What is web hosting, domain name and how it is works ?

What is Web Hosting ?

• Website hosting means uploading, publishing your website to web servers computers (Internet).
• Websites are hosted or stored on special computers called servers.
• It is the physical location of your website on the Internet.
• An online storage center that stores the information, images, video, and other content that comprises your website.
• Every website you’ve ever visited is hosted on a server.
• Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to publish website onto the Internet.
• Web hosting is an online service that enables you to publish your website or web application on the internet.
• When a hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website.
• The main types of hosting are shared, dedicated, VPS and Reseller.
• When you sign up for a hosting service, you basically rent some space on a server on which you can store all the files and data necessary for your website to work properly.
• A server is a physical computer that runs without any interruption so that your website is available all the time for anyone who wants to see it.
• Your web host is responsible for keeping the server up and running, protecting it from malicious attacks, and transferring your content (text, images, files) from the server to your visitors’ browsers.
• Web hosting service providers maintain the server where the data associated with your website resides and also manage the technology that makes your website connect to the Internet.
• The more content you have on your site (i.e., photos, document files, video files etc.), the more disk space you'll need for website hosting. 

What is a Domain Name?

• Domain name is the address of your website that people type in the browser’s URL bar to visit your website. In other words, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address.
• Internet is basically a giant network of computers connected to each other through cables. To easily identify them, each computer is assigned a series of numbers called IP Address. This IP address is a combination of numbers separated with dots. Typically, IP addresses look like this: 66.249.66.1 Computers have no problem identifying and remembering these numbers. However, it is impossible for humans to remember and use these numbers. To solve this problem, domain names were invented.
• A domain name can have words which makes it easy to remember website addresses.
• Now if you wanted to visit a website on the internet, you don’t need to type a string of numbers. Instead, you can just type in an easy to remember domain name, for example, pschelper.com 

Difference between Domain Name and Web Hosting.

Domain name	Web Hosting
It is an address of your website.	It is the space, home, place for your website
You need to domain name to create website	You need to web hosting service to store website’s files.
You need to renew domain every years.	You need to also renew hosting plan every years.
A domain name system is like a address book that is constantly updated.	The web hosting is the big house where you stores the website’s files.
It is not available free. You have to pay for it every year.	Some hosting company like Google gives your free hosting space.
Without domain names, it will not be possible for people to find your website	Without web hosting you cannot build a website.

  How Web Hosting Works?

• When you decide to start a new website, you need to find a hosting company who provides you with the server space. Your web host stores all your files, assets, and databases on the server. Whenever someone types your domain name into the address bar of their browser, your host transfers all the files necessary to serve the request.
• You need to choose a hosting plan that best fits your needs and purchase it. In fact, web hosting works similarly to housing rentals, you have to pay the rent regularly in order to keep the server running continuously.
• To reduce risks, each Hosting plan comes with a 30-day money back guarantee so that you can see if our service really fits your needs. Moreover, you can start budget-friendly plan we designed specifically for smaller projects. When your website grows and you need more server space, you can move on to one of our more advanced plans without any wait.
• Hosting accounts come with a graphical user interface where you can manage every aspect of your website. For e.g.,

• You can upload HTML and other files to the server,

• Install content management systems such as Word Press, Drupal, etc.

• Access your database.

• Create backups for your site. 

Besides providing a server space for your website, hosting providers may also offer other services related to website management, such as:

• SSL certificates (for secure sites using the https:// protocol)
• Email hosting
• Page builders
• Developer tools
• Customer support service (frequently with live chat)
• Automated website backups
• One-click software installs (e.g. for Word Press or Drupal)

What do I need to Build a Website? Domain Name or Web Hosting? 

• To build a website you will need both a domain name and web hosting account.
• Buying a domain name alone only gives you right to use that particular domain name for a specific period.
• You need web hosting to store your website’s files.  

Different Types of Web Hosting

 The bigger your website is, the more server space you need. It’s the best to start small, with a shared hosting plan and when your site gets bigger, upgrade to a more advanced type of hosting.

Most web hosts offer different types of hosting so that they can serve the needs of different clients. The most frequent hosting types are the following:

• Shared Hosting

• VPS Hosting

• Cloud Hosting

• Word Press Hosting

• Dedicated Server Hosting 

Shared Hosting

• Shared hosting is the most common type of web hosting and it’s an excellent solution for most small businesses and blogs.
• When you hear the word “web hosting”, the speaker usually refers to shared hosting. With shared hosting, you share a server with other clients of your hosting provider. Websites hosted on the same server share all its resources such as memory, computing power, disk space, and others.

Pros:	Cons:
Low cost Beginner-friendly (no need for specific technical knowledge) Pre-configured server User-friendly control panel Maintenance and server administration are done care by the host	Little or no control over server configuration Traffic surges on other websites can slow down your site

  VPS Hosting 

• With VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, you still share a server with other users, however, your web host allocates a separate partition for you on the server. This means you get a dedicated server space and a reserved amount of computing power and memory.
• In fact, VPS hosting can be great for medium-sized businesses with rapidly growing websites.

Pros:	Cons:
Dedicated server space (without having to pay for a dedicated server) Traffic surges on other websites have no effect on your performance. Root access to the server Easy scalability High customizability	More expensive than shared hosting Technical and server management knowledge is a must

 Cloud Hosting

• Cloud hosting is currently the most reliable solution on the market, as it comes with literally no downtime.
• With cloud hosting, your host provides you with a cluster of servers. Your files and resources are replicated on each server. When one of the cloud servers is busy or has any problems, your traffic is automatically routed to another server in the cluster.

Pros:	Cons:
Little to no downtime Server failures have no effect on your site Allocates resources on demand Pay as you go pricing (you only pay for what you use) More scalable than a VPS	Hard to estimate the costs Root access is not always provided

Word Press Hosting

• Word press hosting is a certain form of shared hosting, created for Word Press site owners. 
• Your server is configured specifically for Word Press and your site comes with pre-installed plugins for crucial things like caching and security.
• Due to the highly optimized configuration, your site loads much faster and runs with fewer problems.
• Word press hosting plans frequently include extra Word Press-related features, such as pre-designed Word press themes, drag-and-drop page builders, and specific developer tools.

Pros:	Cons:
Low cost (frequently available at the same cost as regular shared hosting) Beginner-friendly One-click Word Press installation Good performance for Word Press sites Customer support team trained in Word Press issues Pre-installed Word Press plugins and themes	Recommended only for Word Press sites (this can be an issue if you want to host more than one websites on your server and not all of them use Word Press)

Dedicated Hosting

• Dedicated hosting means that you have your own physical server that’s dedicated solely to your site. Therefore, dedicated hosting gives you incredible flexibility. 
• You can configure your server as you wish, choose the operating system and software you want to use, and set up the whole hosting environment according to your own needs.
• In fact, renting a dedicated server is just as powerful as owning your own on-site server, but comes with the professional support of your web host.

Pros:	Cons:
Full control over server configuration High reliability (you don’t share the resources of your server with anyone) Root access to your server High security	High cost Technical and server management knowledge is a must

So, What Is Web Hosting?

Overall, web hosting is the service you need if you want to publish a website. In fact, having a website gives you incredible advantages by enabling you to easily reach millions of users worldwide.A good web host empowers you to serve your content on the internet, provide your visitors with an excellent user experience and attract as many users as possible to your website.