If you’re already running a website or planning to start one, chances are you’ve heard the term ‘web host.’ You may want to know what web hosting is and whether it’s necessary for your website.

Read on to find out what web hosting is, why you should have a host for your WordPress website, and tips to help you choose the best hosting services for your business.

Webhosting: What it is plus why you need a host for your website

A web host is a company that offers internet hosting facilities to websites. Webhosting services allow you to store site files so visitors can view them on the World Wide Web. These files include images, HTML, CSS style sheets, and videos.

While storing your files on your computer is also possible, it’s much better to delegate that to a hosting company. Your host rents you a space for your content. Besides, your web host helps maintain and manage updates while ensuring excellent performance and security of your website.

Webhosting options for your website

The most common hosting options, whether premium or free, include dedicated, shared, WordPress, and VPS hosting. These third-party services are determined by the type of technology the company uses for the server, the level of maintenance, and if they provide additional services.

Dedicated Hosting

The servers are completely independent for dedicated hosting services, meaning there is no sharing of resources. Users have high resource allocation, control, and security. Since you have full access to your server, you can configure it without necessarily affecting others.

Shared Hosting

As the name suggests, shared hosting allows your website to share resources on the same server as other sites. It is one of the most common and affordable web hosting packages. Typically, your website shares network bandwidth, processor, and storage space with other users.

VPS hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) is an upgrade of shared hosting. Here, you’re still sharing one server with other sites, but your website has access to more features and benefits. You enjoy higher speeds, security, and disk space in VPS hosting.

WordPress hosting

WordPress hosting is a type made explicitly for WordPress websites. This does not mean you can not host your WordPress site on any other regular hosting. The only difference is that in WordPress hosting, the resources and servers are optimized for WordPress.

Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting allows businesses to use their bandwidth and storage spaces to host other businesses for profit. The reseller host doesn’t own exclusive rights to the server but depends on the admin to perform some functions.

How to pick a web host for your business

We now know what hosting is and the types of hosting options available. So now, how do you find the right hosting service? With the hundreds of web hosting services in the market, it can take time to pick. So to find the best quality company requires you to consider various factors. These include website needs, security, dependability, customer support, and uptime.

Before you dive, here are factors to put in mind.

Specific website needs

When shopping for a web host, one crucial question is whether your host can meet your needs. For instance, the amount of traffic you expect, the type of content management system you’re using (in this case, WordPress), and how critical your infrastructure is.

Reasonable pricing

Most hosting providers will offer you a price when you first subscribe to a plan. They do this for some time, after which they increase the rates. It’s prudent to determine the amount of money you’ll be paying after the incentive expires. You need to check that the renewal cost is economically manageable to avoid straining your account.

Security

No doubt, the security of your website should be the topmost priority. However, a good hosting company should ensure your website stays safe. It should regularly scan and remove malware. A backup service is essential to restore your files in case of data compromise. In addition, your hosting company must have exclusive support for the SSL certificate to safeguard user data and convey brand trust.

Uptime and Dependability

No one wants to visit a website that keeps crashing. Bad customer reviews can affect your business. So, your web host should have minimal downtime to avoid losing customers and tarnishing your brand reputation. Besides, downtime as a result of server outages can damage or corrupt data on your website.

Now that you know what hosting is and how to pick a host for your website, take your time. The web host you choose can significantly impact how your brand grows and is essential to building a successful business. A bad host means a terrible user experience, website insecurity, and poor load times. Ensure you choose a hosting option that fits your budget and specific website needs.