If you have heard terms such as, ‘Web hosting’, ‘Web servers’, ‘Web Hosting Companies’, etc., and you are wondering about the purpose of these, or if you are not an uninitiated but you are curious to understand the difference between hosting and servers, then you have arrived at the right place.

In this blog we shall elaborate on what web hosting, web servers and web hosting companies are and subsequently proceed to providing information specifically on Shared Hosting and dedicated servers to cast light upon the difference between these two.

Web Hosting and Web Hosting Companies

Web hosting, which is also referred to as website hosting, is a service; whereas a web hosting company, which is also called a web host, is the service provider of this service. There can be different types of web hosting solutions as well as different web hosting companies that provide this service professionally. For example, HTS Hosting is a top-tier service provider of a range of web hosting solutions. Its hosting services are immensely popular among global clients due to their efficiency and affordability, wherein the lowest priced website hosting plan starts at Rs.31/month and includes free SSL certificate along with many other features. Undoubtedly, HTS Hosting is regarded as the Best Web Hosting Company, which has ensured that the demand for its various website hosting plans is on the rise globally. What exactly is this service of web hosting? Let us answer that first.

Web hosting is a service that is meant for making websites publicly accessible over the Internet.Its role doesn’t end there, as this service has to ensure that the websites are seamlessly available to site visitors.Web hosting is provided by web hosting companies through various website hosting plans which are purchased by website owners in order to render their websites accessible online. Every web hosting plan provides web server space for the purpose of website hosting and includes numerous web hosting features that play an important part in ensuring the efficiency of the service and the convenience of the user.

Depending on your hosting requirements and taking your budget into account, you can opt for either a Shared Hosting plan, which is the most economical option for hosting websites, or you can opt for a Dedicated Hosting plan or a VPS Hosting (Managed VPS Hosting, Self-managed VPS Hosting) plan.

If you have a WordPress site, then professional and reputed web hosting companies, such as HTS Hosting, do offer WordPress Hosting. WordPress Hosting is a type of web hosting service that is meant exclusively for WordPress websites and caters to such sites’ hosting requirements, especially with regard to their security and performance. These are the main web hosting solutions that almost every reliable web hosting service provider will offer. Moreover, you can choose between a Linux hosting plan and a Windows hosting plan for Shared Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Managed VPS Hosting, Self-managed VPS Hosting and for Reseller Hosting. Reseller Hosting is another popular web hosting service, which makes it quick and easy to become the service provider of web hosting services at minimum capital investment and at the least financial risk. In Reseller Hosting, the web hosting service of a reputed service provider, such as HTS Hosting, is purchased and is subsequently sold by the reseller through his profitably priced hosting plans. Now that you know about web hosting, which is a service provided by web hosting companies for making websites available online to site visitors and includes various technologies and services; it is time to understand how a website is rendered accessible to website visitors and get to know the role of a web server in this regard.

The Role of a Web Server in Web Hosting

As mentioned previously, every web hosting plan provides web server space for the purpose of website hosting. Why is this web server space needed? You will find the answer to it, in this part of the blog. Websites, regardless of their type, are made of files. It is only when these files are available on our Internet-connected devices, such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, etc., that the websites become accessible to us. What is the role of a web server in this?

A web server offers the platform, wherein the files of a hosted website are saved as well as get processed. When you avail a web hosting plan, you essentially purchase web server space, which can be either shared or dedicated, depending on the web hosting plan that you have opted for. As soon as the web server receives an incoming request from a browser for your website, the server locates the files of your website in its storage and processes those files, which are then retrieved by the browser. This is how any site visitor gets to access your website or any other hosted website. Since it is web hosting companies that have these web servers and all the infrastructure and resources for ensuring the safe and fast accessibility of websites, it becomes necessary to purchase the service of web hosting from a professional service provider.

Here, it needs to be mentioned that HTS Hosting is not merely a service provider of excellent, value-for-money web hosting solutions but also an efficient and fully-equipped data centre. HTS Data Centre is a top-grade data centre, that has all the infrastructure to deliver secure, reliable and efficient hosting services to global clients. Its web servers, which are constantly monitored and managed by experts, offer outstanding performance and keep the hosted websites up and running securely at all times.

Based on the type of web hosting service, a web server can be classified as a shared server or as a dedicated server or as a Virtual Private Server (VPS).Let us touch upon shared and dedicated servers, in brief over here, as these two types of web servers are at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

A shared server is the web server on which the files of your website will be stored and processed, if you have purchased a Shared Hosting plan for either Linux or for Windows. In this type of web server, multiple websites are hosted on the same server. This means that several websites will be stored and processed on a single web server (shared server). Hence, the server space and the resources of such a server will be shared among the hosted sites. In short, a shared server offers shared server space, shared web server resources and a common IP address to all the sites that are hosted on it. Moreover, server customization is not possible on such a server due to the shared aspect of it. A shared server, which is part of every Shared Hosting plan, can effectively cater to sites that are not resource-intensive and which do not need dedicated server resources.

A dedicated server is totally opposite of a shared server, although both the web servers perform the same function, i.e. store and process the files of website/websites and respond to the requests of browsers. Unlike a shared server, a dedicated web server hosts a single website on a single web server. Hence, it is able to offer its entire server resources for the exclusive use of the hosted website, which ultimately results in the hosted website’s enhanced site speed, powerful performance and augmented security. It is possible to customize the web server when using a dedicated server, as the entire server space and server resources are meant for the use of a single client. A dedicated web server ensures that you derive the benefits of having dedicated server space, dedicated server resources, dedicated IP address and server customization for the peak performance of your hosted site. If budget is not a constraint, then it is always better to opt for a dedicated server.

Differences between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Servers

The obvious difference is that Shared Hosting is a web hosting service and a dedicated server is a web server. Hence, the plans for the former are availed as web hosting solutions for rendering websites accessible online, while the latter is a web server that is used for storing and processing the files of a single website which is hosted on a dedicated server. Let us, summarize the main differences between Shared Hosting and dedicated servers.

• Shared Hosting is a web hosting solution (service). A dedicated server is a web server (physical component).

• Shared Hosting is availed as a service in the form of Shared Hosting plans for rendering websites available over the Internet. Dedicated servers store and process the files of websites that have availed a hosting plan for the same.

• In Shared Hosting multiple websites are hosted on a single web server, whereas a dedicated server hosts a single website on a single web server.

• Shared Hosting involves shared server resources, shared server space and a shared IP address. When a website is hosted on a dedicated server, it is entitled to dedicated server resources, dedicated server space and a dedicated IP address.

• Server customization is not possible in any Shared Hosting plan. It is possible to customize a dedicated server.

• There can be issues regarding the speed and the security of the sites hosted through Shared Hosting plans, due to the shared aspect of the web server. A dedicated server offers enhanced site speed, powerful security and peak site performance.

• Shared Hosting is the most economical web hosting solution for hosting a wide range of websites. Since a dedicated server hosts a single website per server, it is more expensive to avail.

Conclusion:

Shared Hosting, as a web hosting service, is totally different from a dedicated server, which is a web server. Whether you opt for Shared Hosting or you opt for a dedicated web server, will depend entirely on your hosting requirements and on your budget.

As a Top Web Hosting Company and as a popular data centre, HTS Hosting offers you a wide range of plans to choose from, for availing either its efficient and affordably-priced Shared Hosting or any other type of hosting solution; or its value-for-money dedicated servers or VPS. You can connect with HTS customer care at any time and an expert will help you select the best hosting solution for your requirement and within your budget.