Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing a web host can be quite intimidating if it is your first time. There are a lot of terms out there that you may not know and there are a lot of different options. We’ve picked some of the most common questions that we have come across and answered them here for you. Still lost? Go ahead and send us an email through our contact form with your question!
What is a domain name?
A domain name is the letters and/or numbers that make up the name of a site that you see in the address bar of your browser. A domain extension always follows the domain name and typically you will see .com, .net, .info and .org. Those are the big four, however there are many other extensions that are available nowadays allowing you an almost endless amount of options.
How do I get a domain name?
There are a lot of websites out there today that will let you register a domain name to claim as your own. Usually almost all web hosting providers will allow you to register domain names with them, but some sites are strictly made just for registering a domain name.
Here is a list of some affordable domain name registrars:
What is a domain extension?
A domain name extension is the 2-4 letter word that you see added on the end of your domain name. Extensions were first meant to sort of identify a site on what it was going to be about. However, with the .com extension, originally designated for commerce sites, people started registering .coms for any type of site whether it be for personal use or for business reasons.
.com is by far the most popular and most registered extension in the world today, although there are a few other domain extensions that are used such as .net, .org and .info. Countries also have their own domain name extensions such as .asia(Asia), .us(United States), .jp(Japan) and so on.
What is a web host?
A web host is a business or individual who provides services to host your website on a server. A server is like a beefed up personal computer containing more hard drive space, better hardware, and faster connections. When you buy web hosting, you are essentially purchasing “space” on the server which you are then allowed to use that space for your website.
Depending upon your needs, you can purchase shared, virtual or dedicated web hosting.
What is all this shared, virtual and dedicated web hosting about?
Shared, virtual and dedicated relate to the different types of servers that a web hosting provider has plans for.
The basics of shared server web hosting is that multiple sites are hosted on one server. Most sites on the internet are on a shared server hosting plan. Most of the time, these don’t pose a problem, however, if one site on the server is taking up a lot of resources and slowing down the server, all of the other sites are going to be affected. Shared server hosting also limits your configuration options and you are never given access to the actual server itself.
Usually called virtual private server hosting, a virtual server hosts multiple sites just like a shared hosting plan, except that the number of sites are far less. A virtual server hosting plan gives you more bandwidth, disk space and other options allowing you a broader range of options. Typically you are also given access to the server although still with some restrictions set by the web host. Virtual private server web hosting costs more then shared but you receive many more options and usually your server will be better equipped with faster hardware.
Dedicated server web hosting is just that, one server for one site. With a dedicate server you don’t have to worry about other sites using up valuable resources and you have full complete access to the server. You can install any application or program that you want. Usually this means that you are also responsible for the configuration and maintenance of the server. Some hosts provide services to maintain a dedicated server at an additional cost. For most people a shared server web hosting solution is more then enough to provide them with what they need.
