What is a Web Host?
A web host provider is a company who rents out web space and bandwidth to those who wish to publish a web site. The web host gives its customer an account, which can be used to upload HTML documents, PHP scripts, graphics, and more
What to Look For
There are many variables that define a hosting service. We have separated this guide into the most important variables to consider. Hosts may not offer all this information up front, so you may have to contact the host via email or phone to get the answers you need. If this is your first time in choosing a web host, then do yourself a favor and peruse through our Web Host Guide.
Web Host - Types
Corporate web server solutions, personal web sites, and small business e-commerce sites require very different web hosting solutions. A corporation would definitely want a dedicated web server, that is managed 24 hours a day 7 days a week, by a staff of highly trained administrators On the other hand, someone who runs a casual, personal web site may find that a basic free web hosting service is more than enough for them.
When choosing a web host it is very important that you first consider what your needs are. After you have figured out your needs(after reading the Web Host Guide) you will be able to choose the correct host type. Web host types can be narrowed down into the following categories:
- Minimal Shared Hosting - Free, very little features
- Shared Hosting - Most Popular, your web site is located on a server that hosts many other sites.
- Dedicated Server Hosting U- Unmanaged (little to no customer support), server administration is left to the customer.
- Dedicated Server Hosting M- Managed (includes customer support), the administration is *usually* taken care of.
