Web hosting is a really underrated element. Things that we adore about being online include memes, podcasts, articles, websites, tweets, Netflix content, online gaming; all of these features rely on a particular server that a company or individual pays for so that we can easily access it. To be short, web hosting is mainly an element that invisible but crucial for your online experience.
For example, if you are planning to launch a website, there are many web hosting aspects that we need to be familiar with before starting the project. It is straightforward to sign up to use any website building software to form an attractive website that has an exceptional functional end; however, there are several things that you need to wrap around your memory.
Here is our guide to help you understand things that you need to know about web hosting before you open an account;
There’s a massive difference between the hosting types.
If you spent a lot of time on any web host’s website, you’ve definitely seen terms such as VPS, shared, cloud, dedicated, reseller and WordPress. These terms represent various web hosting types; however, not each web host offers all these services, as these web hosting types vary from each other in meaningful ways.
Mostly all the web hosts do offer shared hosting, which is known to be the cheapest type of web hosting. Through shared hosting, a website shares its server and resources with other websites.
If you wish to keep the web hosting budget small, and don’t prefer a lot of traffic, then shared hosting is for you as it is better suited for small websites that don’t require a large amount of bandwidth. But since you are sharing with other sites, you may experience occasional slowdown as server speed may become slow.
Other hosting types like reseller hosting allow you to build your own branded website without any need for building from scratch. Moreover, WordPress hosting enables you to create a site that addresses the world’s famous content management system.
Unlimited isn’t really unlimited.
Web hosts will convince you to sign up for the web hosting plans by attracting you with a promise of unlimited monthly data transfers or storage. However, in reality, it is not a win-win deal.
Unlimited data transfers and storage are mainly linked with WordPress’s shared plans, and they let you explore within boundaries.
For example, if your blog gets a smooth stream with good traffic, that means you have good standing. However, you should not think of streaming or uploading 50TB of data daily.
Therefore, it is better to consult a web host customer service representative to understand what can be done within the boundaries of the unlimited scheme offered in your plan.
Bandwidth and Data Transfer are not the same.
Data transfer and bandwidth are usually used to explain the amount of data a website serves to its visitors; however, both terms are different.
Bandwidth is the entire amount of data that can be transmitted at one go, whereas data transfer is the actual amount of data that can be used over a given duration.
A website usually exceeds allotted data transfers monthly because Reddit hot; as a result, a web host usually slows the website’s data transfer speed or charges a penalty fee.
The solid-state drive/ hard disk drive tradeoff
If you are planning to sign up for any shared web hosting, you’ll probably receive real estate on any hard disk drive server (HDD). The benefit of an HDD-based server is that it brings a considerable storage amount in an affordable package.
As you try to level up the hosting ladder to attain powerful features like dedicated web hosts and VPS, you will be given an option to establish a website of a solid-state drive. These SSD-based servers are known to be lightfast storage units, although it is pricey and carries smaller storage units compared to HDDs. You won’t see a 1TB SSD server usually.
A Linux Server
Nearly all web host brings in Linux as their operating system that strengthens their servers. Even if you are not aware of Linux, there is no need to work on it on the back end to establish a website. Moreover, in case your website requires ASP.NET or ASP scripting frameworks, you’ll have to run with the Windows Server. This is because the script you write and the web pages you work on only function in a Windows-based environment.
These are some of the crucial things you should consider and work on related to web hosting before signing up for an account.
