What Is Website Hosting And Design?

If you’re thinking about starting up your own webpage then you’ll like have come across web hosting and design, but you might not know exactly what they entail. You may be wondering if you need web hosting and design, so read on below to find out what they’re all about.


What is website hosting and design?

We often talk about the internet like it’s something that doesn’t exist in the real world – you’ll no doubt have heard it referred to as ‘cyberspace’ which makes it seem like maybe the internet doesn’t physically exist. This is not the case however, the internet doesn’t actually exist on physical servers in facilities around the world. We may not see or think much about those facilities’ but their essential for the existence of the internet. They provide an essential service to the website as they allow all the content that makes up the site to be stored – this is part of website hosting and design. The ‘design’ element of website hosting and design involves creating the actual page elements we see on the website.


Why is website hosting and design necessary?

When you create and build a site it is contained on the device that you build it on, when it’s ready to be published it needs to be seen beyond that device which means it will need to be contained somewhere. Servers created for website hosting and design make your site accessible to the larger world, if you want people to see your site then a website hosting and design package may be necessary.


Do I need a service?

For most sites, web hosting and design will be provided by a company that owns and maintains their own server equipment. Their business models usually involve site owners basically renting space from them and paying a fee on a weekly, monthly or annual basis to keep the site on the server. The idea of paying another company to get your website up and running may seem frustrating but short of purchasing a new server there’s not really any way around it. Buying server equipment is costly and impractical for most businesses as they require precise temperature control and advanced technical skills to manage. Working with an external website hosting and design company means that you’ll have access to servers that have the right amount of bandwidth to keep your website functioning without disruption. Servers managed by external companies will also be upgraded and maintained as necessary.


What will website hosting and design cost?

Programmer while doing website hosting and design

There are different options out there that will have different costs involved. The costs involved will depend on the plan you choose and which provider that you decide to go with. Here are a few of the different types:

Shared plans

Shared plans are one of the most affordable and common options for new site owners to opt for. Shared plans can be very inexpensive, starting at just a few dollars a month but can get pricier when different features are involved such as when a site owner wants to host a number of domains, or wants to add additional storage space or include features such as SSL certificates. Shared plans are basically when you rent space on a server.

eCommerce plans

If you want to sell items or service on your website then you need eCommerce support. These plans tend to be a little pricier because they include functions like shopping carts anc checkout and secure payment methods.

Cloud plans

Cloud plans are great for site owners who want faster load times, less storage limitations and more scalability.

VPS plans

These are plans that involve much more room on servers which is good for big sites with lots of traffic.

Dedicated servers

This is when you have a single server dedicated to your website which is good for large sites and companies who need to handle a lot of traffic.