Before you even think of how to create your first website, you’ll need to first choose a web hosting solution plan that will fit all your site needs. As a pro webmaster, what I know so far is that website design involves a variety of moving parts. Besides having a good hosting provider and content management software (CMS) on your back.
Seriously, it’s not just bragging about how good you are at it — that no one can beat your web coding skills. Rather, it’s all about having expounded knowledge, tech-savvy skills, pro expertise, and unlimited experience in everything new age web design and development. And while looking on the other side, jmexclusives is your best bet— for customized and tailored web solutions.
In reality, we all know that starting a new website is never a piece of cake. And it can even be a terrifying thought specially when you’re not that techy. But, don’t worry, you’re not alone. For one thing, during my web career, I have helped over 100+ people and brands create a new site from scratch with high-end and future-proof features. But, what is required?
What it takes to Create a New Site
As I mentioned earlier, if you’re on baby steps — while trying to create a new site — you’ll notice how the whole journey is demanding. First, it requires all your precious time, personal efforts, some capital inputs, a little understanding of your business, etc. Secondly, you’ll need to outsource a webmaster if you can’t tweak the codes yourself.
Fortunately, you can consult with various webmasters online in order to have a work plan laid out for your new website. From your site domain name, free sample designs outlook (your site purpose), themes, web host, CMS (like WordPress), and CDN (like Cloudflare). As well as the overall design/development cost, project duration, and delivery, etc.
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As an example, what will you need to build a new WordPress website? In that case, you’ll need three things to start. Definitely, the first thing you’ll need is a domain name — this is the name of your website such as example.com. Then again, the second item on the list is a web hosting provider — this is where you’ll store your website files.
And last but not least, it’s 45 minutes of your undivided attention. But most importantly, before you even purchase a domain name, your web host will first let you conduct a domain name search using their web tools. Since you’ll not be able to buy an already taken domain name — even if you think you own it elsewhere.
What does a Web Hosting Solution entail?
There are many reasons why people choose a web hosting solution company that best fits their entire site needs. Some of which I’ll explain later on. But first, let’s talk about what a web hosting solution entails. And as such, web hosting is entirely based on a web server.
A web server is a computer that connects other web users to your site from anywhere in the world. And as the name implies, all web hosting service providers (like Kenya Website Experts) have their own servers. In addition to other connectivity, and associated services to host websites.
By offering a variety of hosting plans, they cover the spectrum of hosting needs, from small blogs and large organizations. If you’re planning on creating an online presence, reliable web hosting is essential. Now that there’re literally hundreds of web hosts available today.
They provide thousands of varieties of web hosting services. Plans range from free with limited options to expensive web hosting services specialized for business. Whereby, the plan you choose will depend primarily on how you plan to use your website.
And how much you have budgeted for hosting (learn more about the role of a web server in detail).
How to Choose a Web Hosting Solution
First of all, every website needs a website host. A website host is what gives your website a place to live and makes it accessible to visitors. There are many different options for website hosting, with a wide variety of price points and functionality. But, not all are right for you.
It’s always good to choose a web hosting solution plan that will fit your needs. Like having access to the right allocation of resource tools. In order to keep your website loading quickly and reliably for your visitors. Think about how many businesses these days operate primarily online.
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Well, as a matter of fact, both their product sales and business leads generally comes from their website. But, let’s say someone lands on a website and there’s a problem. Usually, it either takes too long to load or doesn’t appear at all — potential customers won’t wait around.
As a result, they’ll bounce off that site in search of one that works correctly. And not just any other totally failed site, but a site that can deliver what they are looking for, seamlessly. Secondly, let’s consider you are either a new webmaster or even an amateur site owner.
That’s why it’s good to know what you’ll need in detail, what types of website hosting are available, and what to ask. A prospective web host will help you find a web hosting provider that is a good fit for your company. In general, there are six main considerations for choosing a website hosting solution plan.
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Including speed, security, support, scalability, price, and even the hosting environment type. For your general information, in this article, you can read and learn more about that in detail.
If you’re new to operating a website, web hosting and related lingo can be a puzzling topic. Many a novice website owner has used the cheapest option. Or anything else that’s bundled with their domain name purchase alike. Under the mistaken belief that all hosting options are essentially the same.
In reality, although it’s good to look for a cheaper web hosting plan, this can be a costly and grave mistake. In order for you to be on the safe side — as you choose a web hosting company for your site — there are a few things you need to know first.
How to Choose a Web Hosting Solution Plan
When a hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website. Web hosting makes the files that comprise a website (code, images, etc.) available for viewing online. Every website you’ve ever visited is hosted on a server.
The amount of space allocated on a server to a website depends on the type of hosting. The main types of hosting are shared, dedicated, VPS and reseller. They are differentiated by the kind of technology used for the server, the level of management provided, and the additional services on offer.
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Web hosting happens when the files that make up a website are uploaded from a local computer to a web server. The server’s resources, (RAM, hard drive space, and bandwidth) are allocated to the websites using it. But, the division of server resources varies depending on the type of hosting plan chosen.
To choose the appropriate hosting plan, you first need to differentiate between the plans available. This doesn’t have to be complicated. For non-technical readers, let’s use a simple analogy. Choosing a web hosting company is similar to searching for office space.
The following are example questions that you should answer first:
- How do you decide which type of office space is right for your needs?
- Is a workstation in an open co-working space enough, or the next best thing; an office within a business center.
- Do you have intentions to expand quickly or expect a lot of people to come and going?
- Would you consider renting an entire building or would building your own space appeal?
And then, aside from the style of the office, there are other considerations to put in mind too. Such as how easily accessible the rooms are, the key functions they offer, their physical location, as well as their overall cost of web hosting.
Always remember, as you choose a web hosting solution plan, the pricing should also be key.
Free Plans
Before you choose a web hosting solution plan, you can also consider extras such as a whiteboard, high-speed internet, and other facilities too. It’s also important to realize, there are some free website hosting services too, but they’ll always come with a cost.
Yes, we all love free things in life, but it’s important to remember not all free things are created equal. If you think of why building a website is beneficial, it’s because it has become the most important way to get your message out in the world.
However, when you are first starting, you may not want to spend money on making a website. Most people simply want something quick, easy, and free. And for that reason, there are tons of free website hosting companies in the market.
But, as a smart consumer, you should know that there is no such thing as free lunch. There is always a catch. For instance, running a website hosting service alone costs a lot of money.
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Therefore, the companies offering free website hosting need to make money somehow, or they will go out of business. So, how do they stay afloat even if they’ll offer free web hosting solutions? They do that by displaying ads on your website.
As well as limiting your website traffic, locking you in their platform, and/or upselling their other services. Some of the ads displayed may not represent your brand well, and it can even be your competitor’s advertisement.
Except for a test website, it’s almost always a bad idea to use free website hosting. There is even a complete guide with 36 reasons why free websites are a bad idea, especially for businesses.
But in the midst, some of these free website hosting providers are highly reputed for one reason or another — as a great place for small businesses to start their website.
Premium Plans
In most cases, premium web hosting plans are able to offer consumers and businesses tremendous long-term benefits. They tend to be more stable and better able to handle higher levels of traffic. Also, virtual and dedicated servers aren’t affected by traffic from other users. That’s why it’s good to choose a web hosting solution plan that’s premium.
So, if you have big plans for your blog, it’s the right time to investigate the best premium web hosting options first. While keeping in mind, that in most cases you don’t have to start with a higher-priced premium host. Most companies will let you start at a lower level.
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And then thereafter, they’ll let you upgrade your hosting plans on the move — as both your business and website capacity needs grow.
At times, things can go very wrong at the most inconvenient of times. So, it’s in your best interest that you check to see if your host has 24/7/ 365 professional support. You’ll want someone there to throw you a lifeline whenever you press the S.O.S button.
And to know the person picking on the other end is technically equipped too. More so, with the knowledge to help you, there and then. To get a feel for this, read online reviews with accounts of real customer experiences.
Types of Web Hosting Solutions
Of course, pricing considerations like the ones above will highly determine your site needs as you decide which type of office is right for you. So, with that in mind, let’s compare this selection process to deciding which web hosting fits.
As cloud computing technology has progressed, different types of web hosting have been introduced to meet the diverse needs of websites and customers. These include Shared Web Hosting, VPS Web Hosting, Reseller Web Hosting, Dedicated Web Hosting, and Cloud Web Hosting. With that in mind, in the next section, we’ll try to simplify things much further for your understanding.
1. Shared Hosting
As you choose a web hosting solution plan, it’s good to know that the very basic options are the shared web hosting plans. A shared web hosting is when a website is hosted on the same server as many other websites. Most web hosting companies provide shared hosting that’s cheap and easy to set up.
These among other features make it a good fit for new sites that don’t expect a lot of traffic in the short term. It’s best suited for personal websites as well as those belonging to small and medium-sized businesses. But, it isn’t suitable for large sites with lots of traffic either.
These sites need a dedicated server to accommodate a suitable amount of resources to guarantee decent website performance. In this case, shared hosting is similar to renting a workstation in a busy, noisy, open-plan office or co-working space. Yes, you’ll have all the modern conveniences!
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Let’s say with a desk, internet connection, and some stationary too. But, you’ll have to share the space with other co-workers. Such shared space may include the kitchen, printer, and even restroom. And as such, you can’t do any makeovers to such shared space like installing whiteboards, etc.
That’s why this’s a popular option for launching small websites. Thus, not appropriate for large-scale commercial projects. Anyone serious about digital marketing or running an online business should carefully review their shared hosting options. And then make sure that their provider can offer even more value-added services (such as Stellar Business Hosting Packages).
2. VPS Hosting
A VPS hosting or virtual private server hosting is a nice step up from shared hosting. Where medium-sized businesses will benefit from renting an office within a business park. With a VPS, users are isolated from each other. You’ll have neighbors yes, but you are less dependant on them.
Meaning that you can carry out any makeovers (customizations) as you like. And even organize your workstation on your own. In other words, this is when a virtual server appears to each client as a dedicated server. Even though it’s actually serving multiple websites.
For this reason, VPS-style hosting is considered to be the stepping stone between shared hosting and getting your own dedicated machine. The main difference between shared web hosting and VPS is that clients have full access to configure the VPS — which is much closer to dedicated style hosting.
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VPS is often used by smaller websites and organizations that want the flexibility of having a dedicated server, without the high costs implied. Users are guaranteed the resources on their VPS web hosting account. This means that your account will always be allocated the set amount of RAM, CPU, and Disk Space you’ve chosen.
Regardless of what other users on the server are doing. This allows for greater stability and performance of your website. You also do not share the Operating System with any other users. Thus, providing better security for your website files.
3. Dedicated Hosting
Renting an entire office building is comparable to hosting on a dedicated server. It’s a more expensive option yes! On the contrary, it’s the best fit for webmasters and website owners who value reliability and high performance. Since you control the entire space, you have more say over configurations and plenty of space.
But, it’s not worth investing in if you won’t use the space included. Therefore, a dedicated hosting (managed hosting or a dedicated server) provides entire servers to rent. This type of hosting is comparatively expensive when placed side-by-side with shared hosting plans.
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For this reason, it’s only really used when a website has a lot of traffic. Or when more server control is required. There is more to dedicated hosting than providing a single website with entire server equipment housed in a data center. It allows greater self-service server administration facilities.
That’s why it’s considered a more flexible arrangement. Simply, because it allows total control over the server, its software, and security systems. And since the customer has complete control over the machine, they can optimize it for their unique requirements, including performance and security.
The hosting provider supplies the physical server and environment, the associated services, and technical support. Dedicated hosting is synonymous with dedicated hosting service, managed hosting service, and dedicated server. At the same time, however, you need to have the technical expertise on hand to manage the platform yourself.
4. Cloud Hosting
To enumerate, cloud hosting is a type of web hosting which uses multiple different servers to balance the load and maximize uptime. Instead of using a single server, your website can tap into a “cluster” that uses resources from a centralized pool.
This means that even if one server fails, another kicks in to keep everything running. Visualize the cloud as a web of different computers that are all interconnected. As more machines are hooked up to the network, more resources are added to the overall cloud.
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With cloud hosting, you get a part of the so-called cloud cluster. As opposed to traditional web hosting, where you get a certain amount of space from a single server. The main benefits of cloud hosting include a major focus on uptime, isolated resources, easy scaling, and a dedicated IP address.
Cloud hosting plans typically offer unmetered, reliable bandwidth and an infinite amount of disk space for unlimited domains. This explains why so many large businesses are turning to the cloud. It’s an effective method of running a website with resource-intensive applications.
Or a large number of content assets such as images, but it can have a much higher cost.
5. Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is a form of web hosting where the account owner can use his or her allotted hard drive space and bandwidth. In order to host a website on behalf of third parties. The original hosting account owner is the ‘reseller’ in this instance.
Reseller hosting is hugely beneficial when the amount of space purchased isn’t all required. And that some of the allocated resources can be shared with another party. Sharing disk space, bandwidth, CPU, etc. While getting a recurring source of income.
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Hosting providers offer specific reseller hosting plans to accommodate entrepreneurs interested in this business practice. Buying a reseller hosting plan is also helpful for anyone with multiple domains.
You may design your own hosting packages for your websites or clients that give the resources allocated to the reseller hosting account. A HostGator reseller web hosting plan gives you complete control over every aspect of your hosting business.
From resource allocation to payment methods. And what (if any) additional services you choose to provide your clients (domains, SSL certificates, etc.).
How web hosting & domain hosting relates
Once you’ve purchased a domain name, the files that hold your website’s content (HTML, CSS, images, databases, etc.) need to be stored together. Especially in a location connected to the internet — more so, a web server.
A web hosting process allows your website files to be uploaded to a hosting company’s web server. After a successful hosting, the web host is then responsible for delivering the files to users. Previously, I’ve mentioned that hosting makes websites available for people to visit through their web browser.
But, how does that work exactly? It’s all thanks to the DNS — or the domain name system. The DNS makes sure that the website browser connects to the right computer (server) that stores your website files. In other words: let’s say someone types in your web address into their browsers.
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By so doing, their computer connects through the internet to the web server holding your website files.
Thereafter, it locates your domain’s IP address (where it’s stored on the domain name system) and then directs the users to the right website. Their browser will then show your website information — including all the data that makes your pages. So that they can browse your web pages anytime.
That’s it! You now have all the basic skills you’ll need as you choose a web hosting solution plan for your new site. You can also learn how to transfer a website hosting in 9 steps if you’ve got an already existing site you’d like to transfer to a new web host. But, if you’ll need more support, you can Contact Us for more help.
