Avoiding the technical complexities, every web site is a list of files. These files are files of code and images plus any other media required. Like all good computer files, they need to live on a computer somewhere.
All that the internet is boils down to a way of connecting a lot of computers together around the world. Connect the computers of internet users to the computers the website files are stored on and you have a network of computers – the internet.
DIY Hosting is possible, just not recommended!
Now if you really wanted to you could, at a push, store your site on your own computer and let people access the web site there. It is impending to do, you merely need the technical know-how to do it. But then you also need the security and backups that go along with hosting, to prevent hackers accessing the rest of the files, to prevent unauthorised access to the site, to make copies of the site in case the computer crashes and backup telephone lines and power lines in case they fail.
Website hosting services and options
So we frequently use a good website host to take care of all this for us and it is not actually all that difficult to find cheap web hosting if you start to look about.
There are masses of different options in web site hosting, from dedicated servers to shared hosting, Windows or Linux operating systems. But if you are only running a basic site then a simple set up will maybe be all that you will need.
How to find a suitable host
Finding your future web host is not that difficult, you merely need to find one that offers everything that you need at a cost you are happy to pay. Then check that they are reliable, have a good customer service record and are suitable for you. If you look through an online or magazine’s web hosting guide you will quickly and simply come across a whole pile of hosts and their average reliability. If you only want to host a basic site look through the list and see what is on offer. If you might find one that has won several best web hosting awards in the field that you are wanting to be involved in, all the better!
There are some things to watch for. Let’s say, if you are wanting to host WordPress then you will need to be able to add a MySQL database to the hosting, but this is simply a matter of pressing buttons and following instructions. You only need to make sure that the package you are signing up for can include this feature, either as a standard feature or an add on.
That’s our guide to site hosting and where to find it!
Written by Keith Lunt, who offers a web design Formby service. For more useful hints, call into the web design blog.
Find practical tips about one way links – please study the web site. The times have come when concise info is really at your fingertips, use this chance.








