A
web host is a service provider that places your
web site on a computer which is connected to the Internet. This then gives
people who surf the Internet a way to access your website.
Web Hosting
is when a service provider places your web site files on a computer for
customers to locate information on the world wide web.
Web hosting companies have computers that are set up just to serve the web
sites and therefore these computers are called servers. A web host will
typically have a fast connection to the Internet and they may host thousands
of web sites on many servers.
Different Kinds Of Web Hosting
There are different kinds of web
hosting setups :
- Free Web Hosting: These are great for small
websites, but normally you have to have a banner ad at the top of every
page. Hosting for small websites can be very cheap.
- Shared Hosting: With paid shared (virtual) hosting
you pay a monthly fee and get a share on a server. For very low cost
plans you may only have a small amount of disk space and a low amount of
bandwidth . This gives you better reliability.
- Dedicated Hosting: With dedicated hosting you have
a full server dedicated to your website. This gives you a lot more
freedom and you can host potentially hundreds of your own websites.
- Colocated Hosting: This is very similar to
dedicated hosting, except that you own the server rather than rent it.
Your server is placed in the datacenter and connected to the Internet
through the web hosting providers fast Internet connection.
Outsourcing Web Hosting
Outsourcing has gained popularity over the
last few years as companies around the globe have turned to outside experts
to deploy sound technology strategies. A growing percentage of companies are
turning to outsourced Web hosting solutions to ensure that their Web site is
secure, reliable and scalable.
Outsourcing web hosting allows you to concentrate on your core competencies
and have someone else focus on what they do best - web hosting. When you
outsource, you entrust your web site to a company with greater experience in
web hosting.
Why Outsource ?
- Cost: The cost of implementing the necessary steps
required to host a web site is probably the biggest reason why 62% of
companies outsource this activity. A web server is merely the first of
many purchases and ongoing expenditures required for hosting a web site.
- Reliability: A web hosting company must have many
redundant systems to stay in business. Redundancies in people, in
addition to the redundancies in technology, enhance the reliability of
your system.
- Support: A 24 hour support system is essential for
any company in order to provide customers an opportunity to discuss
their problems with technical staff at any moment of time.
