WEB HOSTING DEFINITIONS
Web Hosting Definitions in Plain English
Hosting is full of jargon that makes simple decisions feel hard. Here are the web hosting terms business owners run into most, defined the way we explain them in class.
Galleria 713-703-3030 | Kingwood 281-852-8253
THE BASICS
What is the definition of web hosting?
Web hosting makes a website accessible on the World Wide Web. A hosting company provides space on a server where your website’s files are stored, and that server delivers the site to every visitor who asks for it. Hosting providers may own their servers or lease them from another company. Some also provide internet connectivity, and some house other companies’ servers in their own facility, which is called colocation.
Web hosting almost always includes other services that go along with running a website: email hosting, DNS hosting and domain name registration. The price of a plan usually sets its scope, which is why two plans that both say web hosting can be very different products.
Beth Guide teaches these terms in her classes because vendors use them to confuse buyers. A buyer who knows the words cannot be talked into a plan that does not fit. When you are ready to compare real plans, see our web hosting plans.
TYPES OF HOSTING
Shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud and colocation defined
DOMAINS AND DNS
Domain, DNS and name server terms
For more on domains, see our domain name registration page and the guide on the domain redemption process.
THE CASE FOR VERTICAL WEB ON HOSTING
We define the terms before we sell the plan
PERFORMANCE
Bandwidth, uptime, caching and other performance terms
These terms decide whether your site is fast enough for Google’s Core Web Vitals. Read how they connect in how SEO and web hosting are interconnected, and see why unmetered and unlimited do not mean what they sound like in what an unlimited web hosting plan is.
CHOOSING
Free versus paid hosting: what should decide your plan?
An individual with a personal page can often find value in a free service. A business is different. Even a small company needs email that works, a site that stays up, security and someone to call. We strongly recommend that any company pay for a hosting plan.
When you choose, weigh the factors in this order. Security is more important than anything else, and your host should take proactive steps to keep the site from being attacked or hacked. Technical support comes next: both the level of help and how fast it arrives for email, ecommerce and the website. Then space to grow, because effective internet marketing adds articles and pages over time, and your plan should have room for them.
Many hosts promote the number of email accounts as a major feature. Almost every plan includes plenty, so that should not decide anything. A better bonus to look for is a host that can also build, redesign and update websites, and that offers marketing to promote the business in search. Our full checklist is in how to choose a web host, and our web hosting and domains page shows every service we offer.
QUESTIONS
Web hosting definition questions we hear
Web hosting is the service that stores your website’s files on a server connected to the internet and delivers them to visitors when they type your address or click a link. Most hosting also includes email, DNS and domain services.
The domain is your address, like a street address. The hosting is the building where the website lives. You can buy them from different companies, but the domain has to point at the host for the site to load.
Managed hosting means the host takes care of the server and its software: security, updates, backups and support. The client controls the content, while the host protects the framework and root of the site to prevent accidental damage.
Colocation means a company that owns its own servers houses them in a hosting provider’s data center for power, cooling, security and connectivity. Depending on the provider, the client either sends its own administrator or pays the provider to maintain the server.
For a personal page, free hosting can be fine. Even a small business has needs like email, security, backups and support, so we strongly recommend that any company pay for a hosting plan.
Security first, then the level and speed of technical support, then enough space for the content your marketing will add over time. The number of email accounts should not be a deciding factor, because almost every plan includes plenty.
Still sorting out the jargon?
Request a free website audit and we will explain, in plain English, what your current hosting includes and what it is missing.
Galleria 713-703-3030 | Kingwood 281-852-8253 | info@verticalweb.com