only it is possible to expand your business to other parts of the world but also it has become possible to operate your business personally there. And all of this has become possible due to the web hosting services provided by many companies for businesses worldwide. But before going into the aspect of how business web hosting is done well try to understand first what web hosting service is.

Web Hosting Service:

In the most basic sense a web hosting service is a type of internet hosting service that allows an individual or a business or any organization to host their own website and users with online systems for storing information, images, video etc. through world wide web. However to do this i.e. to host your website you need some space in the web where you can host your website. So the web hosts companies are the companies that provide you with the required space that you require and that they own.

Web hosting services can be broadly classified into two types; simple web hosting and a complex web hosting. Simple web hosting is the most basic web hosting service and suffices only the need for personal homepages. A simple web hosting service comprises of a web page and small scale file hosting,

where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a web interface. Generally this service is for free, advertisement-sponsored or cheap.

On the other hand a complex web hosting service is generally for the businesses. This type of service comprises of a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms such as Java, PHP etc. The advantage of this type of service is that it allows the customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management.

However there are other specific types of web hosting services provided by different companies.

Types of Web Hosting Services

These are the following types of web hosting services that are provided by various companies in different manners: -

1. Free web hosting service: It is a kind of web hosting service that is usually free or advertisement sponsored. But the main disadvantage is that it has a very limited functionality. It also has a very small bandwidth and prevents hot linking of files. Moreover it does not provide any uptime upgrade.

2. Shared web-hosting service: In this type of web hosting service there are more that one user who is using the web service. Therefore there is more than one instance of the same web service hosted on a single physical server. This type of web hosting service includes system administration since different users share it. This type of service typically uses certain web-based control panel systems such as cPanel, DirectAdmin, H-sphere etc. The main advantage of this type of web hosting service is that, as many users share it, so it becomes economical for everyone to maintain the cost of the server.

3. Reseller web hosting: It is a type of web hosting service where the account owner splits up their allotted hard drive space and bandwidth and resell web hosting. Resellers are generally web consultants including web designers, web developers, or system integration company who resell the web hosting as an add-on service to complement their other range of service. So we can say that reseller web hosting service allows the clients to become web hosts themselves.

4. Virtual dedicated server: This type of web hosting services allow root level access to the individual clients without even requiring physically dedicated servers. They can be customized according to the needs of the businesses, which cannot be done in a shared hosting environment. Virtual dedicated servers split a single physical server into multiple virtual servers. So we can say that these virtual servers are filling the void that is created between shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting services.

5. Dedicated hosting service: In this type of web hosting service the client gets full control over an entire server, which is not shared with anyone. Here the client leases the server. This provides a more flexible hosting service than a shared web hosting service. Here the company gains full control over the server including even the operating system and hardware etc. However, the server administration can be undertaken by the business itself or it can be provided by the web hosting service company as an add-on service.

6. Colocation web hosting service: It is also known as carrier hotel. It is somewhat similar to dedicated web hosting service but here though the user owns the server the hosting company takes care of the server. The hosting company provides physical space on the on the web which is taken up by the server.

So now we have a clear idea about what web hosting is and the different types of web hosting services. As various companies provide these services so the features may be slightly different from each other.

However, the basic features that one should see while taking any services are: -

1. It should be fast and reliable. By reliability it means that there should be proper provisions for security of the data transfer that will take place on the server.

2. One should also look whether the company that is providing the service is providing any online support or not. It is better if the company is providing 24/7 online support.

3. Whether the company is providing any uptime warranty or not.

4. Whether the company is providing daily backup or not.