What Is Web Hosting? – Basic Ideas of Web Hosting

January 4th, 2012 Posted in web hosting
No Comments



Web hosting is the space where web pages or files are kept to make them accessible on the world wide web. After designing a website, the files of the site should be kept in a PC which is connected to the internet. This is called web hosting & the PC having this space is called the server PC.

Types of Web Hosting: Web hosting is mainly categorized based on the operating system of the server PC & performance.

Based on the OS of the server PC there are mainly two types of hosting -

1. Windows Hosting: The hosting where the server PC is run on windows. Windows hosting is a perfect choice if you want to use dotNET, ASP, access database & other Microsoft products. The main limitation of it is that it gives limited access to Telnet, SSH, CGI, Perl etc.

2. Linux Hosting: The hosting with linux run server is called linux hosting. It is more popular than windows hosting for it’s security, access to telnet, SSH, CGI, Perl etc, But if you want to work with ASP, or access database, linux hosting is not for you.

Based on performance, resource (disk space, RAM, CPU) usage & user’s access to the server, there are mainly three types of hosting -

1. Shared Hosting: This is the hosting where some accounts are hosted on the same pc. In this hosting, all accounts share the system resources like RAM, CPU, Disk Space etc together. Here you may have a specific amount of disc space & bandwidth, but there is no guaranty of systems resources. Sometimes you may get 60% of the system resources or sometimes below 30%, which actually depends, on the resource usages of other accounts on the same server at that time. In this hosting, users get the least control over the server. They can only read/write files on the server and can’t change any server settings.

2. VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting: VPS hosting is the hosting where several accounts are hosted on the same PC but work as independent PC. In a VPS, accounts have their own RAM, disk space, CPU etc so that the performance of one account is not affected by others. Even if the resources of an account are unused then it won’t be shared with others.

VPS gives users complete control over the server. In a VPS, users get full control so that they can change any settings on the server or can install any required software. Even they can reboot or shut down their server whenever they want.

3. Dedicated Server Hosting: In respect to the functionality, dedicated hosting is same as VPS hosting but in dedicated hosting only one account is hosted in one pc. So when someone buys a dedicated hosting, he actually rents a whole pc instead of part of it.

Dedicated hosting is the best choice for high traffic sites & sites with complex functionality like ecommerce sites or database driven big sites.

For hosting a website, it is possible to set up a server on your own pc & host sites there, but it’s a complex process & requires high performance PC with high speed & reliable internet connection. It also requires running that PC 24 hours a day to avoid downtime. This is why it’s recommended to buy hosting services from professional hosting providers.

, ,
Read More

Free Hosting – For Beginner Internet Marketers

November 26th, 2011 Posted in free hosting
No Comments



There are very few things in this world which are truly free. Free hosting is no exception to this rule; there are web hosting companies who may offer some sort of free service which allows you to host your site at no charge, but there are of course some strings attached to this deal. There are going to be conditions which will apply, including some which restrict your use of the site to some extent as well as limitations on the resources which you will have available to your site.

This may mean having a little less disk space, bandwidth or having to have your site hosted on a shared server rather than a dedicated server, so you will need to keep this in mind. At the same time, there are hosting companies whose free web hosting services provide users with plenty of functionality at zero cost. While it may not be ideal if you plan to host a large amount of multimedia content or you’d like to run a web based business from your website, free web hosting services can allow you to get started with a website of your own even if you’re operating on an extremely limited budget and would prefer to allocate your resources elsewhere or simply cannot afford commercial web hosting at this time.

Before you choose which free web hosting to use, you’ll want to do some research and carefully weigh the pros and cons of each of your options. Every web hosting provider’s limitation and restrictions on their free hosting accounts will be different, so it’s important to make sure that you know exactly what you’re getting. If you find a hosting service which offers free web hosting where the only limitations are ones which won’t really affect your site (for instance, if a feature which you won’t need for your website isn’t included in their free services), then this could be a good fit for your needs.

Keep in mind that you may, at least at some point in the future want to transition from a free hosting account to a paid account in order to access more features and resources later on. In case you might want to do this later, you should make sure that the web host whose free services you plan to use offers an easy way to upgrade your account which creates minimal or no interruption to your existing services. Like any other kind of web hosting, it’s a good idea to read reviews and find out what other people who have used the services of any given hosting company have to say about their experience before you make a decision.

In some cases, web hosting companies will place advertisements on your site (although not all free web hosting accounts require this). If this is something that you’re not comfortable with, then you may want to look for a different hosting company or start shopping around for an affordable paid hosting account, since this is a relatively common method used by web hosting companies to recoup the cost of offering free web hosting accounts.

, ,
Read More