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Types of Website Hosting

If you're interested in creating an online presence for yourself or your business, the best way to do it is to build a website. Websites are, most basically, collections of files, so each one requires a place to store its files and a way to make those files accessible to other people connected to the internet. A web server, through web hosting, performs these critical functions. While every site needs hosting, there are a number of different ways that website hosting can be done. Which type of hosting will work best for your site depends on its size and complexity, as well as the resources and technical expertise at your disposal. To help you figure out the best hosting match for you, we'll take you through some of the most popular website hosting options below.

Shared hosting, also called virtual hosting, is the hosting of multiple websites on the same web server. With shared hosting, a web hosting company provides the user storage space and makes the website's files accessible to others via the internet. The web host also maintains the server and provides technical support for it. For those who are not technically inclined or who do not have access to their own technical support staff, having a web host to manage these matters can make shared hosting can make a great fit.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of shared hosting is that its efficient use of resources means that it costs much less than most other types of website hosting. Shared web hosting also means that users can benefit from the expertise of the web hosting company providing the servers; a web hosting company like Freeservers that specializes in shared hosting has the experience and resources to provide exceptional reliability and technical support for your site. The specialized resources of a shared hosting company are well positioned to keep your site running properly and serving quickly at all times.

While shared hosting is an appropriate choice for many users, it's not right for everyone. Those with extensive technical know-how who want complete control over their servers and websites are better served by another hosting option. Additionally, if your site is large and extremely active, you may need more server resources than shared hosting provides.

With dedicated web hosting, there is a web server devoted entirely to your site. You may purchase your own server or pay for access to a server owned by someone else. If you own your own server and have it stored in someone else's facility, you are using what is known as colocation hosting. In any type of dedicated hosting, because the server is exclusively dedicated to your site, you will have full control over its use and administration. This allows you to manage all aspects of your site. If your intent is to create a large site for a company with plenty of technical and financial resources, dedicated hosting might be right for you. If your site will demand a lot of server space and bandwidth, too, you may need a dedicated server to host it.

For individuals and small or midsized companies, however, there are a number of aspects of dedicated hosting that make it a less desirable option. Setting up or leasing and maintaining your own web server requires a great deal of technical expertise as well as a significant financial investment. Because the web server you use will determine whether your site is reliably online and available to visitors, you need to be certain that your server is stable, reliable, well maintained, and able to handle heavy visitor traffic; maintaining this level of performance is not always easy.

This type of hosting is something of a cross between dedicated hosting and shared hosting. Virtual private server hosting involves a dedicated server being shared by multiple users. The users share the resources of the server, but the server space is strictly divided into allocated percentages so that each user's percentage of the server is dedicated only to that user's website. This hosting arrangement gives a user some of the control of a dedicated server without the large-scale investment in a server that may have more space than necessary. Virtual private server hosting does provide limited resources, however, and even if your site experiences a temporary traffic spike or another unusual demand, there will not be extra resources flexibly available to meet the need. The somewhat complicated arrangements of virtual private server hosting can also be a drawback to this hosting option, as service providers can create confusing service agreements that include unexpected limitations for their users.

Now that you've learned about your hosting options, perhaps you've decided that shared hosting is right for your website. When you're ready to create your shared hosting account, start by comparing the web hosting packages Freeservers offers. We provide a variety of packages, from free web hosting to feature-rich business hosting packages, so you're sure to find one that fits your needs. With Freeservers, you'll receive top-notch hosting services and loads of useful features, all with the exceptional reliability, stability, and customer support that you need to make your website a success.