Web Hosting
GUIDE

Types Of Web Hosts

Description: Surely all web hosts are pretty much the same, right? Well no, not exactly. There are several different types of web host around today, and it's important to know the difference if you want to make sure you pick the right host for you.

There are lots of different web hosting services online today, and with so many different prices and services on offer it can be difficult to know which service would suit you best.

To make the decision easier, take a look at the different web hosting services that are on offer. While there are plenty of different kinds, these are the main ones you will come across.

Free web hosting

It sounds good but it comes with a host of disadvantages. Free hosting means you get a page or a site - depending on the host - and you don't pay anything to get it online.

Unfortunately if you opt for this service your site will probably have the web host's adverts all over it and the number of things you can do with it will be limited. It's also not the option to go for if you want an ecommerce site. You may also find search engine optimization harder because some search engines frown on sub-domains when it comes to listing them in their results.

Shared web hosting

This is the type of web hosting that most people use. What it basically means is that your website will share a server with lots of other websites, all connecting to the internet at the same time.

The advantage of this service is that the shared aspect makes it much cheaper and within the range of almost everyone to be able to afford.

Dedicated web hosting

As the name might suggest, if you opt for dedicated web hosting you will have a web server all to yourself instead of having to share it with other people.

This will mean that you will have far more in the way of bandwidth and web space available to you, which is why many growing businesses end up having to switch over from shared hosting to dedicated hosting, because they outgrow the facilities that shared web hosting offers.

Colocation hosting

This kind of hosting is for the bigger businesses who want more control over how their website connects to the internet. They provide their own servers and can locate them in more than one place too if they wish. This can add to the versatility and safety of the whole system.

In this case the webmaster may also pay the web host a further fee to maintain their own system for them. This is often an easier option as they will be on site to deal with any problems in a much faster time.

Ecommerce web hosting

This is perfect for anyone who has an online business which takes orders over the internet. From a small home business to a major going concern, ecommerce web hosting provides all the solutions you need to be able to process orders online without having to worry about safety.

It will include the use of a secure server and it also usually provides shopping cart technology for you to integrate into your website. The facility to integrate PayPal into your site should also be offered.

As you can see choosing a web host isn't just a case of finding one that offers a service at a decent price. It's vital to ensure that your web host can provide for all your needs all the time, to ensure the relationship you have will always be a happy one.