What is web hosting?

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Web hosting is one of the basic technologies of the Internet. Without hosting, there would be no websites. In the past, businesses typically used their own server to host their website. Nowadays, more and more business users are wondering whether it might not be more beneficial to use other models. Ultimately, the goal is obviously to obtain the best possible cost-benefit balance. Likewise, individuals operating a website will also need to have basic knowledge of web hosting if they are to be able to choose a suitable provider as well as the right product.

Web Hosting: Definition of this fundamental part of the Internet.

In short, web hosting is the provision of storage space (on the web) for publishing websites.

In this sense, websites are like text documents. In order to be able to consult documents on a recurring basis, they can be saved on the hard disk of a computer. Likewise, in order to be able to view the content of websites at any time and anywhere in the world, this content must be saved, not on a local computer but on a powerful server connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The website created is thus available online at any time and the content can be consulted by users all over the world. Such servers are generally provided by professional hosting providers.

Who uses web hosting?

If you want to publish a website to the web, you will need to resort to some form of web hosting. Whether it is for a blog, a corporate website, an online store or an online magazine, web hosting is one of the basic technologies for publishing content on the Internet.

In this context, it does not matter whether it is a private or professional online project. From an economic standpoint, businesses may find it more beneficial to operate a clean server that will take care of publishing the website to the Web. For individuals, the costs of maintaining a personal server are usually too high, so they prefer to rent web space from a provider. However, using external web hosting can also be beneficial for a business.

How does web hosting work?

Web hosting is the technology that allows users to enter a domain name into their browser in order to view the content of the corresponding website. First, the website creator must register a domain name and then place the content on the server of a web hosting provider. The domain name system (DNS) is used to establish the link between the domain name and the server. In this context, name servers indicate under which IP address a specific domain can be found. If a user views a URL, the domain name is resolved to an IP address and the corresponding address is looked up on the Internet. If successful, the website is displayed to the user.

Since hardware failures are not excluded, many hosting providers use several servers for the same domain (high availability). This allows query resolution to take place even if a server is offline. Increased performance can be achieved with a content delivery network (CDN): the latter duplicates content on multiple data centers which can then be distributed worldwide. Users who are far away from the hosting provider geographically can achieve fast loading times.

Usually, web hosting packages also include a database, PHP installation, and SSL certificate. Without these basic technologies, no website would be accessible today. This is why many providers include them by default in their hosting plans.

What types of web hosting are there?

If you want to publish a website, you have a choice of different types of web hosting. Here is an overview of the most relevant hosting possibilities in a professional context:

Free / Ad-supported Hosting: This least expensive hosting is only cited here for the sake of completeness. Ad-supported hosting is free, but users will face significant restrictions on freedom of configuration and performance. As it is economically unthinkable for companies to display third party advertisements on their own websites, this possibility is irrelevant in a business context.

Shared hosting: this form of hosting is one of the most popular. Several web hosting accounts (websites) are hosted on a server. They share the hardware resources and the bandwidth of the system. In this context, however, the operators of one account do not have direct access to the data of the other accounts. This form of hosting is suitable for business users as well as individuals and is inexpensive. Shared hosting poses security challenges. Indeed, the data is saved on a common server with the data of third-party companies. Performance is also limited since resources are used collectively. If you are running a busy site and want to ensure fast loading times, you should opt for hosting on a dedicated server instead.

Virtual Dedicated Server: Dedicated virtual servers offer greater security. In this solution, companies share the hardware of a server, but the accounts are created separately as individual virtual systems. In general, users have more configuration options in this case than with shared hosting.

Cloud hosting: In this relatively new form of hosting, website content is placed on interconnected servers (in clusters). This helps to distribute the load better and to some extent compensate for the performance shortcomings of shared hosting while keeping costs low. Cloud hosting is sometimes criticized when it comes to data protection. When the hosting provider does not take corresponding security measures, sensitive data can easily end up in the hands of the wrong people.

Dedicated Server: Similar to dedicated virtual servers, in this solution, corporate data is also separated from that of the hosting provider’s other customers, but is stored on a completely individual physical server. This allows you to use the full system bandwidth for your website. In addition, companies have full administrator rights and can configure the server however they want.

Managed hosting server: In this solution, the contents of the user’s website are located on a separate server. However, unlike a dedicated server, the user does not have full control over the hardware. The configuration possibilities are more limited. In return, the host takes care of administration and maintenance, which frees up the company’s IT resources.

Colocation web hosting: in this form of hosting, the provider provides the company with space for its own server. Configuration, administration and maintenance are carried out entirely by the company. This form is intended for companies using their own hardware, but wanting to ensure that their server is in a professional environment. Colocation web hosting is an expensive form of hosting.

Besides providing storage space, what services does web hosting include?

Depending on the type of hosting you choose, web hosting is made up of different elements. The provision of a web space and a web server, that is to say the linking of the domain name and the web space, is part of the basic services of providers. In addition, users can add other services.

In terms of shared hosting or managed hosting, messaging services and facilities.

Frequent services of web hosts:

Domain transfer
Mail service
Backup service
Database in the background
High availability
SSL certificates
Statistical analyzes
Technical assistance
Monitoring
Server site selection