Do I really need web hosting?
If you're planning to build a website, you may have come across the term "web hosting" without even knowing what it means. When you find that web hosting is often expensive, you may ask yourself:
The simple answer is yes. If you have a website, automatically you need web hosting.
But if you understand what web hosting is, you can get better ideas about costs.
What is web hosting?
We talk about websites as if they were outside the physical space. Terms such as "cyberspace" and "cloud" support the idea that many websites accessed by devices are floating in the air rather than in physical locations.
In fact, every website on the Internet occupies physical space on a web server. However, these web servers are stored in repositories scattered around the world and are invisible to most because few Internet users have a reason to access them.
We don't notice or think about these servers, but they are an important part of our internet experience.
The service you provide to a website where they are stored and whose content is available to Internet users around the world is called web hosting. Here's a quick explanation of how web hosting works.
Why do websites require web hosting?
Once you learn how to create a website for a particular device, it will work on those devices.
If you're releasing globally, you need to make it accessible only to you, beyond the specific device you own. But it has to live somewhere.
A web hosting service allows you to keep a website alive and stored while it is available on the Internet.
If you want your website to be online, in other words, if you don't want anyone but you to see it, hosting packages are an important part of the equation.
Need a web hosting service?
For most websites, hosting is provided by a web hosting company that owns and operates many servers and allows customers to rent storage space on those servers.
You pay the web host monthly or yearly for this storage space, and in return they keep your website running.
If you find the idea of having to spend money on your website frustrating, wonder if there is a way to avoid having to pay others for your web hosting service You may think.
While it is technically possible for a company or individual to purchase and manage their own private server, it is an expensive and unrealistic solution for the majority of website owners.
Servers require maintenance, good air conditioning, and advanced knowledge.
In addition, the bandwidth required to host your own website on the server is much higher than the bandwidth allowed by most home or small business internet plans.
Bandwidth is directly related to speed and uptime, so it's important to ensure that you have enough bandwidth for your visitors to access your website. Web hosting companies have already invested in this area:
The server itself
Space required for storage
Measures are needed to protect the server from overheating and the effects of weather. The bandwidth is required to keep the server running consistently and quickly.
Qualified professionals need to ensure proper maintenance as needed. The cost of server replacement and upgrade, if needed.
Since this is your business, it is your responsibility to comply with all of these requirements, even if it entails a great deal of expense and inconvenience to you. This is just one of the many benefits of web hosting.
How about free web hosting?
You know you need web hosting, but do you really have to pay for it? You can find a free platform for building your website with free web hosting or some online search engines related to web hosting providers.
Would you like to choose one of them? In some cases, it may make sense to take advantage of a free hosting plan.
For example, if you're building your website just for fun and don't care too much about sustainability or profitability.
But for those who have big goals and expectations for their website, it's a serious risky decision.
Free hosting has some restrictions.
Free hosting platforms and plans usually have fewer customization and branding options. If you want to design and build your website to your tastes and specs, there aren't many options here.
This is especially true for free platforms such as Tumblr and Blogger, which are based on fixed structures. You can only change the website color, background, and content.
If your website is for a business or personal brand you want to build an audience with, these restrictions are a real branding issue. You have to work harder to make your website stand out from your visitors.
And besides the design, there are other restrictions. Free hosting means less storage space than paid hosting options.
There is a limit to the number of files you can add to your site. This is especially true for larger media such as video and audio. It also lacks some of the features that websites often need. B. URL redirects and custom error page creation. There is no way to protect your website.
Features and options vary from free hosting site to free hosting site, but some or all of these restrictions may apply. Before you can sign up, you need to know what you are getting (what you are not getting).
It may not be completely free.
Some web hosting services are crazy about "free" offers, but once you get started, you'll find that there's not much you can do with a free web hosting package.
If you want to run your website and access the features you need, you need to upgrade to one of the paid plans.
They are already interested in you, so you may feel connected to them even if they are not the best deal or the most trusted web hosting provider.
In many cases, you can't even transfer your setup to a new provider. Switching providers means building a new website from scratch.
It's not really your website.
If your website is on another platform, you are bound by the rules and operating procedures of that platform. In most cases, this means you don't have your own domain.
Free hosting on WordPress.org is a good example. Instead of www.yourdomain.com, the URL is something like www.yourdomain.platformname.com.
This is one of the reasons why many people choose WordPress web hosting so that they have their own domain and can take advantage of WordPress features.
It also means that you can't usually use a specific email address for your domain name, but it makes your brand look more professional and established.
In addition, providers often serve ads to your site, reducing the opacity and reliability of your ads.
And if the platform decides to change its features or rules, you're full of grace. You may lose some of the features you took for granted.
If you don't pay for hosting, you will not be able to fully control your website.
You can lose everything
If you break some of their rules, or if your platform or provider decides you no longer want your site because they changed their minds, there is not much you can do. Your website may be permanently deleted and you will have to start over.
This worst-case scenario does not occur, but free hosting providers usually do not provide technical support. If a website has a technical problem, or worse, a hacker, no one can count on it.
Therefore, your options are limited and you may have to start your paid service from scratch. As a first step, it's best to start with a long-term service (and if you move, you can take your site with you).
Shared hosting
This is the cheapest option and the most common choice for new websites. Shared hosting prices start at around $ 23 per month for the most basic plans. However, if you want to access additional features such as:
- Ability to host multiple domains
- Additional bandwidth or storage space
- Unlimited email addresses
- SSL certificate for security
- Automatic backup
- Website builder
Some web hosting providers like HostGator offer these additional features for free on shared hosting plans to save money and win better deals. Shared hosting allows you to get a secure email address and SSL certificate.
A shared hosting plan uses the same web hosting provider to rent space on a server that is shared with many other websites.
This is fine for many websites, but some websites require a hosting plan that offers more disk space or bandwidth.
E-commerce hosting
If you plan to sell your product through your website, make sure your web hosting package has all the features you need to do so.
E-commerce hosting plans start at around $ 520 per month for the base plan and can exceed $ 250 per month depending on the features you include.
All e-commerce plans must include e-commerce software that offers or is compatible with the following features:
- Shopping cart function
- Payment function at check-out
- Means of Accepting Secure Payments
- It also requires an SSL certificate and it is advisable to invest in additional security software such as Sitelock.
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting plans typically range from $ 5 to $ 50 and are a good option for website owners who expect more traffic than shared hosting plans or need more storage space.
Cloud hosting promises shorter load times, fewer disk space limitations, and easier scalability than shared hosting.
If you expect (or want) a rapid increase in website traffic after it starts, this could be a better option than a shared hosting plan.
VPS hosting
Next is the VPS package. They cost between $ 20 and $ 100 per month. With these packages, a website shares a server with other websites, but with far less access to multiple servers than a shared package.
For websites with high traffic or needing more storage space than a shared or cloud hosting plan offers, VPS is the next step.
Dedicated server
Investing in a dedicated website server eliminates the need to share it with other websites. You have all the server resources, bandwidth, and disk space (although maintenance and costs can be left to the hosting company).
If your website grows so big that you need a dedicated server, you can expect to pay anywhere from $ 80 to $ 1,000 or more per month.
do not worry. Most websites don't have to spend too much money on web hosting, but for very popular websites and established brands, this is the best option.
Yes, web hosting is required
Am I really in need of web hosting
You know the answer is certainly yes. If you want to learn how to create a website, you should know that web hosting is a necessary and integral part of the web development process.
If you want your website to be something other than fun, you should take the time to find and invest in a web hosting package that suits your needs.
There is a small price to pay for the security and control you have (especially if your site helps you make money).
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