What Is Web Hosting and Why You Need it

The world wide web is growing at an exponential rate. More and more people are looking into running their own website, whether it be for their business, for entertainment purposes or even just to have their own blog. But before you jump the gun and start devising the aesthetics of your perfect website, there are a few things to consider – web hosting, a domain name and of course then, your website itself. These things are crucial to the core functionality of your website.

For now, we’re going to focus on the former – web hosting and why it is so very essential to running a website.

What is Web Hosting?

In one of our previous blogs – Things to Consider when Buying a Domain Name, a comparison is drawn between a domain name and a house address. If the domain name is the address and the website is the house, then web hosting is the land on which the house is built. All of the assets and data which combine to form your site have to be stored somewhere, physically. This physical storage lot is called a server, a piece of hardware which is (or should be) constantly running so that your website can be accessed at any given time. If the server shuts down, so does your site and any other sites that it may be hosting. 

To give a simple breakdown of how the process works: 

  1. Your website is live and aptly hosted by your provider
  2. A random user searches for your domain
  3. This search connects them to the server which is hosting your website
  4. In turn, the server sends your files and assets (website) over to the user

Essentially, the server acts as a middleman between you and the user, bridging you together.

Despite it being a possibility to host your own website, it’s usually highly impractical to do so. A server, being a far more powerful computer than your average desktop, just isn’t something that the average household can accommodate, at least not without some degree of difficulty. So unless you’re well versed and experienced in dealing with servers, it’s always best to stick with a web hosting provider.

Web hosting servers

Types of Web Hosting

There are a few different types of web hosting that each caters to different needs. There are lower-end options suited to personal websites with smaller budgets, mid-range options for small businesses with a bit of budget and high-end options for large companies that have big budgets and demanding requirements. Here are some of the most common options for web hosting:

Shared Hosting – This is far more suitable for small businesses and ones which are just starting out. Due to you sharing a server with other people, shared hosting is the most affordable option, but varying with what your provider offers, you’ll be more restricted in terms of server resources. Additionally, when a website you’re sharing a server with crashes, yours will slow down as a result. 

Dedicated Server Hosting – The antithesis of shared hosting. Dedicated servers are (as the name suggests) dedicated to your site and your site only. You’ll have full admin access and control over every aspect of the server. Due to their high capabilities, dedicated servers are usually used by larger companies with a fair amount of traffic and those who need full admin access. They also require maintenance which necessitates some level of expertise. As suggested, dedicated servers are very powerful, and that power comes at a pressing cost.

VPS Hosting – Serving as the middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting, VPS hosting is structured similarly to shared hosting as you’ll be sharing a server with others. However, unlike shared hosting, you’ll have greater control and faster, more reliable speeds. Virtual Private Servers do still struggle to handle high amounts of traffic and aren’t the best bet for larger companies. They’re far more suited to smaller businesses that have decent traffic and want fast load times for said traffic.

These three types of hosting are the most predominant and will likely have you covered. However, if none of these seems to fit your requirements – there are a couple more types of hosting you should read into.

Web Hosting Services

When looking for a web hosting company, you’ll notice their services are grouped in packages as a means to accommodate websites of different sizes.

Naturally, the lower-end packages which range from £3 – £10 per month (approx.) are targeted towards small businesses with little traffic – these types of packages are exclusively for shared hosting.

Stepping it up a little, you get the mid-range of packages which are for VPS hosting. These range from around £15 – £50 per month and are targeted at businesses which receive decent (but not a large amount of) traffic.

Finally, you have the premium packages which are, needless to say, for dedicated hosting. These are for larger businesses with both high traffic and a reputation to maintain (requiring high speeds and persistent uptime). Dedicated hosting is a fair bit more expensive than VPS hosting, averaging around £70 – £150 per month.

A server room

Our Web Hosting Services

Here at Sood, we offer our own web hosting services with a few extras thrown in – completely free. 

Our packages come in a range of four options: Elemental, Median, Elite, Multi and Unlimited. Whichever package you choose, from elemental to unlimited, we’ll give you unlimited bandwidth, free SSL certification and daily backups and daily website uptime monitoring.

Elemental – £20 per month

  • 2048MB NVMe SSD Space
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • 1 Website
  • 5 Email Accounts
  • 1GB Max Mailbox Size
  • Free SSL
  • 1 CPU
  • 1GB Ram
  • 20 Entry Processes
  • Daily Backups

Median – £30 per month

  • 5GB NVMe SSD Space
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • 3 Website
  • 10 Email Accounts
  • 2GB Max Mailbox Size
  • Free SSL
  • 2 CPUs
  • 2GB Ram
  • 30 Entry Processes
  • Daily Backups

Elite – £40 per month

  • 10GB NVMe SSD Space
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • 10 Website
  • 15 Email Accounts
  • 5GB Max Mailbox Size
  • Free SSL
  • 2 CPUs
  • 3GB Ram
  • 40 Entry Processes
  • Daily Backups

Multi – £50 per month

  • 50GB NVMe SSD Space
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • Unlimited Website
  • Unlimited Email Accounts
  • 10GB Max Mailbox Size
  • Free SSL
  • 3 CPUs
  • 4GB Ram
  • 50 Entry Processes
  • Daily Backups

Unlimited – £70 per month

  • 100GB NVMe SSD Space
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • Unlimited Website
  • Unlimited Email Accounts
  • 50GB Max Mailbox Size
  • Free SSL
  • 4 CPUs
  • 5GB Ram
  • 60 Entry Processes
  • 4-Hourly Backups

If none of our packages accommodates your project, we will help you create a custom hosting package that is specifically tailored to you and your requirements.

With a basic understanding of the web hosting process and a grasp on the more common, prominent forms of hosting – you should be well aware of how essential hosting is to your website and how a site simply cannot be accessed without it. So when it comes to the creation of your own website, ensure that you’ve carefully considered which hosting plan and which provider suits your needs best.

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