The Internet has become an integral cog in our socioeconomic machine. It has become a primary communication & information exchange medium for people and entities across different socioeconomic strata, from middle-class individuals to HNIs, multinational retail chains to computer science assignment help services.
Businesses, in particular, get in touch with different communities, work with different demographics, and target different segments, using the World Wide Web & myriad web-aligned technologies to position their products & services much more accurately.
Websites and web applications are two key avenues for letting the online masses know of your existence. And, if a website/business owner wants people to visit your site & use your app, and avail services in the best way possible, then a secure & reliable hosting platform is essential.
The Essential Aspects of Web Hosting
Web hosting providers provide businesses with the critical back-end infrastructure to keep websites live online. There are different kinds of options for hosting websites & apps. That’s why one of the first things to consider is the kind of online hosting that suits one the best.
All major web hosting platforms offer various hosting services and the following are the essential aspects of all hosting paradigms.
- Domain: A web domain is an abstraction of electronic cyberspace that’s segregated into different segments such as .com, .org, .net, .gov, .edu, etc. The uniform resource locator, or the address of your website along with the domain, helps network systems identify & locate the server where your website is hosted.
- Servers: Servers are central components of all online back-end infrastructure, & are of different types. All web hosting providers have different kinds of servers running in the background. Critical servers for any back-end infrastructure include:
- Web & Application Servers: Web and application servers are the ones that provide static and dynamic content in response to client requests from a node. Application servers enable effective interaction between client-side code & the server-side code, that is, the business logic.
Advancements in web developmental, network and electronic technologies have blurred the distinction between web and application servers & allow them to carry out different tasks such as load balancing during high traffic, reverse proxy, maintaining redundancies, etc.
- Database Servers: These are database systems where websites & applications store all their data. There are different kinds of database systems: SQL, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, MS-SQL, etc.
- Mail Servers (Optional): Web hosting platforms can also provide emailing functionalities through mail servers.
- File Servers: These act as central storage spaces for frequently accessed data, typically documents, images, and other kinds of indexed structured & unstructured data that have been processed & stored as files.
- Proxy Servers: Act as intermediary communication interfaces and filter & control traffic through load balancing, data caching, bandwidth management, & even hiding IP addresses.
- DNS servers: Domain naming system servers stored records of IP addresses corresponding to their respective URLs. Web hosting providers do not generally possess DNS servers but provide services provisioned from a DNS hosting service.
- Storage Space: The servers act as storage space for all kinds of files, codes, etc., that a business website needs to run as necessary.
The above are the rudimentary requirements for hosting any website online. If you are looking for the best web hosting service provider, enquiries about the above should be fundamental queries.
Once you are clear about those basic requirements, it is time to look at other crucial aspects.
Key Things To Investigate While Choosing A Web Hosting Platform
A Reliable & Reputed Service Provider
For obvious reasons, choosing a renowned name in the web hosting industry is vital. The reputation of the web hosting provider should always be a key selection criterion. Find out what the clients of a hosting service have to say about them and how well the company served all its clients through the years.
Check out reviews, ratings, feedback, and the like. Has the hosting service won any awards? Can you find any published articles of theirs in reputed tech magazines?
Uptime
Uptime is the amount of time a server remains up and running. A good cloud/web hosting provider can provide at least 99% uptime. For every second your website’s server remains down, you are losing a chance to generate leads and losing money.
Talk with the support services of a provider and find out what they have to say about uptime & downtime (the period during which servers remain down for repairs, maintenance, & overhaul). The best cloud hosting providers promise around 99.9% uptime with money-back guarantees in case of unexpected downtime.
24*7 Dedicated Support Service
There must always be someone to answer your queries, no matter the time of the day. Be it a sudden downtime or exceptionally slow rendering speeds, there can arise different kinds of issues and owners/admins can have any number & type of queries. The web hosting provider must have systems in place for addressing any & all questions at any time of the day or night.
Provisioning of Different Plans & Ample Resources
Flexibility and variability in hosting plans are other vital features to look out for. Requirements may change with time; traffic may increase; new features may need to be added, etc.
Look for service providers that offer:
- FREE SSL (Secure Sockets Layer, a must-have network security feature),
- Flexibility in storage space & bandwidth (pick a service or plan that offers unmetered bandwidth),
- Easy scalability and comprehensive support;
- Substantial volatile memory space or RAM,
- Easy & routine backups,
- FREE domain naming options bundled with a hosting plan,
- Root access and control for your technical teams, if necessary,
- Bundled mailing services,
- Ease of switching, and migration, along with dedicated support for such operations,
- Multiple data centres and server locations,
- Support for major CMS such as WordPress, one-click installation, etc.
Superb Security Features
It is a major folly to put security to chance. As cyber criminals & cybercrime as a whole become more & more advanced, the need for secure hosting has become all the more vital.
Pick a provider that has substantial and multiple security features, such as:
- Dedicated-Denial-of-Service protection,
- Server hardening,
- Virus & malware protection,
- Defence against brute force and targeted attacks,
- Server hardening (to reduce the attack surface),
- FREE regular and wildcard SSL certification,
- Domain privacy,
Know Your Needs
Last but not least, be completely sure of your requirements. Think about which web hosting plan works best for your needs, how much traffic you expect & how much you think it might increase, and what features you need, any specific security requirements, and the like.
Try to opt for web hosting providers that offer a central, intuitive interface for crucial but basic managerial tasks such as:
- SSL management,
- Domain naming and email management,
- Auto load balancing,
- Easy setup of redirects,
- Swift addition of features and functionalities to the website,
- Backup management,
- Easy renewal and upgrading of web hosting plans,
- CMS and website building support,
Another vital thing to determine before looking for a web hosting service is the kind of web hosting you need. According to HostGator, one of the biggest names in the hosting industry, there are currently five primary types of web hosting: dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, shared hosting, virtual private servers (VPSs), and managed hosting. Think deeply about your needs before making the final choice as choosing the right web hosting service can make or break the online ventures of your business.
Well, that’s about it for this write-up. Hope it was an informative and exciting read for one & all.
If you are a student working on a web hosting or computer networking assignment, get expert aid from reputed computer networking assignment help services.
All the best!
Author-Bio:
Anne Gill is a back-end systems engineer with a globally-recognized web hosting provider. Hailing from Munich, Germany, she is an avid gamer, a competitive programmer, and a part-time writer at MyAssignmenthelp.co.uk, a leading global assignment help service.
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