What is web hosting? It may seem technical or complex, but it’s actually quite a simple concept to understand. This blog will introduce you to what hosting is and how it works for different sized companies.

Let’s start with something you’re more familiar with – a website.

Let’s break it down. Imagine you asked a web designer to design a website for you.  At this early stage, the website files are only stored on the web designers computer, not on the Internet. The next crucial step would be for all your web files to be uploaded to a server which is connected to the Internet. When all your web files are uploaded to your server, then you’ll have a website which people will be able to see.

When you rent space on a server from a company – this is what we call web hosting.

There are three main types of web hosting that you can choose from.

Shared Hosting

Unlike the other types, shared hosting is like paying rent to live in an apartment.  Compared to other types of web hosting, shared is the cheapest and is where most web sites live. Like an apartment, it comes with all the basics like email, WordPress, and tools that enable you to easily run a website on your own. However, keep in mind that when you live in an apartment yousharethe facilities with lots of other tenants or other web sites. So what you do can affect everybody else.

For example, if your website becomes popular and gets lots of traffic lots of visitors, then it’s possible that the apartment manager will suggest you move elsewhere. So this may not be your best option if you’re expecting lots of traffic.

Virtual Servers

The second type of hosting is using a virtual server. Compared to an apartment, this could be thought of like a townhouse. It’s large and you have more rooms and more overall space. Again, like shared hosting, you share the property and its facilities such as processor usage, but it has fewer residents. The good thing is because you have more control and the rooms are soundproofed so to speak, you can get lots of visitors and lots of traffic to your website and everything will run easier.

Dedicated Servers

A dedicated server is like being the king of your own castle and you are in charge! You can paint the walls whatever colour you want and build a pool or tennis court. In hosting terms this would be like you buying as many computing resources as you can afford to look after.

Dedicated servers are often favoured by big businesses with popular websites. They’re more complex to manage but they are much more powerful so you’ll have a huge amount of space.

Businesses in the manufacturing, automation or other large volume companies benefit greatly from this type of hosting. So as long as you can cope, you can have as many visitors to your site as you want.

Remember that renting space on a server which connects your website to the internet is not so complicated but is based on whether you need web hosting for a small one-page website or a large complex online store that’ll get millions of visitors. Whichever your situation, it’s important to team up with a company that can help you navigate which hosting is best for your business.

Bwired offers fast, scalable and secure web hosting services for basic and complex sites.  Visit us today at bwired.ca

About Bwired Technologies

Celebrating its 10th year, Bwired Technologies empowers digital leaders by creating competitive advantage through the design and development of robust web, mobile, and digital solutions. The company’s Rhyno Cloud™ also integrates high-speed hosting, cybersecurity, maintenance and support into one fully-managed solution. Visit Bwired.ca

About Dan Duran

At the dynamic cross-section of Digital Technology, you’ll find Dan. An experienced technology strategist with a strong understanding of business and agile software management. Dan founded Bwired in 2009. He holds an iMBA degree from the University of Illinois, a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Software Product Management Specialization from the University of Alberta.