Since this blog is targeting Internet marketing beginners before any other target group, I thought it would make sense to highlight the basis of web hosting.Simply put, web hosting is a service that is provided by a company to people who want to have their websites live on the net. The site is uploaded or saved on to a computer that stored documents that are accessible via the Internet. These computers are known as servers or web servers. Simply put web hosting is like renting space on the Internet just like renting an office space for your business. You are required to pay monthly rental, which can be as low as $5.

You only pay for the space and “hardware” or facilities – the hosting company ensures that your site is always up online (up time) but it is your responsibility to make sure that your site is up to scratch. As like any office space, the price tag comes with the quality of the place. You must not simply go for a hosting package simply because it is the cheapest. Trust me on this.

Shared and dedicated hosting

From now on I will keep referring back to my example of an office space. Shared hosting is like renting a certain portion or unit of the building. You share it with other tenants who also run their own businesses. No one can get into the other’s office because of the keywords/doors required to access those different office units. So shared hosting is like being hosted on a server together with other sites. You can get what is called a reseller hosting, which is like sub-letting. That is, you can rent the whole floor of the office block and then sublet the space to other tenants. Alternatively you can just use it for your other sites.

Dedicated hosting on the other hand is like renting the entire office block or building. You do this when you have a number of sites to put up on line. Another advantage of this is that you are in control of the entire building/ server so search engines can easily access it and include your site in their search results. (This is rather too simplified but I hope you are getting my point). Dedicated webhosting is a good option for someone who wants more storage and bandwidth, and also wants certain characteristics that are not available with shared website hosting.

So when you want to find a web hosting company for your site you need to determine the amount of space you need, the bandwidth (or size of passage to accommodate incoming and out going traffic to your site/office). Don’t worry about starting small, as it is easy to upgrade should you require more space.

Reliable web hosting is very critical especially for the success of online businesses. You need to seek a web hosting company that can provide you with these critical components you need. Imagine thousands of visitors coming to your site and finding a “page not found error” message – you would lose thousands if that site is used for making money. This happened to me once, read my post about choosing a web hosting company.