to this you probably are. What are the main ingredients a web site absolutely needs to be up and running. For any web site there are two main essential requirements – domain name registration and web site hosting. Basically your name like “yahoo.com” and a storage container to keep your files that your visitor will see.
Domain names are just an easy way for visitors to remember your site and type it into their browser. What about the web hosting aspect of it? When you buy web hosting, what are you actually purchasing? Let’s explain. Your web site files need to be stored in a public place, a container, that will display your files. These files may include Code files (HTML, CSS, PHP, ASP) or Visual Files (Images, Flash, Video). Your web site requires a web hosting server, that is basically a computer designed to display your web site pages. Basically a web hosting package is a service provided by a Company that will make your web site live so people all around the world can view it at any time.
Now that we have defined web hosting, when you look to purchase web hosting what do all these features mean? For smaller sites, you will be mainly looking at two main features – disk space and bandwidth. The former translates to the size of files you are allowed to keep on the web hosting server. Bandwidth means how much data your server is allowed to transfer when web site visitors visit your web page. When your web site grows and needs more advanced features like a Content Management System, your next steps are to check into features for language support and database support. Language support means the Server language the code was written in, while the database is essentially where your data is stored.
In conclusion, web site hosting is a web server that allows visitors of your site to view your web site files. The needs and requirements of your site will then determine what you need to look for in terms of disk space, bandwith, language support and database support.
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