Hosting – Just What Is It?

Our series of blogs on acronyms was very popular so we thought it might be useful to cover some other terms that can be a little confusing, and we are starting with Hosting……

Hosting

It’s what your website relies on to just BE…. It’s what it lives on.  In physical terms the files and data is held (or hosted) on a “server” which is a collection of computer hard drives that hold the software that makes your website work and look like it does.

server

There are different forms of hosting and servers that work in different ways to provide different benefits.

Green Hosting – is really just about where the energy is coming from to run the server centers, which are massive warehouses cooled by air conditioning units because all those computers produce heat when they operate. So it uses electricity to run and electricity to cool. If this comes from renewable energy then its GREEN.

Cloud Hosting – uses cloud resources to run applications.  Unlike traditional hosting, solutions are not deployed on a single server, instead they are hosted in the cloud.  The cloud is a network of connected virtual and physical cloud servers which hosts applications.  Using the cloud offers greater flexibility and scalability, and usually means you only pay for what you use.

Fast Hosting – is essential in the modern world because people only have a few minutes to get the site loaded and find what they need. Whilst we try and keep things fast in actual data terms on the website, the data transfer must be as fast as possible to ensure that this is not what delays the site from loading.

Reliable Hosting – is about making sure you site is available as much as possible – if the site keeps falling over this can cause a number of problems.  Search engines like Google will place you lower in then not only goes Google start to have a problem with a website but the user will just not wait or may not even come back…ever… so your site needs to be reliable.

If you are looking for help with hosting your website then get in contact.