Hosting Service
Overview
A hosting service is a type of internet service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Hosting services are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.
Types of Hosting Services
There are various types of hosting services available, each designed to meet different needs. These include:
- Shared web hosting service: A website is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU.
- Reseller web hosting: Allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting, depending on who they are affiliated with as a reseller.
- Virtual dedicated server: Also known as a Virtual Private Server (VPS), divides server resources into virtual servers, where resources can be allocated in a way that does not directly reflect the underlying hardware.
- Dedicated hosting service: The user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control over it (user has root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server.
- Managed hosting service: The user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (user is denied root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools.
- Cloud hosting: A new type of hosting platform that allows customers powerful, scalable and reliable hosting based on clustered load-balanced servers and utility billing.
Features and Services
Web hosting services offer varying amounts of monthly data transfers, storage, email, and other features. Even how you pay (month-to-month payments vs. annual payments) can be radically different, too.
Some specific types of services provided by web hosting companies include:
- Email hosting: Along with web page hosting, the companies provide email hosting as well. They provide email domain name along with the website domain name.
- FTP hosting: File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is a means of transferring files over the internet from one computer to another. Many hosting services provide FTP hosting.
- SSL certificate: SSL certificates are a must for websites that deal with user and customer information. An SSL certificate ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.
- Database support: Most hosting services provide MySQL support, but you'll also find that some offer support for other databases like PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.
- Content Management System (CMS) support: Some services specialize in hosting specific software solutions like WordPress, Joomla, etc.
Choosing a Hosting Service
When choosing a hosting service, consider the following factors:
- Reliability and uptime: This is critical for the operation of your website. The standard nowadays is 99.9% uptime.
- Bandwidth and data transfer: Many services offer "unlimited" plans that are actually subject to certain restrictions.
- Customer service: Good customer service can mean the difference between a minor hiccup in your service and a prolonged outage.
- Scalability: Your hosting service should be able to scale as your business grows.