Hosting
What is Hosting?
Hosting is a broad term that is used to refer to internet hosting and its subtype website hosting. Internet hosting is a service that runs Internet servers. Website hosting services enable users to create and launch websites on the internet.
Typically, website hosting services have a built-in Domain Name System (DNS), email, and file hosting servers. DNS hosting services enable DNS servers to run; if a website host does not have a DNS host, users can use Free DNS servers and third-party DNS hosts. Additionally, internet hosting services charge users a flat fee to use their servers.
What is Web Hosting?
Website hosting is the practice of third-party sites hosting other websites on their servers. When you want to create a website that you want to run on the World Wide Web (www), you have to use a host to run your website. Famous website hosting services include GoDaddy, Wix, BlueHost, Hostgator, and DreamHost. There are several features you need to consider before choosing a hosting service for your website. Let’s discuss.
1. Speed
To have a well-functioning website with a smooth user interface and experience (UI and UX), you need to have a fast hosting provider. According to Google stats, delays of as little as three seconds can make users lose patience and switch away from your website, back to the search engine page. This will increase your website’s bounce rate, lowering your search engine ranking and harming your website’s SEO, among other things. Therefore, your website host should provide speedy page loading to get the most out of your website.
2. Cost-Efficiency
Most website hosts these days offer an array of additional resources that enhance your website and your user experience.
For example, website hosts often have domain hosting servers built-in; these servers let you pick a domain for your website. Moreover, website hosts provide email hosting that allows users you create related emails with your domain name. Good website hosts also allow you to transition onto their server for free, saving you the cost of transferring your website and saving you the time of creating a new site. It’s essential to choose a web hosting provider that offers a decent resource package at a reasonable price, so you don’t have to purchase multiple tools from other sites. This will boost your return on investment by saving you costs in the production of your site.
3. User Friendly
Many website builders and hosting providers are complicated to use. You set out to create a website, and you find yourself trying to figure out how to get started for a few hours before you even begin. Your website host should ideally be user-friendly so web developers can navigate their service easily without wasting too much time. The best website hosts out there can even get your site up and running in an hour.
4. Security
Ideally, your website host should provide you with a secure socket locker (SSL) certificate. SSL ensures that the data on your website is encrypted and safe from hackers and cyber-attacks.
5. Customer Support
This is one of the most important things to look out for when choosing a web hosting service. Things can go wrong with your website; there can be server errors, lagging, and malware issues. To solve these issues, you need a responsive and knowledgeable customer support team on the back-end. It’s all about efficiency; saving time and money is essential, especially for small businesses with a tight budget.
The Best Web Hosting Services
There are hundreds of affordable and expensive web hosting companies out there that will host your website and register your domain name. Here are some of the best web hosting providers that meet most, if not all, of the benchmarks discussed above.
- BlueHost
- Hostgator
- GoDaddy
- DreamHost
- Hostinger
The Bottom Line
Businesses in the digital age need to have functional and user-friendly websites to stay current and boost their brand’s performance. To have an excellent website, you need to have an excellent website hosting service that provides speed, security, resources, customer support, a developer-friendly user interface, and cost-efficiency.