| Before selecting a web host it is paramount that | | | | unmanaged. With managed hosting the client will |
| you understand the various types of hosting | | | | have various support-personal or plans in place to |
| options you have. Every website has different | | | | assist them with managing the server and |
| needs and meeting your site's needs will help | | | | ensuring that things such as its security policies |
| produce a satisfying end result. Hosting services | | | | are up to date. Unmanaged will leave all the |
| available to you will likely fall into one of the | | | | responsibility in the hands of the client which can |
| following categories: | | | | be less expensive in some cases. In both cases |
| Free Web Hosting | | | | having a dedicated server offers you much more |
| Free web hosting is definitely the cheapest option | | | | control over what options are available on your |
| available, however as we all know there's no such | | | | server from mail programs to FTP services and |
| thing as a free lunch and this holds true with so | | | | so on. Naturally dedicated servers are much more |
| called "free" hosting services as well. Free web | | | | expensive and therefore many webmasters opt |
| hosts will often be advertisement supported and | | | | for the cheaper shared or virtual private server |
| have very limited features, storage space, and | | | | options. With both types of dedicated hosting the |
| bandwidth. Generally this is not a good option for | | | | servers are owned by the hosting company. |
| any website which supports a business or needs | | | | Colocation Web Hosting Service |
| to offer users a stable and efficient environment. | | | | Colocation is similar to dedicating hosting services, |
| Free hosting services are best for small web sites | | | | but in this case the user fully owns the server |
| which are not intended to do much more than | | | | and the hosting center simply provides a physical |
| share a bit of info with a small group of friends. | | | | space, power, and a connection to the internet |
| Shared Web Hosting | | | | for the client. In many cases there is little or no |
| With shared web hosting a single computer | | | | further support for the client beyond ensuring |
| referred to as a box or a server will generally | | | | that there is power and the negotiated bandwidth |
| hold a large number of websites. The number will | | | | available to the server. With this option in most |
| depend on the company, the cost, and the | | | | cases the owner of the server will have an |
| hardware that makes up the machine. Shared | | | | administrator who must visit to the facility or |
| hosting is often a reliable hosting option for most | | | | have another form of remote access to the |
| websites including both small business and personal | | | | machine. |
| use. The overall quality, speed, and cost will | | | | Clustered Hosting |
| fluctuate significantly from host to host so it is | | | | In some cases it is not enough to have one |
| important to do your homework before selecting | | | | server handling the needs of a website. For these |
| a shared hosting center. Often websites which | | | | cases clustered hosting becomes a viable solution. |
| abuse or use more resources including CPU time | | | | With clustered hosting multiple servers host the |
| or bandwidth will be shut down. If your website | | | | same information allowing a much larger base of |
| requires heavy resource allotment you will likely | | | | users to access the information at one time. |
| need to look into another hosting option. | | | | Grid Hosting |
| Reseller Web Hosting | | | | Grid hosting is a form of distributed hosting where |
| This is a less common form of hosting but it | | | | a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed |
| allows clients to become web hosts themselves. | | | | of multiple nodes. |
| Common examples of this would be web design | | | | Home Server |
| firms who host their clients' websites. In truth, the | | | | In some cases webmasters elect to manage their |
| only difference between reseller web hosting and | | | | own web servers at home or at their place of |
| shared hosting is generally the size of the hosting | | | | business. This can be done on both a |
| company. The larger hosting companies such as | | | | consumer-grade broadband connection or in some |
| Bluehost and HostMonster are just much larger | | | | cases on something more capable. Home servers |
| versions of reseller web hosting. | | | | are much like colocation except for the loss of |
| Virtual Dedicated Server | | | | the expensive facilities which generally have |
| Virtual dedicated servers are very similar to | | | | backup power sources, industrial grade cooling |
| shared hosting except in how the allotment of | | | | systems, and various other benefits. Some ISPs |
| resources is handled. Whereas with shared hosting | | | | do not allow their users to host their own |
| all clients share the same CPU and bandwidth | | | | websites so it is best to investigate this before |
| resources with virtual dedicated servers each | | | | attempting to setup your own web server. |
| client is guaranteed a set amount of CPU power | | | | Which Hosting Option Should I Choose? |
| and bandwidth. Virtual dedicated servers also | | | | If you're reading this article you probably should |
| offer their clients what is often referred to as | | | | be choosing shared hosting, or either virtual or |
| "root" access to their virtual machine. This offers | | | | fully dedicated hosting. For most small to medium |
| them more hands on control with how the | | | | sized websites these are perfectly adequate and |
| machine runs including the ability to tinker with the | | | | viable options. If your web hosting needs are |
| operating system. | | | | larger than this you will likely have an IT specialist |
| Dedicated Hosting Service | | | | who is part of your team who would be better |
| With dedicated hosting services the user has full | | | | equipped to assess your web hosting needs. |
| control over the server and is the only client who | | | | Hopefully by now you have a better idea about |
| uses the server. There are normally two types of | | | | what type of hosting you need. Now it's time for |
| dedicated hosting options which are managed and | | | | the real fun, choosing the best webhost! |