Types of Web Hosting

Due to the increasing number of different web hosting services, it is important to be able to discern the key differences between options. This allows customers to pick a hosting type which is best suited to their business or personal needs.

Shared Hosting

Shared web hosting is the most widely used form of web hosting. The setup involves the hosting company using a single server in order to host the files of several different sites. Since many sites do not need the full resources of a web server, this provides savings for the end customer and lower overhead for the hosting company. For our full write-up of shared hosting including advantages and disadvantages, click here...

Windows Hosting

Windows hosting simply describes the type of server on which a clients' website will be hosted. The majority of web servers are powered by a Linux based operating system. Hosting a website on a Windows-based server allows the web designer to utilize some powerful format and application bases that are unavailable on most Linux-based servers. Examples of these include Active Server Pages (ASP and ASP.net), Microsoft SQL Databases (MSSQL), and Microsoft Access Databases (MSADB). Hosting on a Linux-based server does not prevent the use of Windows-based software for the creation of a website. Using Windows based hosting however, allows the integration of certain formats and scripting languages that Linux hosting does not (ASP, MSSQL, etc For our full write-up of windows hosting including advantages and disadvantages, click here...

E-Commerce Hosting

E-Commerce hosting refers not so much to a definitive format or protocol of a website, but to the purpose and functionality of the website. An e-commerce website has integrated features allowing for clients to offer e-commerce via their site. Functions like shopping carts and payment systems would be commonly found on an e-commerce site. An e-commerce web host would have pre-installed scripts and utilities that streamline the integration of these types of features into the website. This drastically eases the duties of the web designer. For our full write-up of E-Commerce Hosting, click here...

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting, as opposed to shared hosting where many websites are hosted from a single server, reserves one entire server for the purpose of hosting a clients' website. A dedicated server increases the performance of a website and increases the sites uptime (reliability). Along with a substantially larger price tag, operating a dedicated server requires more input and labor from the website designer/manger. Traditionally the web hosting company will take physical care of the server, however most programming and software upkeep is the responsibility of the client. For our full write-up of dedicated hosting including advantages and disadvantages, click here...

Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting allows a client to take their allotted amount of web space and bandwidth and sub-lease these resources to other webmasters for a fee. This is usually taken up as a business venture for individuals or companies who feel they will be able to market their own hosting plans to new or existing webmasters and companies. Profit is generated by subtracting the cost of the reseller hosting package from the revenue generated by selling others their hosting packages. For our full write-up on reseller hosting, click here...