How Does Shared Hosting Work?

If you have developed a site and you would like other individuals to view it, you must copy your web site files to a publicly reachable server.

Where to host your website?

Even though you can use your own personal computer as a server, it is a more common practice to let a hosting service provider host your website. The prime reason for that is the greater stability and the uninterrupted availability of your web site, since hosting providers have top-notch hardware and apportion a far greater web traffic usage allowance, which guarantees the speedier access to your website from all over the globe.

Shared hosting services

Pick a shared hosting service, which permits you to register domain names and to create electronic mail accounts. A lot of web shared hosting providers, like us at ZYNOTEK, offer a free-of-charge domain registration as a bonus if you sign up for an account.

Hosting your site on your own

Hosting your website on your own server is undoubtedly an option, but only if you have time and the necessary proficiency. There are some things that you need to consider, among them the hardware and software expenses. To build a "real", proper website, you will have to purchase some powerful server hardware, because you cannot expect a cheap computer to perform the task. You will also need a constant breakneck-speed Internet connection without outages, which usually comes at a pretty high price. If you are availing of licensed software for your site, you will have to spend cash on the license too. You may also need to cope with bugs and worms. You will need to keep your web server constantly running in an environment where "everything could happen". If you do not possess the needed technical know-how, you will have to hire a sysadmin to handle these things for you, which will render the price of hosting your site yourself even steeper than that of a dedicated hosting web server provided by a web hosting company.

A dedicated web server supplied by a hosting provider

Renting a hosting server from a hosting company is an excellent choice if you would like to create a heavy resource-requiring web site or a corporate portal that has very specific safety requirements. The most important advantages of using a dedicated server are the breakneck-speed Internet access, the uninterruptible power supply and the extremely powerful hardware. Some hosting firms, again like us at ZYNOTEK, supply virtual private servers hosting and semi-dedicated web hosting solutions, which are based on very powerful physical servers that can be divided among several customers. You can also expect them to offer efficient load balancing services and the required backup servers.

Security and reliability

Web hosting distributors are specialized in supplying hosting services and since this is what they do to earn a living, you can expect them to offer continuous network connectivity, the newest software patches and the best virus protection, as well as sysadmins available 24-7 to support you in case of an emergency.

Choose your hosting packages provider

What you need to consider when choosing your web hosting accounts provider is the stability of the offered web hosting services. Make sure that the hosting services provider of your choice provides a 24-hour customer service. Do not place yourself in a scenario where you cannot fix critical issues straight away because you must wait until the next working day. Moreover, if you choose a shared web hosting plan, which features a 24/7 customer support service, this means that there constantly will be system administrators available to resolve any urgent predicaments as soon as they take place, which is a very good thing.

Routine backups

Make certain that your web hosting plans provider offers daily data backups with the offered hosting services, otherwise you may forfeit some valuable content in case of a hardware crash or because you have deleted something unwittingly. The presence of daily backups is usually mentioned in the web hosting provider's Terms of Service.

Traffic and hosting space

When choosing your web hosting packages provider, pay particular attention to the traffic usage quota limits. Make sure that you won't have to overpay for unforeseen high traffic volumes if your web site becomes more regularly visited. There are lots of web hosting firms that offer unmetered traffic at present, so the best course of action is to make sure that you have made the most appropriate choice before registering.

Content limitations

Pay special attention to the hosting service provider's content restrictions. If you aim to publish images or to broadcast live video or audio content, make certain that you can achieve that. Also, most hosting providers impose limitations as far as using their services for storage purposes is concerned, so if you upload too much content that is not connected or directly linked to your web site, your web hosting account could get removed. Therefore, double-checking the web hosting distributor's Terms & Conditions, irrespective of how time-absorbing and tiresome this might be, is very important.

E-mail capabilities

Most web hosting suppliers today also offer email services with all their web hosting offers. It is a good idea to double-check if the web hosting supplier of your choice offers such functionalities as well, so as to be sure that you'll avail of all the features that you need in return for your cash.