1.1. What is Web Hosting?
1.2. How Web Hosting Works
1.3. Web Hosting Types
1.4. How to Know and Choose the Best Web Hosting Service Provider
1.5. Best and Cheap Web Hosting Service Providers to Consider
It is a known fact that the durability, speed, security, uptime, and responsiveness of a website depend so much on the web hosting server used. That’s why, when you start designing a website or blog, you need to be careful in selecting the best web hosting service provider and be certain that your site will be online for many years to come without issues.
There are many hosting options available, and determining which one is right for you can be a challenge. As such, we have written this article to help you when searching for the best web hosting service provider for blogs and websites that are cheap.
But before we continue, let’s get to know the meaning of web hosting and some terms you should know when choosing a web hosting company or plan.
What is Web Hosting?
Simply put, web hosting is an online service that makes your website’s content accessible to internet users. It helps your blog, website, or web page to be published on the Internet and visible to everyone around the world. When you buy a hosting package, you are renting space on a real server to keep all the files and information contained in your website.
Web hosts offer the facilities and hosting technology needed for your website to run efficiently and securely. They ensure that the server is operating properly, setting up security measures, and making sure that data like texts, photographs, and other files are properly transmitted to the visitors’ browsers.
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How Web Hosting Works
A computer called a server houses your website and runs continuously so that users can access it at all times. When you rent servers from a web host, you can store all the data for your website on the servers that your supplier supplies.
This is what happens next: when a user types your domain name into his or her browser’s url bar, all the files required to load your website will be transferred by the web host’s server, and the files and information that you have stored on the server will appear on the user’s screen.
You can actually host a website by yourself, but it requires in-depth IT (information and technology) experience and technical skills. Self-hosting, as it is called, has to do with setting up and configuring a web server from scratch, including the equipment and facilities (both software) all by yourself. More so, you will handle all the ongoing maintenance in order to keep the system functioning smoothly.
A web hosting service provider ensures that your website performs optimally and has better security protocols. Additionally, it simplifies several complicated facets of website hosting, including technical assistance and software installation.
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Web Hosting Types
Most of the web hosting service providers offer different hosting plans for different types of customers, from personal blog designers to business website owners.
Generally, you would need to start with the most basic hosting option, after which you can upgrade to a more complex plan when your website starts receiving more traffic.
The common types of web hosting offered by most web hosting service providers include:
1 Shared Hosting
Shared hosting has multiple users sharing the same virtual server resources, such as bandwidth, processing power, and storage space.
Due to its affordability and simplicity, shared web hosting is a fantastic choice for small businesses and personal websites that don’t require complicated configurations or a lot of bandwidth. Shared hosting is a wonderful option for beginners who need affordable hosting to start with.
Pros of Shared Hosting
a. It has preconfigured server settings. It is not required to personally manage and maintain servers.
b. It is cheap.
c. Shared hosting does not require any technical knowledge.
d. It is suitable for websites with small traffic.
Cons of Shared Hosting
a. Your website’s speed may be impacted by increased online visitors.
b. You will have limited access to server setup.
2. Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
This type of web hosting involves sharing a physical server with other users, but the web host divides the server into virtual partitions for each user. As a result, a virtual private server allocates resources to each website it hosts.
VPS web hosting is a good choice for eCommerce stores, large blogs, and medium-sized websites which always have a lot of visitors.
Pros of Virtual Private Server Hosting
a. You will have root access to the web hosting server.
b. With virtual private server hosting, you will have a space on a dedicated server.
c. It is extremely customizable.
d. The performance of your website is unaffected by increased traffic on other websites.
Cons of Virtual Private Server Hosting
a. Despite being reasonably cheap, some users might need to employ a developer to operate the virtual server, which would raise the total cost.
b. To manage a virtual private server, users need technical knowledge.
3. Cloud Hosting
In cloud hosting, several virtual servers are used to host websites. As a result, if one server experiences heavy traffic or has an issue, the other servers will take over and maintain the website’s uptime.
Businesses with several sites and large-scale websites like school websites and eCommerce sites might benefit the most from cloud hosting since it offers little to no idle time because it depends on a network of web servers to run.
Pros of Cloud Hosting
a. Your website’s resources are not constrained by those of a single server.
b. Cloud hosting offers load balancing, which is used to manage heavy traffic and combat DDoS attacks.
c. It decreases the chances of hardware failure and idle time.
Cons of Cloud Hosting
a. The cost is relatively higher than shared hosting and virtual private server hosting.
b. You would not always have root access to the server.
4. WordPress Hosting
This is a type of content management system (CMS) web hosting service provided by a WordPress-optimized server environment to help your website load quickly and minimize potential downtimes.
The best WordPress hosting packages usually include pre-installed themes, plugins for essential features like security and caching, and other tools.
Pros of WordPress Hosting
a. WordPress themes and plugins are already installed.
b. The customer service staff is trained to effectively handle all WordPress-related issues.
c. It is cheap and suitable for beginners.
d. Enhanced functionality for WordPress websites.
Cons of WordPress Hosting
It is not the best kind of web hosting for websites other than WordPress.
5. Dedicated Hosting
When a website uses dedicated hosting, a separate physical server is provided for it. Choosing dedicated hosting allows you to customize the server, select the software and operating system of your choice, and tailor the entire hosting environment to your needs.
Having your own on-site server is strong, and renting a dedicated server has the advantage of expert support from your web host. Therefore, dedicated hosting is perfect for big web enterprises that handle high traffic.
Pros of Dedicated Hosting
a. You have root access to the server.
b. Dedicated hosting is strong and reliable.
c. It gives you total control over the configuration of the server.
Cons of Dedicated Hosting
a. It requires that you have knowledge of technology and server management.
b. It is expensive and more geared toward huge organizations.
6. Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting is more like dedicated hosting. Reseller hosting is suitable for you if you want to start your own hosting company and combine it with your current services. It is suitable for developers who want to generate recurring income.
Pros of Reseller Hosting
a. You have root access to the tools you need for billing administration and automated account management.
b. It gives you total control over the configuration of the server.
Cons of Reseller Hosting
It requires that you have knowledge of technology and server management.
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How to Know and Choose the Best Web Hosting Service Provider
You may require more bandwidth, storage, and other services as your website gets larger. In that situation, you might think about switching to a more sophisticated hosting option, like VPS or cloud hosting.
In order not to have issues when you want to upgrade in the future, check to see if the web hosting service provider (company) offers a wide range of web hosting options. In addition, there are a number of things that you need to know and consider before choosing between web hosting companies. They include:
- Availability of Security
Make sure the hosting company has cutting-edge security tools to help safeguard your website from viruses or DDoS attacks.
They could consist of automatic backups, upgrades, and virus detection, in addition to access management.
- Web Hosting Server Uptime
Regular and unanticipated downtime caused by poorly managed or unstable web servers can ruin your business and the trust of your visitors. As a result, make sure the web hosting company you choose adheres to the uptime guarantee that it advertises.
Uptime guarantee means the commitment of a web hosting company to keep its systems up and running effectively and efficiently. You can know if a web hosting company is keeping to its uptime guarantee by reading reviews of other users online.
- Availability of 24/7 Customer Support
Customer or technical support can be very useful if your website experiences unexpected slowness, crashes, or even security breaches. Check to see if the web hosting company also provides support resources like tutorials and knowledge bases.
- Availability of Technical Specifications
In addition to selecting hosting services with sufficient bandwidth, processing power, and disk space, you should search for additional options that make your website operate more efficiently, for example, a web host that uses LiteSpeed technology to speed up your website.
- Online Reviews
Read reviews of website hosting that go into great detail about various web hosting companies. Since the majority of online reviews include information on uptime and performance, you can see how the provider’s servers actually work.
- Availability of the Control Panel
It is best to choose a web hosting service provider that offers an easy-to-use user interface that can be used by people of various skill levels.
It is very important to know if the web hosting provider has a control panel that is simple and quick to manage your files, make a complete backup, and add related applications to your website.
- Extra Services
A superb web hosting service provider should include free add-ons and services like an SSL certificate, a business email account, or a content delivery network (CDN), and it should provide exceptional value for the money.
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Best and Cheap Web Hosting Service Providers to Consider
The best and cheap website hosting service providers to consider are:
1. Host Gator
Host Gator is a web hosting company that was founded in 2002 by Brent Oxley in Florida, USA. It has grown to become one of the largest web hosting companies in the world, serving over 2 million customers and hosting over 9 million domains. It has data centers located in the United States, Brazil, India, and other locations around the world.
Types of Web Hosting Services Provided by Host Gator
Host Gator offers a variety of web hosting services, including:
a. Shared hosting
b. VPS
c. Dedicated hosting,
d. Reseller hosting
e. Domain registration.
Features of HostGator services
HostGator’s hosting plans come with a range of features, including:
i. Unlimited bandwidth
ii. Free SSL certificates
iii. Website builder tool
iv. 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and email
Why Choose HostGator
a. It offers a variety of hosting services that can cater to different needs.
b. HostGator is a reliable web hosting provider with a range of services and features suitable for all kinds of blogs, websites, and businesses.
c. It has a strong reputation and has been serving millions of customers since 2002.
d. Its hosting plans come with useful features such as unlimited bandwidth and a website builder tool.
e. HostGator provides 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and email.
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2. A2 hosting
Bryan Muthig founded A2 Hosting in 2001. It has been in operation for more than two (2) decades and has over 20 years of experience in the industry. A2 Hosting is trusted by over 120K customers in more than 223 countries.
Types of Web Hosting Services Provided by A2 Hosting
a. Shared Hosting
b. WordPress Hosting
c. Managed WordPress Hosting
d. VPS Hosting
f. Managed VPS Hosting
g. Dedicated Hosting
h. Managed Dedicated Hosting
i. Reseller Hosting
j. Opencart Hosting
k. Joomla Hosting
l. Drupal Hosting
A2 Hosting is Suitable for
i. Business websites
ii. eCommerce websites
iii. Agency websites
iv. Blogs
v. Personal websites
vi. Linux websites
vii. cPanel hosting websites
Extra services offered by A2 Hosting include:
I. Domains: A2 Hosting provides domain name search and registration.
II. SSL Certificates: They provide cutting-edge technology to secure your website from viruses and external attacks.
III. Site Builder: A2 hosting also helps you build a website in minutes without any coding.
IV. Email: You will get a customized email address for your website.
V. Turbo: With A2 Hosting Turbo, you’re assured of 40% faster CPU performance, 20X faster page loads, and 3X faster storage.
VI. A2 Optimized: It helps you optimize your WordPress website, speed up site loading, and improve page rendering.
Click here to start hosting your website with A2 Hosting.
Why Choose A2 Hosting
a. A2 Hosting offers 20X faster page loads and 3X faster storage. It uses LiteSpeed technology to speed up your website.
b. Each hosting plan is relatively cheaper when compared to other hosting service providers.
c. A2 Hosting has over 20 years of experience in the web hosting industry and provides high speed and excellent hosting services to its customers.
d. It has a user-friendly cPanel for easy server configuration and settings.
e. A2 Hosting has high-tech, multiple servers for your hosting services; as a result, it has negligible or no server downtime.
f. It has 24/7 responsive customer service, always ready to answer any question.
g. It is easy and quick to setup
h. You have the option to choose the data center location of your choice.
i. Easy cPanel control panel
j. 99.9% uptime guarantee
k. Money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with its services within 30 days
l. If you already have a blog or website, click here to migrate to A2 for free
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3. Greengeeks
The energy used by Greengeeks to host websites is 300% renewable. Greengeeks has been in business since 2008 and is the top green web host in the industry, returning three times as much energy as we use to the grid in the form of renewable energy. Greengeeks has a worldwide staff that offers clients a better web hosting experience from more than 150 nations.
Types of Web Hosting Services Provided by Greengeeks
a. WordPress Hosting
b. Reseller Hosting
c. VPS Hosting
d. Reseller Web Hosting
e. WooCommerce Hosting
f. Joomla Hosting
g. cPanel Hosting
h. CMS Hosting
i. Magento Hosting
j. PrestaShop Hosting
k. OpenCart Hosting
Greengeeks’ hosting services are suitable for
i. Business websites
ii. eCommerce websites
iii. Agency websites
iv. Blogs
v. Personal websites
vi. Linux websites
vii. cPanel hosting websites
Extra services offered by Greengeeks Hosting include:
a. You will have unlimited web space.
b. Unmetered Transfer
c. Greengeeks offers unlimited email accounts.
d. Your website gets a free SSL certificate.
e. Free domain name for the first year
f. Your website also gets free nightly backup.
g. Free CDN
h. Managed WordPress
i. Built-in caching
j. Unlimited Databases
k. 300% green energy match; 1 tree planted
Click here to get Free Domain Name for 1st Year of Greengeeks hosting
Why Choose Greengeeks Hosting
a. With greengeeks hosting, website files and databases are kept on state-of-the-art solid-state drives set up in a redundant RAID-10 storage array.
b. Greengeeks uses highly optimized web and database servers; you can serve pages up to 50 times faster and read and write data at lightning speeds.
c. Since 2009, GreenGeeks has been acknowledged as a Green Power Partner by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
d. Greengeeks has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is consistently rated highly on numerous independent web hosting comparison websites.
e. More than 35 awards have been given to Greengeeks for being the best green (eco-friendly) hosting provider.
f. Greengeeks guarantees the safety and security of its clients’ data; hence, its data centers are outfitted with raised flooring, climate control, round-the-clock security, fire suppression systems, water detection systems, UPS, and generators.
g. GreenGeeks uses the latest generation processors from Intel and uses Juniper and Cisco for network switching and routing.
h. It guarantees 99.9% uptime for its services.
i. 24/7 email, live phone, and live chat support are all available.
j. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee: Complete satisfaction or your money back during the refund period.
k. Greengeeks is trusted by tens of thousands of customers. Excellent and wonderful reviews of Greengeeks may be found on a reputable review website like Trustpilot.
l. The management team at GreenGeeks has more than 40 years of combined expertise in offering reliable, affordable website hosting.
m. You have the option to choose any data center location of your choice.
In conclusion, I believe that you have learned a lot about the meaning of some terms used in website hosting and also know what to consider when choosing a web hosting service provider. Now is the time to subscribe to any of the web hosting providers mentioned above and watch your website load with lightning speed, be secure, and have a 99.9% uptime.
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