Website Hosting Types

Author: johnmcdonald | Posted: 26.09.2008

Perhaps the most essential decision a new webmaster has to make is deciding on the type of hosting they will need and the company that provides that hosting. Cheap and free web hosts may not actually be the best deal considering all the restrictions such an account typically faces, but new and low-traffic websites also don't need to buy the most expensive and resource-intensive host available.

Free Hosting

For would-be webmasters wanting to start a website without any financial risk, there are many hosts that provide some kind of free hosting service. Popular blogging platforms like Blogger and Wordpress help publishers build a blog in just a few minutes without any monetary commitment or programming knowledge. The clear benefit to using these types of website hosts is access to free internet publishing with the click of a few links and an browser-based input field.

However, all free website hosting services have some kind of catch. Some are for strictly non-commercial websites, some hosts will actually add their adds to your pages, and many have specific limits on the types of content that can be posted.

At the very least, free hosts lack backup capacity and offer generally limited access to the data and software that makes the site run. While they are easy to use, this can be a limitation in the long run as you've learned more and want to expand the capabilities and reach of your site.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is a good, balanced choice for new websites and sites that get steady amounts of low or moderate traffic. Since shared website hosts put many users and domains on the same computer server, resources of the machine are available to each website or account as the traffic comes in and requires it. Many shared hosts allow you to put multiple websites and domains on your one account, provide complete control of file systems. The best ones even set up browser-based installations for powerful content management systems and popular website building software.

The biggest problem with shared hosting is that high traffic websites will often cause a problem for the system and eventually they get shut down and kicked off the server. Some hosts even sell too many accounts for the capacity they have, and you may just get unlucky and share a machine with a resource hog who causes your own website to slow down or crash. Its important to read a lot of website hosting reviews before settling on a shared host - quality matters!

Virtual Private and Private Servers

Virtual private servers are a lot like shared servers but the title implies a higher threshold of resources and technical support. Basically, fewer accounts go on each host and the price goes up. Some hosts provide shared and virtual private servers, and in these cases upgrading an account can be a very quick and simple process as your website grows.

Again, not even website host is created the same. Be sure to find objective reviews and look for programs that offer money-back guarantees or hosts that give you a no-risk preview period.

Dedicated Hosting

A dedicated website host basically means paying someone to maintain a computer for you and keep it connected to the internet. The only problem is the price! Dedicated hosts can be expanded to even include multiple machines - some of the largest websites need their own cluster of servers dedicated to each performing specific tasks that come together to create a single webpage.

Before choosing a website hosting service, take full account of what the website will require, what type of traffic you expect, and what type of content you'll want to host. Paying too much can hurt a website's business model, but not having sufficient hosting resources can bring the whole project down. Video, music, and other high quality media usually requires higher levels of resources per visitor, so consider this as you're planning ahead.

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