What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is a function performed on computers that make it possible to view a website. It's necessary to have a computer with software installed on it that's capable of running one or more sites. The combination of the computer and web hosting software make the computer a “host.” If the website needs to be available over the Internet (which is usually the case), then the computer needs to have an internet connection.
As you can see, there's a variety of technologies involved that include hardware, software and internet requirements necessary, and keeping a website up and running is another requirement.
Why is web hosting necessary?
When you use the Internet to access a website, you expect the website to appear on your computer or smartphone whenever you need it. There are two requirements to make the site available; one is the requirement that the computer running the site be always running and the other requirement is that the internet connection for the hosting computer to always be available.
A web hosting service does several things to make sure that the sites they host are available as much as possible. One activity the hosting service does is to host the site on multiple computers so if one fails; another one can take over the hosting. Even if a computer operates correctly, it's not possible to keep it running 100% of the time since some maintenance activity is usually necessary. So a backup computer is one thing a hosting service does to keep a website up and running.
Another activity is having multiple high-speed connections to the internet for computers that are running sites. If one cable or internet connection fails, then a connection is still available using the second wire. Some hosting services not only use multiple cables, but they also use more than one internet service. You often have different ways to access the internet so you already know more about multiple connections than you might realize.
When you use a smartphone you have both WiFi and a cellular connection to the internet available to choose from, you have two different service providers so if one isn't working; the other service is a backup. While it might be inconvenient for you to lose access to the internet, for a website that relies on being available as much as possible, not being there when people go to it could be costly.
Technical support and pricing
Web hosting services not only provide reliable computers and connections to the internet, but they also provide technical support for the site owner. Some hosting services provide a minimum of technical support that will help with making sure their computers are running, and their internet connections are working, while others provide additional support that may include help installing your site or even providing a software application for building a website. These services vary and usually result in higher pricing that just “hosting.”
Technical support required trained staff, so that's usually the biggest cost for a web hosting service. As a result, there are many options and choices. Some hosting services provide 24x7 phone help; others provide chat or email. Others have different levels of support, for example, if you want support for software that runs a website, you might need to pay more for your hosting services than if you took care of all the web software yourself.
Shared and dedicated hosting
If you're using or looking for a web host, you'll probably see options for shared or dedicated hosting. A shared hosting service gives you space of your own on a computer that's used by multiple websites. By sharing the computer, you can obtain hosting for a lower cost. Shared hosting is the most common way most website owners start out, and it's an excellent way to save money by splitting the cost of the computer with other site owners. Your data is always kept in a secure file area and is only accessible by you. Dedicated hosting is different.
A dedicated host means that your hosting service assigns a computer to you and your service includes 100% use of that one computer. You can even purchase multiple dedicated computers for your website hosting. The advantage of a dedicated host is in the improved performance of a busy internet site. Your hosting service will usually monitor the performance of your site on a shared service and let you know if your site has reached the point where a dedicated computer would be best. In addition to the performance benefits, some organizations don't want to use shared hosting and prefer a dedicated computer since it provides more options for the site owner to manage their technology.
Some large sites like Facebook and Amazon use their computers in their facilities for hosting rather than using a hosting service. Services like GoDaddy offer web hosting and Amazon, Google and Microsoft offer hosting services, usually for larger companies or for more technical users.
Software for web hosting
The software for hosting a website is different from the software for creating and managing a site. Since not every computer needs to be a web host, installing hosting software on a computer isn't required, except when that computer is going to be used as a host.
The most popular hosting software packages are from two sources. Microsoft, for computers running Microsoft operating systems, and Apache, which is available for the Unix operating system. Most web hosting services offer shared and dedicated hosting services with your choice of the operating system.
Your hosting service requires the software that runs whatever website software your site needs. For example, if you want to use WordPress, which runs on Apache, you would use an Apache. WordPress requires Apache to run. Hosting is sometimes included with website software as a bundle, so if you're using a service like Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, TypePad or Blogger, your hosting and software are a package.
Why would some web hosts not be on the internet?
It's not necessary to have a computer connected to the internet for it to be a web host, a computer just needs to be running a website. It's possible to use a personal computer as a web host as long as it has web hosting software installed on it. Web site developers often use hosting software on their computers when creating a site for a client. By hosting the site on their personal computer, the developer can make changes that don't require a hosting service and show the customer how the site looks before moving the site to a hosting service.
Another reason a host wouldn't be on the internet is if the site is only being used within a company or organization network. A government agency or company might want a website for internal use, but not available on the internet.
To my way of thinking
Convenient access to websites is something we expect and take for granted. Easy access to the always available site we want to use offers us the ability to do online banking, book airline tickets, share photos with friends on social networks and more. To make these sites available on the internet requires a web host, the computer that holds the files and data for the web address we want to use.
If you're browsing the net, it's good to know that people think about what's necessary to keep a website running. For the website owner, knowing what a hosting service does and how they work can make it easier to understand what's necessary to manage your site.
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