Hosting is one of the important factors needed when building a website. You certainly plan to fill your website with quality content, right? Well, hosting is what stores all website data such as text, images, videos, and so on.
For those of you who want to know more about hosting, in this article Dewaweb will explain all the important information about web hosting, including how it works and the types of services. Come on, see the review until it's finished.
What is Hosting?
Web hosting is a website file and data storage service to accommodate all resources such as text, images, scripts, email, videos, and so on. This service must be used so that the website can be online and accessed by users via a web browser.
All websites and applications that you frequently use, such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and so on, also use hosting to store and manage files, such as HTML, CSS, and various types of media.
Let's just say web hosting is land, while the website is a house. This land is responsible for accommodating all the resources needed so that the website can be built properly.
Can websites be made without hosting? The answer is yes. However, the site can only be accessed via a local computer. Its accessibility is really limited and impossible for others to find online.
How Hosting Works
Web hosting providers have storage space in the form of servers that can be rented to store website data or online applications.
When buying hosting, you are actually renting space on the server. So that's why hosting usually needs to be extended within a certain period of time (usually a year).
All website data will be on the hosting server. Well, the job of the hosting provider is to make sure your website is always online so that it can be accessed at any time by users.
So, you don't need to bother taking care of the website. You only need to manage the data online through the hosting control panel.
Stage 1: The user enters the website address or domain, for example 'dewaweb.com'.
Stage 2: The browser connects the user to the server with the IP address represented by the domain.
Stage 3: The browser sends a request to the server to grant file access.
Stage 4: After the file is found, the browser will display the website according to the file obtained.
Hosting Function
Web hosting basically has a big influence on the condition of the website. This is inseparable from several functions related to site performance. Here are some of its functions:
Create websites
The main function of hosting is to create a website. By using a hosting service, your website pages will be displayed on search engines such as Google and Yahoo! so that it can be accessed by many visitors via the internet
Save website data
Hosting also functions as a place to store files and website data. You can manage website files and data by accessing them through the control panel. The larger the size of the website, the greater the hosting capacity needed.
Create an online store site
If you want to create an online store to sell your own products, then using a hosting service is highly recommended. Online stores require content in the form of photos, descriptions, logos and certain software that must be stored and accessible by other users on the internet.
Create an email with your own domain
If you already have hosting and a domain, you can also create an email with your own domain. This is of course very important to increase business credibility. Take a look at the two sample emails below:
michelle.ahlisalon@yahoo.com
michelle@ahlisalon.com
The second email looks more professional, right? Therefore, make sure to use an email address that makes your business look more credible and professional. Don't forget to register your business domain name before someone else takes it. To make it easier, you can first check cheap & reliable domain prices before registering it.
Increase website security
The hosting function is also able to increase website security. If you choose a hosting service provider with qualified security quality, the website will be difficult for hackers or other types of cyber crime to penetrate.
The security level of this website is affected by the security protocol implemented by the hosting provider. The higher the hosting security, the more immune the website is to hacker or cracker attacks.
Choosing a qualified hosting can protect the website from hacking. Here are some indications of important security that must be owned by a hosting service provider:
International level security certification (such as ISO 270001)
Use of advanced security features (such as Imunify360)
Automatic data backup
Apart from hosting, you can also increase website security by installing an SSL certificate to encrypt the data transfer process between the server and client.
Improve SEO on the website
In this function, hosting can not directly improve SEO on the website. However, if the hosting you buy is of good quality, of course it can support the speed, security and stability of the website which affects SEO.
Types of Hosting Services
Hosting has various types of services that can be used according to needs. Here are some types of hosting services that are most often encountered along with recommendations for the number of visitors and the type of website.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is a type of hosting service that divides one server between several users at once. That is, you have to share server facilities with many users.
Like a place to live, shared hosting is a boarding house where you have to queue to use facilities such as the bathroom or kitchen.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a type of hosting that allocates a virtual server for only one user. That is, users can not affect each other's performance and resources on the server.
This hosting allows users to organize and manage the available resources more freely. So, users can customize according to their needs.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a type of hosting service where your data will be duplicated and stored in several server facilities at once. When one of the servers experiences a problem or is in the maintenance process, the website can still be accessed by visitors.
In contrast to VPS, this type of cloud hosting service is generally fully-managed. So, users don't need to think about server management and technical maintenance.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting is a type of service that offers complete control in managing, maintaining and using the server. Because of the high flexibility, you must have an admin or someone with qualified skills to manage the server.
Like a residence, a dedicated server is a house that you have purchased. So, all matters related to management, maintenance and repair are fully your responsibility.
WordPress Hosting
As the name implies, WordPress hosting is a type of service specifically for WordPress users. This service is intended for sites that use the WordPress platform as CMS.
WordPress is the CMS platform with the most users in the world, with more than 30 million active users. This is what makes most providers provide special hosting features for WordPress-based websites.
Unmanaged Hosting
In unmanaged hosting services, all technical problems with hosting are not the responsibility of the provider. They only provide hosting accounts and servers.
This means that users must manage server management independently starting from the operating system, application, and other supporting configurations. Because it is too advanced, this service is more recommended for users who really understand server technical and management.
Do you understand what hosting is? In essence, hosting is a service for storing and managing your website data. This service is very necessary so that the site can be accessed online by other people on the internet.
Considering that hosting is important for websites, make sure that you are using quality services. So, to optimize site performance and security, you should choose hosting and domain services