What To Look For In Web Hosting

It was not that long ago that when someone mentioned the word “web” it could be assumed that they were referring to the fragile creations of spiders. But today, the word web refers to something utterly different – an expanse so great we can barely understand it. The web refers to the World Wide Web – or the Internet – a creation that does not take up any physical space but still holds an enormous amount of information; all of which can is funneled to and from the network of computers worldwide that access the Internet. For most of today’s business, there is no true success without an online presence; keeping pace with this fact, companies small and large continue to craft their online persona through the creation of a website. As part of this explosion in websites has come the ever-expanding need for web hosting – a service that is offered through a network of providers.

Web hosting is offered through a company – or individual - that has direct access to the Internet through a server – a computer that gives and receives information to other computers. Like a landlord, the company that offers web hosting rents out space on their server to your company’s website. If you rent this space through your web host but have your own domain name – or website address – then this company is considered to be a virtual web host. A non-virtual web host still gives you space on their server but through their domain name or website address.

Not all web hosting is the same, however, and there are certain things that you should look for in order to get your money’s worth of service. First and foremost, an effective web host should be connected to the Internet almost all of the time. Granted – there may be times when your web host must be offline for service - or is booted offline due to a technical issue - but in general web hosts should be up and running at all times; you are paying for this consistency so that visitors to your website can access it without fail. A web host stores all of your data on its server and should handle all technical difficulties that may arise with responsiveness and professionalism.

Web hosting comes at a variety of prices – from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands of dollars per year. For websites that receive quite a bit of traffic, it is worth the money for a reputable and comprehensive host that can handle the myriad of services you require. For those with smaller businesses or those who have created their own personal web page, a smaller, less expensive web host will undoubtedly deliver all that is needed and a price that is affordable.

For easy to understand, in depth information about web hosting visit our ezGuide 2 Web Hosting.

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