Web Hosting – Understand What is Hosting
Web Hosting -What is Hosting Web Hosting is the most important part of creating a website. In order for a site to be accessible on the internet, it must be available in one place, which in this case we call the server. A server is a computer, similar to what we use at home, but specializes in storing files and making them available for access by other computers.
However, the term web hosting is related to the server that stores and makes available a particular website on the internet.
A website is a set of files that can be downloaded and read by specialized programs, called browsers or browsers. If the files that make up a site are stored on a particular server, we say that it is hosted on this server. It is possible to set up any computer to become a server and publish a website on the internet, however, we will find several drawbacks when doing this.
That is why there are web hosting companies on the internet. These companies maintain what we call server parks or data centres. These are places that specialize in keeping hundreds or even thousands of servers running, ensuring data security and availability of full-time sites.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Web Hosting Resources.
- Disk Space.
- Transfer or Traffic.
- A number of domains.
- Email Accounts.
- Servers, database and programming languages.
- Control Panel.
- How to choose a good web hosting?
- Features offered.
- Prices.
- Customer Support.
- Money back guarantee.
Web Hosting Resources
A hosting has several features, which usually vary according to the types of hosting and plans offered by each company. We will detail in this article the main features that one must analyze when hiring a hosting of sites: disk space, transfer, domains and email.
Disk Space
Disk space is related to the amount of space a site can use on the server and is measured in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). Some lodges offer specific limits while others offer unlimited hosting. The most important thing when analyzing a plan is to understand:
- If space will be sufficient to store the files of your site
- If space offered also includes the email, as this tends to use a lot of space
The best web hosting sites often offer good disk space, even on cheaper plans. Stay tuned, however, as small or free web hosting companies greatly limit this feature.
It is also important to know that there is no unlimited hosting, or at least not in the sense of “infinite” as it seems. When a company offers a hosting of sites with unlimited disk space, it is informing that there is no set storage space for your site, but not that you have all the space in the world to insert files. Web Hosting – Understand What is Hosting, By the way, most companies do not allow the client to use the hosting as a repository of files, images and other items not related to the site.
This rule applies mainly to shared hosting, which companies often refer to as hosting sites. In dedicated servers and VPS, the disk space is always defined as it is unique to each client, while in shared hosting hundreds of clients share the same resources.
Transfer (or traffic)
The transferor traffic refers to the amount of data that will be transferred when a person accesses and navigates your site or when you update it. This is because each user when accessing your site downloads these files in your browser (ex: Chrome). When you upload images or any content on your site, you are also using this feature.
As with disk space, data transfer is sometimes unlimited. In this case, remember that nothing is infinite and that certainly there is another limitation imposed by the hosting company. One is the number of concurrent hits to your site. Small sites do not usually have problems, but if yours has increasing traffic or traffic spikes, consider hiring a more robust website hosting plan, such as Dedicated or Cloud, so your site will not air at the most important time.
Number of domains
The domain is the electronic address that we use to access the sites on the Internet, such as www.mysite.com. Hosting plans can only allow one domain, a set amount of unlimited domains or domains.
If you only have one site, you can hire a domain plan, which is usually cheaper, but if you have multiple domains, then it is worth hiring bigger plans because in total it comes out cheaper than when contracted separately. A site hosting plan that offers the inclusion of many domains allows you to host multiple sites in a single hosting plan.
As for domains parked or pointed to the main domain, where the site is (eg: mysite.com redirects to mysite.com), it is very common to be allowed and not to count in the domain limit, but it is worth confirming.
Email Accounts
When you register a domain, you have the right to create email accounts in the domain in question. That is, if you registered the fictitious domain yourdomain.com, you can create an email containing this domain, such as contact@yourdomain.com.
When hiring a web hosting service, the company should offer you the necessary tools to create the email accounts that you want under the domain you will use. Access to new email accounts can be done through email programs such as Outlook, Thunderbird or even your smartphone. It is common that companies also offer access through a webmail, which is a program that can be accessed through the internet. The type of webmail offered varies by company, which may use a proprietary or third-party program.
Email is offered for free by most web hosting companies but is sometimes sold as an optional item through partnerships such as Microsoft Outlook and G Suite. Having the email included in the hosting can be a great saving, especially if there are many email addresses since the options charge per user. To learn more, check out this article that explains the differences between G Suite and email hosting companies.
When reviewing a plan, check two items in relation to the email: the number of accounts allowed and storage capacity. Understand What is Hosting You need to make sure you can create the emails you need, and especially that you will have space to store your emails over time. If you want to use email a lot, consider a professional service like G Suite or Microsoft Outlook.
Servers, database and programming languages
The default language of web pages is HTML, which is a markup language. However, there are many other languages that can be used on the web, including several programming languages, such as PHP and ASP.
Before hiring a hosting plan, it is important to verify that the server in question is compatible with the language you intend to use on your site. There are languages that work only on Linux servers, others only on Windows servers, and some work on both. If you are in doubt, see in this article how to choose the operating system of your hosting.
In addition to the server type and language, there is also the database. For example, any site that has a content manager, such as a blog, will need the availability of a database to store information. Plans usually have one or more databases available.
Control Panel
Typically, the hosting company provides its clients with a control panel, accessible through the internet. Web Hosting – Understand What is Hosting Here you can manage the key features of your hosting, such as creating emails, changing passwords, setting up new domains, and creating databases.
Some control panels are very popular and used by many companies, such as cPanel, panel for management of Linux hosting, and Plesk for management of Windows and Linux hosting. Some companies, however, prefer to develop their own control panel solution.
How to choose a good website hosting?
Here’s what you take into consideration when choosing the hosting for your site:
Features offered
Space, transfer, domains and emails are the most important features to consider in addition to the operating system. Compare the features offered by each company and how it suits your needs. In this ranking, we show the best hosting companies and compare their resources.
If you plan to create your own website and have no technical knowledge, hire a site creator who already comes with hosting. It is important that it is easy to use, that the themes are modern and that adapt to cell phones and tablets. If you have any technical knowledge or are hiring someone, consider creating your website in WordPress.
Prices
Evaluate plan prices and if possible, take advantage of promotions, which are usually in annual plans. In addition to the discounts on hosting, it is common to earn 1 year of free domain. Contracts for longer periods, from a year, also come out cheaper. Stay tuned for renovation prices. Sometimes a plan is very cheap in hiring, but in renewal, it is more expensive than the competitor. In some cases, it is better to pay a higher price now if at renewal it comes out cheaper.
Customer support
Make sure the company supports email, chat and phone 24 hours a day and in Portuguese. Also, assess your reputation on social networks and how it positions itself in the Complaint Here. Support is a serious thing and you need to be able to count on it when you need it.
Extras
Items such as automatic application installer (eg WordPress) and free migration service can be very useful. The latter, for example, allows you to have your site transferred to the new hosting at no cost. It is useful for those who are not technical and want to change hosting company. Some companies also offer 1-year free domain or free SSL certificate.
Satisfaction guarantee
The money back guarantee is very valid as it allows you to test the hosting without risk. Usually can be used up to 30 days after purchase, and is offered by some companies.
Conclusion
We hope these tips have been helpful to you! If you have liked, short, or share, more people will be able to benefit from this content. If you have any questions, leave a comment here in the post, we will do our best to help you!