What is Website hosting?
In order for a website to be visible to everyone on the Internet it must be hosted somewhere. This will be on another computer called a server. The server itself could be housed anywhere in the world. A website is made up from graphics, text and images. These elements are stored on the server and then downloaded to a visitors browser when they visit the website. The contents of a website take up a physical space and hosting companies often have an upper limit on the space you can use within the package price. There may also be a limit on the bandwidth your website uses. Bandwidth determines how many visitors can view your site at any one time. A large number of visitors will increase the bandwidth.
Not all web sites are the same and some are built using different program languages. It is important that when choosing a hosting company you verify with them that their server can run the website. If you are planning on maintaining your own website then you will need Ftp access as part of the hosting. This should come as standard with most packages although some companies may add this at an additional cost.
An important factor with hosting is security. You need to know that your website is safe from hackers and other forms of abuse. Servers should be protected by their own firewall and backup systems. Location of the physical servers is important to. You do not want your website hosted on a server that is kept in a garden shed or any other kind of unsecured location.