Introduction to Basic Web hosting

Welcome to the web world – domain names, web hosting, dedicated servers, dedicated IP address, ssl certificates. These words may be quite confusing to you if you are new to getting a website running. What do you need and what are the extras they are trying to sell you on. Two items exist that are essential for any web site to be up and running -domain name registration and web hosting. Basically your name like “myspace.com” and a place to keep your files that your visitor will see.

The domain name is easier to understand, as every day you are typing in domain names. What about the web hosting aspect of it? Well let’s explain what you are doing when you buy website hosting. Web Hosting is like a container for your web files. These files may include Code files (HTML, CSS, PHP, ASP) or Visual Files (Images, Flash, Video). Your site requires a web hosting server, which is basically a computer designed to display your web pages. Basically a web hosting package is a service provided by a Company that allows anybody with access to the internet the ability to view your web site files.

Now that we understand what web hosting actually is, what do all these features mean when I am looking to buy website hosting packages? For beginner sites, you will be mainly looking at two main features – disk space and bandwidth. The former translates to the file size you are allowed to keep on the actual web server. The latter indicates how much data your server can transfer to your web site visitors in a given time. When your web site grows and needs more advanced features like a Content Management System, your next steps are to check into features for language support and database support. The programming language the site was coded in will help you choose the language support required, while the database is essentially where your data is stored.

To summarize, web site hosting is a server that allows visitors of your site to view your web site files. The needs and requirements of your site will then determine what you need to look for in terms of disk space, bandwith, language support and database support.