Web Hosting Guide: Part 1 - What is a Web Host

Here at ITT we will be, over the next five weeks in a five part effort, explain to you what web hosting is all about.

The first part begins:

What Is A Web Host?

A web hosting service is obviously non-tangible and it allows individuals and organisations to allow their own websites to be made accessible via the World Wide Web(www). It places your website onto a computer called a server where thousands (or lack of people, like mine) of people may access in order to view your website through the internet. Web hosts are companies that provide this space on the internet through servers which they own for use by their consumers as well as also providing internet connectivity, typically in a data center.
Webhosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center.
This server is just like any other computer, similar even to the one you have viewing this article right now, the only difference being that it is set up to serve websites to people around the WWW.

A web hosting company can host thousands of different websites on many servers and so basically is like renting out space on which you can do whatever you like. (In my case it's putting awesome information onto the net for all to read and share).

Some larger web hosting companies may own their own collection of servers, called a datacenter, and then rent some servers to smaller companies to resell. This way smaller companies don't have to buy large amounts of servers, and by renting the actual web space from a larger company they are actually paying less. Datacenters are definitely not cheap as they need reliable and fast connections (think many times faster than what your using right now) to the Internet and also have power backup systems and high security (no one wants their data stolen now do they) :P

In a sea of web hosting companies how do you know which one is best? Which one has the best plans at the best price? There are literally thousands of web hosting companies available in the market, all with different types of plans and at different prices. And without external help (not me :P ) it can be a serious assignment to look through all the options, especially if you are completely new to the webhosting scene.

For this time I'll start by giving the readers some basic options that all web hosting plans have:

Server Type: The type of server operating system, such as Windows 2000 server, Linux and Unix. If you plan on running a basic website then server type does not matter. However for more advanced and complex functions such as database functions, websites that serve up dynamic pages, then the server type will be more important.

Disc Space: Amount of actual space that is available for you to store web pages on the server hard disc. For example, a webpage containing only text may not go above 20kb, whilst a webpage containing java applications, pictures etc. will require much much more.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth is a measure of how much website traffic is available to you. This is usually calculated in a monthly basis. So everytime someone looks at your website, the server must send the information across the internet to their computer, this use takes up bandwidth. High traffic sites require more bandwidth requirements, but the average site does not. This also depends on how big your webpages are. One with low amounts of pictures will not require something high.

Email Accounts: Do you need email accounts? ITT usually prefers to use its external email address but using email address with the same domain name as your website sounds more professional.

And with that concludes the first part of the five part series, come back next time to get more info on the guide to webhosting. Subscribe to the RSS feed to make sure you don't forget!