With a steady increase in the use of the Internet, browsing websites has become part of the day-to-day life of everyone who has access to the Internet. It is the service of web hosting that plays a major role in making websites accessible to us over the Internet.

This blog will help you gain information on web hosting as a service, its types as well as how it functions. Let us start with the basics.

What Is the Role of Web Hosting?

Web hosting or website hosting is a service that has to do with providing all the services and technologies that ensure the seamless accessibility of a website to its site visitors over the Internet.It is provided by web hosting companies as web hosting solutions, which can be purchased as web hosting plans by site owners.

The role of web hosting is to render every type of website accessible online to website visitors. Since there are different types of websites, such as blogging sites, e-commerce sites, sites of organizations, etc., there are different types of web hosting solutions as well, which cater to the different types of web hosting requirements of various types of sites. The main types of web hosting solutions are Shared Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Managed VPS Hosting, Self-managed VPS hosting, Reseller Hosting and WordPress Hosting. Each of these website hosting solutions can be opted for, by purchasing a corresponding web hosting plan.

When a web hosting plan is purchased from a service provider of web hosting services, what is essentially purchased is web server space and a host of web hosting features. This web server space is used for hosting websites, in order to render the sites accessible online. The various web hosting features, such as SSD storage, user-friendly web hosting control panel, powerful security, high uptime, etc., enhance the efficacy of the service of web hosting.

If you are a website owner, then you need to host your site on the web server of a web hosting company in order to ensure that site visitors can access it. That is because, it is from the web server where your site is hosted, that the browsers of site visitors retrieve the files of your hosted site and render the site accessible to the visitors. Detailed information will be provided on this, when the way in which web hosting functions gets discussed.

A Brief Introduction to Different Types of Web Hosting Services

If you are a website owner looking to host your site in order to make it accessible to website visitors from all over the globe, then you need to be aware of the choices that you have for hosting your site. That is why before we delve into how a website functions, let us touch upon the main types of web hosting solutions in a bit more detail.

Depending on your preference for OS (Operating System) and your site’s hosting requirements, as well as your budget, you can choose a particular web hosting solution that is either for Linux or for Windows.

When you opt for a Shared Hosting plan, your site’s files are hosted on a server where the files of other websites are also hosted. Hence, all the hosted sites get shared server space, shared server resources along with a shared, common IP address. The same is pretty much true for the one-of-a-kind Dedicated Hosting service offered by HTS Hosting, which is considered as the Best Web Hosting Company. When you opt for any Dedicated Hosting plan of HTS Hosting, you get shared server space and shared server resources but a dedicated IP address. In fact, every site that avails the Dedicated Hosting plan of HTS Hosting, gets a dedicated IP address, despite the shared server environment.

If you are looking for server customization, dedicated server resources and dedicated server space, along with a dedicate IP address, then VPS Hosting is what you should opt for. In VPS Hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are used to host multiple sites on a single physical web server, wherein every hosted site gets dedicated server resources, dedicated server space and a dedicate IP address. Moreover, server customization is possible in it. Enhanced site speed, augmented security and peak site performance are delivered by VPS Hosting, which can be either Managed VPS Hosting or Self-managed VPS Hosting. When the VPS is managed by your service provider, the service is referred to as Managed VPS hosting and when the VPS is managed by the user, it is known as Self-managed VPS Hosting.

When a Dedicated Server is availed for hosting a site, there is a single website that gets hosted on each server. Hence, every hosted site gets dedicated server resources, dedicated server space, along with a dedicate IP address and server customization.

If you have a WordPress site, then the best hosting option for your site is WordPress Hosting. It is a hosting service that is meant exclusively for WordPress sites and caters to the hosting requirements of WordPress sites.

Last but not least, if you want to start your web hosting business quickly, easily, at minimum expenditure and at the least amount of capital investment and risk, then Reseller Hosting is what you need to avail. In Reseller Hosting, you, as the reseller of hosting services, merely purchase and then sell hosting services at profitable prices to earn profits.

These are the various types of web hosting services that you can choose from. You can buy a web hosting plan accordingly, from any professional service provider, including HTS Hosting, which is a Top Web Hosting Company.

Regardless of the type of web hosting plan that you choose, the seamless functioning of web hosting depends primarily on three components, a web server, browsers and an active Internet connection. How does web hosting work, in order to makes websites accessible to site visitors? If you are curious about it, that is being explained next.

HowAre Websites Made Accessible?

In order to know how websites are rendered accessible, the way web hosting functions, needs to be understood. As mentioned previously, the three essential components involved in web hosting are web servers, browsers and an active Internet connection. Now let us run you through how these come together to ensure online accessibility of a hosted site.

When a web hosting plan is purchased from a service provider, it is web server space that gets purchased, for hosting a website on the server. The files of the hosted site get stored on the web server of the service provider. These files are processed by the same web server. When a site visitor wants to visit this hosted website, the browser that he/she is using, initiates communication with the server on which the site is hosted. The server locates the stored files of the hosted site and makes those availablefor their retrieval by the browser of the site visitor. Once the files are delivered over the Internet to the site visitor’s device, whose browser initiated the communication, the hosted site becomes accessible to him/her. This is how web hosting functions, by providing not only web server space but also the services and technologies that are involved in making sites publicly accessible over the Internet.

Conclusion:

Web hosting is a service that is meant for hosting websites on web servers to render these sites accessible online to site visitors. An active Internet connection, web servers and browsers, are the three important components of every web hosting service,that is provided by web hosting companies.

HTS Hosting as a globally recognized brand in the field of web hosting, offers a range of affordably-priced web hosting plans for hosting every type of website. The web hosting service of HTS Hosting can be availed at discounted prices and includes 24*7 expert technical support. The feature-rich website hosting plans of HTS Hosting offer outstanding web hosting, within your budget, and deliver the best web hosting.