Essential to the launch of any website, the operation and usefulness of web hosting sometimes raise questions. It must be said that supply is plethoric and it is not always easy to make a choice between a particular provider.
In reality, there is no "ideal" hosting, as the features and needs may vary. To be sure to choose the web host suitable for its business, it is important to know the main foundations.
To see more clearly, discover below the different forms of web hosting and their characteristics.
What Is Web Hosting And How Can It Improve The Performance Of A Website?
Hosting is one of the essential steps in creating and putting online a website. By publishing its site on the server of a host, it is thus accessible to everyone and at any time. In addition, a web host allocates a number of resources such as an IP address, a database, storage space, bandwidth (path to the Internet), site management tools, etc.
IT hosting is one of the levers of technical optimization that can be improved in parallel with more strategic levers such as content creation, personalization of the offer or communication. Indeed, certain criteria related to web hosting can affect the performance of a site, including the speed of loading, taken into account by Google in the context of SEO. The latter can be optimized according to the type of accommodation chosen.
Applying to a professional web host therefore ensures optimal access to the site and its content. It also gives companies the opportunity to take advantage of certain benefits, such as reduced operating costs and material and human investments. The choice of accommodation is mainly based on storage and usage criteria: space requirements, operating system, and speed. Before choosing an accommodation over another, it is essential to think about the objectives to be achieved on the site concerned to ensure that it is adapted to its needs.
What Are The Main Types Of Web Hosting?
There are three main types of traditional data hosting on physical servers. The role of all three being, in any case, to guarantee their users a broadband connection, necessary bandwidths, and a secure server.
* Shared servers: they group several hosting spaces on one and the same server. Even if they have a similar configuration, hosted sites can be very different from each other. The shared servers offer the most affordable offers in terms of the price thanks to their lower access cost. Easy to use, they do not require special knowledge regarding server administration and software configuration.
Dedicated physical servers: a real machine, completely dedicated to a website. The advantage of this type of server is that it allows full access to programs, software, etc. and that it gives the possibility to host several sites. In addition, it offers great performance in terms of speed and page loading time. If it requires a minimum of technical knowledge in terms of administration (to carry out, among other things, the update of the operating system, the security patches or the follow-up of the data backup), it is nevertheless possible to call on specialist providers in this area. The dedicated server is particularly well suited to sites with high bandwidth requirements.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) servers: These are several virtual servers created from a single physical server. Beyond the complete control of hosting (rights on files, software installation, etc.) made possible by this type of server, the latter offers the same advantages as a dedicated server. However, the cost is much more affordable. VPS servers start to become particularly interesting when a website exceeds 300 daily visits. This is a real compromise between the dedicated server and the shared server.
Alongside these 3 large families of traditional accommodation have also developed entirely virtual hosting offers: the cloud. Particularly flexible and cost-effective, clouds are very large virtual server farms. Distributed in several data centers themselves in different geographical areas, they allow downloading data from any place and at any time. Indeed, the only condition required to access it is to have an internet connection.
For professionals, there is the private cloud option to access data from an intranet. Companies, perhaps even more than individuals, have every interest in choosing their web hosting to ensure their data a fully reliable and secure server. In the case of an e-commerce, for example, it is essential that the site is available 24/24 and 7/7 and that the page loading time is fast, at the risk of losing many visitors. Accommodation must also be able to absorb significant traffic flows.
Choosing accommodation for a website is not to be taken lightly. Guaranteed both access to its content and technical performance, it contributes greatly to the comfort of the user experience. This is why it is not advisable to choose a web host based on its price. Analyzing your objectives well in advance allows you to choose the type of hosting adapted to your needs and to optimize your SEO strategy in parallel, as well as your brand image, by ensuring optimal visibility.