Starting a Website - Do You Need Web Hosting?
Most people with little or no technical website knowledge may not understand what web hosting is and what role it plays in the online market. The fact that over 12 billion dollars was spent in hosting in 2007 in North America alone does not change the fact that a lot of people who use the internet do not know what the term means or how it relates to them.
Basically a web hosting provider is a company that provides an infrastructure in which a website is stored and put live on to the internet. To put it simply, a website is comprised of various files eg, images, text, functions etc. These files are stored on a special computer server which is live to the internet at all times so that other internet users can see your website. A web hosting provider provides the computer server in which your website is stored on as well as maintenance and other services to ensure that your website is up and running all the time. In essence, web hosting providers are the real estate owners of the internet selling virtual real estate to house your website.
Web Hosting is a fundamental aspect of website creation so you have to put a lot of thought into a web hosting provider before you chose one. The basic things that you should consider in making your choice are speed, reliability, maintenance and customer support. In addition, depending on the site that you intend to create, some web hosting providers may offer more specific and relevant services than others.
There are literally thousands of web hosting providers located around the world willing to provide you with this service - some free of charge and others charging higher prices reflecting a higher quality of service. As the standard of web hosting is quite high, even amongst free of charge hosting companies, many people will choose a free hosting plan to cut costs. However, these providers often have advertisements and banners that are mandatory on your site which may deter users from using your site on a regular basis (which would result in a decrease of the performance of your site as a whole). Further, it takes up valuable space on your site for content and your own advertisements.
While you are considering which
web hosting provider is best for you, you have to really take into consideration the type of website you are creating, its level of functionality, its size, the number of visitors you expect, and how important 24 hour, 7 day a week uptime is. Also, do not count at customer support.
Web hosting is a necessary step in your website creation so make sure and do your research before you embark on your online journey.
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