We are giving 2017 guide from now as new year shopping of web hosting will start soon and businesses planning to launch in 2017 can benefit from this. If you own a business, you must have a website or an app. This in turn depends on hosting. Web hosting or App hosting is an integral part of almost any business as now we are moving to online world. There are a lot of factors to consider while choosing a web host. IndiStart.com has came out with a detailed guide on web hosting. After you understand this, we would highly recommend you to read the post 11 things to consider before buying a web hosting service.
What is a web host?
Although this might sound familiar to many, there are a some people who would like to understand this in and out. Web host is a company or organization that host websites. Let us simplify this. Assume that you plan to host a website. For that you need a server & some software which connects your program to the Internet. Also, you need to ensure that the server is up and running always. You have to ensure that there is no power cut and that there are no hacking attempts on your server. Sounds difficult?
Here comes the solution – web host. You go to web host and they provide you server, domain and host of other services so that you can focus more on your website. Most good web hosting providers facilitate their customers with 24-7 customer support, 99% or more uptime {the time for which the website is running in a month}, tools and software as well as ability to upgrade/downgrade plan.
First of all let us learn about the different types of web hosting. Web hosting are of the following types:-
- Shared Hosting :- As the name suggests, the hosting is shared. The resources like disck space, memory etc are shared by many other users of the servers. Though there are a lot of disadvantages like less “freedom” on the server as well as more chances of attacks, shared hosting is a preferred type of hosting for newbies and some startups. The biggest advantage of shared hosting is the price advantage. Ranging from few cents to couple of dollars a month, users can start their online business in a very economical manner. Moreover, shared hosting comes with a lot of inbuilt features so as a developer you need not worry about server. Most shared hosting providers give inbuilt CMS installation tools which means that you can start a website within few minutes. Recommended shared hosting providers are Inmotion, A Small Orange, FatCow , IPower
- Virtual Private Servers:- Virtual Private Servers are shared servers which are virtually private. This means that although the server may be same, the resources are private to an account. This gives more security and stability to a server. Moreover, the advantage of virtual private servers over shared hosting is that they are having more control. So if you want to host websites with more control than just files, you should go for virtual private servers. Virtual private servers allows you to have root access so that you run a software as you like. Recommended VPS hosting providers are Inmotion, Beyond Hosting, Interserver & LiquidWeb
- Cloud Hosting:- Cloud hosting is the new buzzword in the web hosting industry. There is a thin line of difference between a virtual private server and a cloud server and you may find many web hosting companies selling them in any or both names. The advantage of cloud hosting or its essence lies in its ability to upscale (upgrade) or downscale (downgrade). So you can add tonnes of videos to your website by just asking the host to upgrade your plan and he will do so in a matter of minutes. Recommended Cloud Hosting providers are:- Inmotion, Liquid Web, Beyond Hosting & A small Orange
- Dedicated Hosting:- Dedicated hosting as the name implies give the user complete control of the system. It is like renting a computer {CPU} for yourself. Most enterprises use dedicated servers as they are most safe among all other forms of hosting. In addition to this, dedicated servers provide the choice of selecting the operating system, hardware, softwares etc. Though they are costly but they are worth the price for companies who have already gone big. Recommended Dedicated hosting providers:- Liquid Web, Beyond Hosting & Interserver
- Co location Hosting:- A colocation hosting is like a rented parking space for your office. In other words, colocation provider would rent out space in its data center where the cusstomer can install their server. The provider will take care of the basic infrastructure like power, backup, IP address, HVAC system, security of place. This can be ideal for mid sized companies who do not want to invest into real estate and infrastructure.
