What is web hosting? What are the differences?
In this article, we will be going over these two questions. Let's go over the basic idea of what web hosting is.
Web hosting is a service many companies provide that allows you to run your website on their servers rather than using your computer and home network. There are a few different types of web hosting, one of the most common is shared hosting. Other types of web hosting include WordPress hosting and site builders.
Each type of web host offers various features and degrees of difficulty. The most user-friendly options typically are web hosts that offer site builders. While these are easier to use, they usually allow for minimal growth as a web developer.
Another type of web host offers a popular CMS software called WordPress. WordPress is a powerful tool that allows you to build incredible websites with nearly limitless possibilities. You can find many different companies that offer various packages to host your WordPress site. These may differ in freedom of use, such as what types of plugins you can install to how many visitors you can receive each month.
The most common type of web hosting is shared hosting. These hosts typically allot a portion of a server, including RAM, CPU allotments, etc. Shared hosting options start you off with a control panel (typically cPanel) that will allow you to create your website from scratch or use a script installer that can upload popular software to your site. This type of web host offers the most freedom and typically the most scalability. With the ability to create your custom scripts or install WordPress, you will be able to make any website you wish. All open source scripts installed on these web hosts will also offer the ability to modify source code for those looking for this ability.
Depending on what you are looking to get out of each web host will determine the path you should follow. If you need a website now, any quick site builder options are great. Do you want to create a site quickly but need the ability to scale, WordPress hosts may be your best option. But if you're looking to create any type of website and have more control over your website, the shared hosting options will be best.
While this is not an all-inclusive list, these are the basics you'll need to look for when choosing a web host. Suppose you're looking to get started for free. In that case, many web hosts offer short trials or web hosting packages with minimal resource offerings.
WZC.dev offers our own shared hosting packages at WZCHost.com.