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Types of Web Hosting Services
‘Web hosting’ is the service by which web related content (such as web pages, files, videos, etc.) is made available to the internet through space provided on servers that are either owned or leased out by the host to an individual or organization uploading the content. Web hosting services can be of myriad types, depending on the kind of service that is required by a person or organization.
Some hosting services, for example, are free- they allow you to upload your web page content free of charge, but severely restrict the scope of how much you can get out of the account. Reseller hosting services allow users to become web hosts themselves and being offering web hosting packages to prospective customers. A shared hosting service will allow users access to a common pool of server resources, whereas a dedicated hosting or root level hosting web service will give the user complete access to and control over the server allocated to him. Even web services such as social networking sites and online multi player games are essentially web hosting services, being provided from a particular server.
This article starts with describing the most basic forms of web hosting and in the forthcoming articles we will pick up and discuss many specialist services as well as general purpose web hosting that cater to some specific requirements only. Web hosting takes the form of the following different types:
Free Web Hosting- These services allow you to upload your content for free. However, their resources are severely limited, and there are a number of restrictions on the content that you can upload. Also, you may expect to find your website flooded with pop-up banners and advertisements. You may still wish to go with a free service if you wish to upload a small website and don’t require it to be for a professional purpose.
Shared/Virtual Web Hosting- Also known as Affordable Web Hosting and paid Web Hosting. In this kind of service, each user shares the resources of the server (such as CPU, memory, bandwidth, etc.) with all the other clients of the hosting service, overseen by a system administration. This form of hosting service is generally the cheapest available, but is not suitable if the user requires an excessive amount of server resources, or the use of any software which is not provided by the server, since the server will not allow the installation of any foreign software. If your content does not fall within these categories, then this is still the best kind to use. A subclass of this is ‘budget web hosting’, where multiple shared hosting services are provided (that are only slightly better than free web hosting) at a minimal pricing that is affordable to all.
Dedicated Web Hosting- In this kind of service, an entire server is leased out to the user. He has full control over all of the server’s resources, operating system, hardware, software, etc. The only disadvantage to this is the cost that you will incur in leasing it. It will also require you to have the necessary technical knowledge to manage the server on your own. This is the best kind of service for high traffic websites and websites that run their own custom made – complex web based applications.
Related Posts
- The Five Types of Specialist Web Hosting Services
- Web hosting services for medium to large scale organizations
- The Types of Web Hosting Services
- Web Hosting Services offered by web hosts
Tags: dedicated server, free web hosting, paid web hosting, Shared web hosting, Web Hosting Services
