Web site hosting refers to a service that makes your web site available to your users. In general, most web sites are intended to be viewed by anyone on the Internet, at any time. If you want anyone on the Internet to be able to view your web site at any time, you need to make sure your web site is running on a computer which is connected to the Internet 24 hours per day, 7 days per week (24/7).
To do this you have two options.
Option 1: Hosting the Web Site Yourself
Hosting the web site yourself means that you will need to have the right equipment, including a web server and a permanent connection to the Internet. You would need to ensure that your Internet service provider (ISP) allows this type of usage too. You would also need to have web site administration skills such as managing/configuring a web server, patch management, firewalls, virus protection etc
Most people don't do their own web site hosting. Even if they have the skills or equipment, it often makes more sense to hand this task to a third party who can monitor the web site 24/7.
Option 2: Find a Hosting Provider to Host your Web Site
This is the most common choice for web site hosting. Using a third party hosting provider allows you to concentrate on developing your web site (or whatever else it is you may do), and leave the hosting tasks up to a company who (presumably) specializes in web site hosting.
A good web site hosting company will provide at least the following services:
- 24/7 support
- 24/7 FTP access (so you can update your web site)
- A number of email accounts (i.e. yourName@yourDomain.com)
- Online control panel for managing your web site
- Online traffic statistics (so you can see how much traffic your web site receives)
- A robust database management system, such as MySQL or MS SQL. This is so you can add your own database if required
If you require specialized server application software such as ColdFusion, SQL Server, or PHP, you will need to check that the hosting provider supports this.
Once you start looking for a web site hosting provider, you will notice there is a very large difference in how much they charge. You will also notice that most web hosts have multiple hosting plans, each at different prices. Any good web host will allow you to upgrade a plan later on if required, so don't feel as though you need to start off on a plan that costs more than you need.
