Types of Web Hosts

Types of web hosting

This report primarily focuses on shared web-hosting services, which are suitable for most websites. E-commerce sites, heavily trafficked sites and sites containing audio, video or lots of large image files are likely to need a more expensive or specialized type of hosting services. But for most personal and small-business sites that don't need a shopping cart, shared hosting is the best value. Keep in mind that if you only want to start a blog, you don't really need a full-featured web host. See our section below on blog hosting, dedicated to services that mainly host low-cost or free blogs.

A server is a special type of high-end computer with several hard drives -- web hosts will post your website on one of their servers. With a shared web-hosting service, your host provider puts multiple websites on a single server computer. Because your site shares space with others, bandwidth is limited. That's because if any of the websites on the server gets too much traffic, service for all the sites on the server could slow down.

In the context of web hosting, the term "bandwidth" refers to the amount of data being transferred. As a point of reference, the ConsumerSearch.com home page is about 44 KB. Each time that page is viewed, the site visitor downloads 44 KB from our server. Our monthly bandwidth is the total number times each page on our website is viewed in a month.

To prevent busier websites from hogging bandwidth, hosting companies limit monthly bandwidth to pre-specified amounts. The total file size of all your pages is also capped. Most services offer a variety of plans with storage space and bandwidth limits for each. As multiple sites share a single computer, processing capability is somewhat slowed. Judging from user reviews, some hosts abuse shared hosting to the point that simple web pages load too slowly.

With shared hosting, you or your webmaster manage your site. Your host functions like an invisible computer. The hosting service will provide customer service, including tech support, but do not expect the company to provide consulting service. For example, the web host won't teach you how to use third-party web design software.

The main benefit to shared hosting is affordability. However, its limitations make it unsuitable for bigger and more critical websites. The next step up is either dedicated hosting or co-location. With dedicated hosting, you are leasing an entire server. The host will maintain the computer and provide the direct connection to the Internet. You are still responsible for your website. As the name suggests, your website is the only one on a server.

Co-location is essentially the same as dedicated hosting, except you own the server computer (instead of leasing it). You can supply the computer to your host, but this only practical if you choose a local host.

Managed dedicated hosting is the most high-end option. It is appropriate for e-commerce ventures operated by sole proprietors or a handful of people. You contract for a full range of services. Those services will vary, depending on the host you choose and the plans it offers.