An explanation of web hosting options

If you’re not in the website and technology industry then the chances are that you’ve never had to worry about what a web host is or how to pick the right one. However, as websites are fast becoming an absolute requirement for any business, whether you are a self-employed builder or a café owner, the need to understand these concepts is growing.

If you don’t have an online presence then how are potential customers going to find out about your services? Listing your services in the paper version of the Yellow Pages or the local newspaper is not going work like it used to do. Most people looking for products and services these days will do their research online and the percentage of people who do this will increase year-on-year.

So, if you have a business and you don’t have a website, then it is definitely time to look at getting one set up. Now, one of the factors that you will need to consider when launching a website, is the type of web hosting service that you require. If this is a whole new world to you, then you might want to understand a bit more about the types of hosting options that are available.

Here are some brief summaries of the most commonly used hosting options:

Free hosting – Everybody likes to get something for free but when it comes to web hosting, you need to make sure that any free services that are offered will cover your full website needs both currently and in the future. Free hosting is great if you just need a blog for fun but as a business you may find the restrictions to be a pain. Free hosting options dictate that you can’t use your own domain name and that the service provider can display adverts on your website. Free is not always best, so do your research if you’re thinking of going for free hosting.

Shared hosting – Small businesses often opt for shared hosting as it provides a relative amount of freedom in how you use your website but also the costs remain fairly reasonable. You can get a shared hosting package for around £4-£5 per month with all of the features that most small businesses will require. Shared hosting basically involves you sharing server space with a number of other websites, so the costs are spread.

Reseller hosting – Reseller hosting appeals to people that are looking to make money from ‘renting out’ space for third parties to store their websites. The reseller will buy the space and sell it on, usually for a monthly fee.

Dedicated hosting – For larger businesses that need large amounts of storage and bandwidth, plus added security features, dedicated hosting tends to be the best choice. Having a dedicated server ensures that they have full control over how the server is used and what hardware and operating system is used.

That is just a very high level summary of each type of hosting but it is definitely an area that requires looking into when you are thinking of setting up a website.