Types Of web hosting, and how to choose between them

Finding a web hosting company is never going to be a problem,
but finding the right type of hosting can be more of a
challenge. In this article, we'll look at the four broad
categories of hosting that are available. Once you understand
these types of web hosting, you'll be in a better position to
choose the one that best meets your needs. Free And Paid Shared
Hosting This is the type of hosting that you're most likely to come
across. Shared hosting means that your website is sharing
server space with many other online users. It's also known as
virtual hosting, since more than one domain can share the same ip
address. Think of it as a block of apartments, where each
individual tenant has their own little corner of the main street
address. If you're considering this type of hosting, remember
that many websites on one machine can mean slower response times,
and occasionally server failure, if your online neighbors are
running particularly heavy programs. Free services are almost
always false economy for any serious online business, as they make
their money by intrusive pop-ups and advertising, over which you
have no control. Dedicated Hosting Dedicated hosting is the next
step up, like moving out of an apartment block to your own
house. This is a one server, one client system, so you don't
have to share server space with other users. You also have
complete control over the server that you're leasing, so you can
instal your own software and enjoy greater control over the
services you run. It is, of course, much more expensive than
shared hosting. Co-Location Hosting This is similar to dedicated
hosting, but it's more like renting a house than outright home
ownership. Under this type of hosting system, you only pay
for the space you're actually using, rather than the entire
server. This takes away a lot of responsibility for
management of the hardware, and consequently a lot of the
worry. It is accordingly a cheaper version of dedicated
hosting. Virtual Dedicated Server and Virtual Private Server
Hosting This is really two different ways of saying the same thing
- one server divided into several partititions, with each partition
being dedicated to a single client. To all intents and
purposes, each client has their own dedicated server, hence the
expression "virtual" server. This is like leasing your own
luxury apartment. You can do what you like within the
confines of your own virtual server, adding in software and
customized services, and even rebooting it like a separate physical
server if required.In the end, the type of hosting you require will
depend on the type of online business or website that you want to
run, as well as the size of your budget. If you don't need a
lot of space, and if control isn't an issue, then shared hosting
will be fine. If you're a larger business, then co-location
or virtual dedication should be considered. Finally, if money
is no object and full control is important to the success of your
business, you should consider the full dedicated server
option.