What is Web Hosting and Why is it So Important?

These days, virtually every organisation and business has their own website that they use to connect with their target audiences, spread information and otherwise market and sell their products. And while the Internet may be more or less ubiquitous today, the level to which people understand how building a website works varies considerably. ­­­­­­

With that in mind, we’re going to set aside a few moments to explain one often misunderstood aspect of creating a website: web hosting. Specifically, we’re going to explore what web hosting is (and isn’t) along with why it’s important to choose the right host, such as PAC Web hosting or a similar provider.

Web Hosting Is Not Your Domain Name

For novice website builders, it’s easy to assume that your domain name is synonymous with your web hosting. While it’s possible that your domain could be registered through your host, this is still a separate feature of your website.

Your domain is what a person types into their Internet browser to visit your site. It has to be registered through ICANN for a small annual fee, and there are many registrars (including hosting providers) that can help you set this up.

Web Hosting Is the Physical Location of Your Website

While your site may exist in so-called ‘cyberspace’, it is actually hosted on a server at a physical location somewhere in the world. Your web host may actually own these servers, or they may be leasing space on them through the cloud. In either event, they’ll be managing the space on these servers.

So it’s important to understand that your website has to exist in a physical location in order for it to be beamed out to the rest of the world. If those servers go down, so will your website. And it will stay offline until it is moved to a new location – or until those servers are brought back online.

Not All Web Hosting Providers Are the Same

Following on to the previous point, some web hosts seem to struggle with downtime more than others. That’s why it’s important that you choose a host that has a reputation for staying up and running as much as possible.

Of course, hosting hundreds or thousands of different websites on your servers is complicated business, and some downtime is inevitable at this stage in history. You simply cannot account for all possible contingencies – power outages, hardware failures, DDOS attacks and more. But that’s no excuse for excessive downtime.

Conclusion: Your Web Host Matters

As you can see from the above, the hosting service that decide to partner with will have an impact on how your site operates. It’s important to partner with a reputable hosting service so that you can keep your site in operation as much as possible. Along those lines, it is wise to do plenty of shopping around when you are looking for a new host, and make sure to read reviews from other clients and customers.

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