Easy Site Guide

Easy Way To Create Your Website

Introduction to Web Hosting

by

What is Web Hosting?

Web Hosting is a Business, where a company (Web Host) offers Web space and other services for a small fee. They provide environment (hardware, software, knowledge and support) for hosting web pages.

How does Web Hosting Work?

03_hosts_reg.pngWebsites that you visit on Internet, are located on computers called Web Servers. They have a single task: They serve Web Pages. Web Servers can run on Linux or Windows, and can host from 1 to hundreds of Web Sites.

These Servers are located in data centers, which are exclusively built for hosting purposes. Data Centers are monitored and managed 24/7 by IT professionals, that take care everything runs smoothly. While larger companies operate their own data centers, smaller rent resources from the first ones to minimize costs.

One of the biggest Data Centers in the world, is located at ThePlanet . EasySiteGuide.com is hosted on HostGator, who uses ThePlanets data center. The Planet Data Center Chart (PDF document, 98 Kb).

What does hosting a website include?

When you buy a hosting package, you get your own hosting account. For a monthly fee, you are provided with:

  • certain amount of web space
  • certain amount of bandwidth (how much data you can transfer per month)
  • certain number of emails
  • access to Control Panel where you manage your hosting account
  • optional features, such as Online Builder, Auto install scripts, e-commerce,…

Web Hosting Companies require that you have your own domain name in order the hosting to work.

Are all Hosting types the same?

No, there are many types of web hosting. Beginners usually try to find a free hosting provider, but after some time, they decide to go for a Shared Hosting Account, which is most popular and the most affordable. Other hosting types are Virtual Private Hosting, Dedicated Hosting and Colocation. You can read more about them in our article: Hosting types Explained.

How can I obtain Web Hosting for my first website?

It is very simple and it takes only a few minutes. Most companies allow you to pay with Credit Card or even Paypal. You register a domain name, select a hosting plan and provide them with email and your details. When the process is completed they will instantly send you an email with your account details.

Reader Interactions