The World Wide Web has become so intricate that it is now an imperative for those who navigate it to know more of the inner workings behind it. One of the aspects that one should know is the domain of web hosting. At first, the complicated jargons of technology may cause us to either be apathetic or simply avoid these definitions.
Before we come up to a technical and a general term for web hosting, imagine a shopping arcade (or what we call as the mall today). This arcade stretches from all four directions and with it contains a variety of shops catering to one’s preferences and even that of one palette. Within that shop lie the idea behind web hosting services. A web hosting service is merely a type of arcade that contains the shops as mentioned above, but this time instead of shop, it is the data that is imparted in each website.
Hosting a website in general, akin to running a shop, needs a storage space as well, and the web hosting servers contain the necessary storage to run the website efficiently. Also, similar to the purpose of firms, web hosting is frequently conducted by organizations with the required capital and expertise to manage the specifics of a website. We also need to take note of the term bandwidth, as bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted within a fixed amount of time; the better the service, the better the bandwidth. More requirements will also be needed to keep the speed in a constant.
The only basic requirement for web hosting servers is this: a medium to connect to the Internet and that is it. With a basic yet a rudimentary understanding of how web hosting and web hosting servers work, a user would think of ways of making one’s website easily approachable and can be visited with little difficulty. Many, especially firm owners or managers, tend to focus into the aesthetic quality of the site, thinking that this will be the only aspect that must be given importance hence, their search results will go up because of this rubric alone. A more resourceful and even a shrewder user can avoid this trap using a variety of web hosting solution or solutions. To elucidate this point further, we will venture into some parameters or reasons why you should be mindful when it comes to the general structure of your website.
1. Speed
First of all, consider the rate or the amount of time for your website to load. In such a fast-paced society that tries to access information in an instant, speed is the greatest, and even the primary one that a user of the website will consider. The dilemma of many of the sites which have come and go can be traced solely on speed and there are many specifics that can be mentioned: the fastness or slowness of the website can be affected by the coding, the amount of content and for the most part, the website hosting service or the host itself.
Finding the problem will not guarantee a quick fix or a solution either. You do not just drop the web hosting server that you are using, for it may adversely affect your prospects and your stint in the virtual. Try contacting your web developers, as most people depend on their services and it is their skills that create the website from scratch in the first place, and if it does not work, one can always resort or even have upgrades on your website itself, including optimizing the resources that your website can or will offer.
2. Uptime or downtime
Some guides prefer to make the uptown and downtime reasons as the first order of consideration, but we must always take note that both speed and uptime/downtime are connected. The appeal of the website not only depends on how it appears but on how it can stay active. Once again, this dilemma is more or less in the hands of the web hosting services that you have either subscribed or have bought. The weaker the host server or place where your website is trying to make its way to the top, the more impossible the prospect that your websites become accessible to a broader audience.
3. IP Location
The physical location of an IP address is also an important consideration that must be paid attention. The relevance of your website often depends on the geography, but not only on geography alone. Geography in this sense also refers to the technology available in your physical surroundings, the amount of sophistication of such technology and the proximity of that technology to the hubs or centers of that particular geography.
A website’s design and preference are also put into consideration. An example would be a website with web hosting services that cater to specific market. Not only is this more or less a difficult task, but it is also not as clear-cut. To design a website especially for business purposes and for the search engines to be optimized appropriately, geography will always be a significant factor, as it affects the amount of bandwidth and in general, that of loading times.
4. Security
With the emergence of the World Wide Web in all fields of society, vulnerabilities on its structures have begun to appear. With states, transnational entities and even simple citizens possessing access to the Internet, it can sometimes become a battleground but for the most part, a morass of illegal activity. Credit card fraud is an example of that activity, where a hacker can easily breach through the user’s information and steal the details for one’s profits. Furthermore, it became a common stereotype that government websites are prone to those attacks such as defacements and even total takeover of websites to either serve as a political vessel or just a humorous attempt.
With these risks in mind, it is of importance that security is seriously pondered upon. Web hosting companies offer a variety of measures to contain their customers to their service, and the threat of attack is always an invoked part of that selling point. But we must also be careful on who to trust and which entity we must deal. Choosing a security web shot or a web hosting entity that contains security features should require careful reading and deliberation since the website is your property after all.
5. HTTP/SSL Support
To begin with and for us to not get lost, HTTP means HyperText Transfer Protocol, or the protocol used by the larger World Wide Web when it comes to the operation of the website itself. To explain it more succinctly, HTTP is the main motor of a website within the World Wide Web, akin to the mitochondria which are the powerhouse of the cell. Because of an increased security threat and the surprising complexity of the Internet as a whole, many websites are beginning to transfer to HTTPS instead of mere HTTP to further secure their websites from attacks and disruptions, and these definitions by themselves are becoming more critical when it comes to search engine optimization rankings. Therefore, it is imperative for a user that they must choose a web hosting company that offers an easy instrument for one to transfer to the HTTPS domain while keeping the website intact. As the old cliché goes, it is still better to be safe than sorry.
6. Technical or Tech Support
Last but not least is technical support. It refers to the vast array of solutions frequently offered by an outsider party or even the web hosting company itself. From a practical standpoint, the efficiency of a website’s lifespan depends on how much it gets from technical support. To some degree or another, technical support is the basest material that keeps the website or any machine going with either little or no eruption.
Still, it is imperative always to consider that your web hosting company or server will provide the tech support themselves. Make sure that one you will do business with has a dedicated tech support awaiting any cases of breakdowns or downtimes on your website. These are some of the parameters that a user should consider when one decides to have a web hosting company or server to run one’s website. It always requires a combination of informed opinions, considerations, compromises if needed and the street-smarts to navigate your way into cyberspace. These aspects must be remembered whenever one is interested in opening up a website, for you to gain the upper hand, to have a comparative advantage and to utilize any available resources for your benefit and also for the very thing we want in this world of ours; that of success.
