What is Web Hosting

Web hosting is basically the space that you buy on a web server to store your website files. When you buy website hosting you basically rent server space on a server where your web files will be placed. So whenever somebody will look up for your website by entering your domain, he will get directed to your website. You can design a website on your own computer but unless you upload it on a hosting server it can never be accessed by anyone.

Web hosts usually charge for the service they render. You as a user also have the ability to have your own full-fledged server right from your own home, but the main difference between investing in your own server and picking a hosting company is that designing your own server is likely to cost you dearly. To set up a server, you will require a powerful computer with a good processor and lots of RAM and also an operating system like Linux or Windows. To add to that you will also be required to have technical skills to manage and run the server.

When you hire a web hosting company, it will manage all backend concerns, including the maintenance and repair of the servers. So basically, web hosts are designed to make your life easier by saving you the hassle.

Consider you are planning to take your business online, or post a blog or application. You would have to store your website/application in a place where it is accessible to all. This place is called a server.

A server is a big powerful computer that stores your website files and data. Now you can have this data in your own PC but then there are some downsides to it.

Eg: a lot of people will access your personal computer and it provides a simple way for them to gain other personal information that you have in your PC.

Another example would be you will have to maintain the server which is a tedious task.

To host any website, there are 3 major components

  1. Domain Name - the address to your website/ application
  2. Your website/ application
  3. Where you are hosting it.

Your domain name is your address. Like eg: www.waikey.com  will direct you to the login page for facebook.

How this works?

When you type in the domain name in your browser, a request would be sent to the server (web hosting) in which the data for that site is stored is stored and will fetch you the data.

Web hosting is basically the space that you buy on a web server to store your website files. When you buy website hosting you basically rent server space on a server where your web files will be placed. So whenever somebody will look up for your website by entering your domain, he will get directed to your website. You can design a website on your own computer but unless you upload it on a hosting server it can never be accessed by anyone.

Web hosts usually charge for the service they render. You as a user also have the ability to have your own full-fledged server right from your own home, but the main difference between investing in your own server and picking a hosting company is that designing your own server is likely to cost you dearly. To set up a server, you will require a powerful computer with a good processor and lots of RAM and also an operating system like Linux or Windows. To add to that you will also be required to have technical skills to manage and run the server.

When you hire a web hosting company, it will manage all backend concerns, including the maintenance and repair of the servers. So basically, web hosts are designed to make your life easier by saving you the hassle.

While there are multiple web hosting services  available like shared hosting, VPS, Dedicated Server, PaaS , it is always advised not to buy something that is expensive. With a little bit of research one can get good web hosting services at an affordable price. You should not get tricked into buying more than what you actually require. There is always a scope to upgrade your hosting plan if your website starts generating a huge amount of traffic.