Decided you need a website, but need help figuring out where to start? You'll first need to learn how to host a website.
For newcomers, this may seem daunting. But before you run for the hills, don't worry. It's simpler than you think.
This guide will cover how to host a website from start to finish. If you're building a website for the first time or starting again with a website redesign, this guide is for you.
By the end, you'll be an expert and ready to launch your shiny new website.
In this article:
- What is Web Hosting?
- What Are the Benefits of Using a Website Hosting Service?
- How to Host a Website (in 5 steps)
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is like renting a spot on the internet where your website lives.
It's where all your web files and content are kept, so when someone types in your company name, those friendly servers ensure your site shows up.
These servers store all your files, data, and website content and keep them connected to the internet 24/7.
Basically, web hosting makes your website a reality and allows users to visit it. Why do you need it?
Well, building a website involves lots of files. These include coding files, text, images, videos, and more. People can't access these files if they're stored only on your computer. It won’t exist on the World Wide Web.
Web hosting providers give you the online server space to house your website. There are lots of providers to choose from that charge a small fee to handle your website hosting needs.
It is just as important whether you have an eCommerce site or a website detailing how to create a fitness app.
Years ago, hosting a website required a large budget and some technical knowledge. But now, you can be up and running in days—and that’s without needing to learn all the website hosting jargon.
What Are the Benefits of Using a Website Hosting Service?
Website hosting providers offer many benefits for your website. It includes maintenance, analytics, admin changes, and technical support. They've got you covered.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using a website hosting service below.
It’s affordable.
Using a website hosting service is much cheaper than self-hosting a website.
For a small annual fee, the service provider handles everything for you. That includes ongoing maintenance and any updates.
It’s easy and efficient to set up.
When you use a website hosting service, all technical aspects are taken care of.
It saves you the stress and time spent learning everything yourself. It also means that you can quickly iron out any potential bumps in the road.
Say you launch a site for the new VoIP call center solution you’ve been developing.
Suddenly, the website goes down, and you don’t know why. You can’t immediately fix the problem; it takes weeks to get sorted.
Having a website hosting provider means you’ll avoid such fates. They usually have in-house technicians at hand to help, sometimes 24/7.
It’s easy to grow your website.
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Website hosting plans make it easy to grow your website whenever required. You can upgrade your plan to a higher package or switch hosting providers.
For example, your website gains more traffic, and you want better analytics. You could upgrade to a higher package.
It will help handle the increased traffic. It will also let you track key customer satisfaction metrics.
Support team access
Most hosting providers have support teams available at all times. If there’s a problem with the server, you can rely on a support agent to fix the problem right away and keep you notified.
Optimized for maximum performance
Website hosting providers bring the tools and wizardry needed for optimum website performance.
Using their service is a great user engagement strategy. The better your website, the more likely people will engage with it.
Security
A good hosting provider will have multiple layers of security in place.
And if you become a victim of a domain hijacking, your support team will be there to get it sorted.
Domain name and email address
One of the greatest feelings when launching a website is seeing your domain name online. But it’s not just for show.
Domain names have real value for targeting your audience and boosting your SEO.
You can set up domain names anywhere worldwide to better target local segments. For example, businesses targeting Qatari customers might register .qa domains to ensure they appeal to the local market.
You’ll also get a shiny new domain-associated email address to use. You’ll appear much more professional when emailing customers from your domain.
How to Host a Website (in 5 steps)
- Research the available web hosting providers.
- Work out your budget.
- Choose a type of hosting.
- Choose your hosting plan.
- Register your domain name.
Now that we’ve explored the benefits, it’s time to learn how to host a website. As we’ve seen, launching a website is much easier today thanks to hosting providers.
Let’s take a look at a step-by-step process for hosting a website.
1. Research the available web hosting providers.
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The first step is to start researching different web hosting providers.
Different web hosting providers will have different pros and cons. For example, some providers will specialize in website speed. Others will prioritize customer support. And so on.
Been considering redesigning your website to fix page speeds? Try a new host focused on speed.
On the other hand, if you're a small business needing extra support, select a host provider with 24/7 support.
But how do you begin your research? Checking out online reviews for each hosting provider is an excellent place to start your research.
2. Work out your budget.
Get the features you need without breaking the bank.
How much does website hosting roughly cost? Typically, web hosting plans range from $10 per month to $1000 per month. It depends on the type of hosting you need.
For example, you run a niche blog page for data warehouse management. A plan between $5 and $10 per month will be more than enough for a small amount of traffic.
On the other hand, larger businesses and ecommerce websites may need a higher package.
However, a higher price doesn’t automatically mean a better service. You need to begin this process by researching the available providers.
3. Choose a type of hosting.
Now you’ve researched providers and worked out your budget, let's explore types of hosting.
There are four options to choose from:
- Shared hosting
- VPS hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Cloud hosting
Let’s look at the differences to determine which one is for you.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is the best option for beginners. It’s affordable and doesn’t require any technical knowledge.
As the name suggests, shared hosting means you share a server with other websites. In other words, you won’t have your dedicated server. Shared hosting plans are perfect for websites that don’t expect too much traffic.
However, shared hosting plans are at risk of server crashes and performance issues. While unlikely, you’ll need to consider this as a possibility.
However, your web hosting provider will do their best to get you back up and running in no time.
VPS hosting
VPS stands for virtual private server. It is a hosting type that uses virtualization technology. It gives you dedicated (private) resources on a server with multiple users.
VPS is one level above shared hosting because you don’t share resources with other websites.
It will improve your site’s performance. You’ll benefit from more disk space, bandwidth, longer uptimes, and quicker page speeds.
For example, if you run online training courses with many applicants, VPS hosting will be more reliable.
These plans also give you greater control over your server settings.
Dedicated hosting
A large enterprise with consistently high traffic may need dedicated hosting. Dedicated hosting plans are also better for those wanting greater control.
A dedicated hosting plan will give you the most resources and the best performance. However, the drawback is cost.
Dedicated hosting costs significantly more than other web hosting types. Therefore, we don’t recommend dedicated hosting unless it’s a must.
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting is a more recent addition to the web hosting family. But it’s quickly growing in popularity, just like cloud PBX service providers.
If you hope to see 50,000+ website visitors monthly, you’ll probably want to look at cloud hosting.
Cloud hosting is a level above shared hosting, but it is usually cheaper than VPS. It makes it a solid solution for businesses that need more from their website.
If you opt for a cloud hosting plan, your site runs on multiple cloud servers. It reduces the risk of downtime and server crashes caused by high usage.
I recommend cloud hosting for new businesses with ambitious projections. You can upgrade to a higher plan if required, with a cloud hosting plan.
It is more likely if you follow good SEO practices and keep practicing, and you expect to see growth. A cloud hosting plan will prevent the hassle of swapping hosting types or providers later.
4. Choose your hosting plan.
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You’ve looked at the different providers. You've worked out your budget. You've explored the other hosting types. Now, it’s time to choose a hosting plan.
You’ll need to find a provider that aligns with your business goals, budget, and ambitions.
Here is a list of considerations:
Uptime
Uptime is the most critical aspect of web hosting. It refers to how long your website has been live on the internet. It is the opposite of downtime, a term used to describe when your website is down and inaccessible.
Most hosting providers give uptime guarantees. You should look for a provider with a 99.9% uptime guarantee to reduce the chances of server downtime.
Reputable providers will offer a money-back guarantee if they do not meet their uptime guarantee.
Resources
Your website hosting plan needs enough resources to handle your content and traffic.
The first resource to identify is the available RAM. 4 GB of RAM is the recommended minimum for most websites.
The second consideration is the bandwidth your plan provides. 120 GB of bandwidth is enough for most websites with average use.
Customer service
Customer service is super important for your website hosting plan. After all, you will rely on your provider for maintenance, upgrades, and fixes.
Ideally, everything will go smoothly, and your website will run perfectly. But in reality, this won’t always be the case. Issues can arise at any time, so choosing a provider with 24/7 support is a sensible option.
If 24/7 support isn’t an option, choose a provider with helpful resources and guides on its website. Most hosting issues are common, so there’s probably an answer to your query already.
Remember, you’ll get more support from a ‘managed’ plan but have to pay more for the service.
Additional features
Many providers add additional features to enhance the experience. Here are some of the most common other web hosting features:
- Free domain name included
- Free SSL certificate included
- Google Ads free credits
- Website builder
- Website migration service
- Frequent website backups
- Email accounts
These features are standard across the board today. However, it’s worth double-checking whether they are available in your chosen plan.
5. Register your domain name.
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Your domain name is your online identity. It’s how people will find and connect with your brand online.
There are two ways you can register your domain name.
You can do it through a third-party domain name supplier. Alternatively, most website hosting providers include domain name registration in their service.
You’ll need a domain name to go live on the internet. So, this is the final and most crucial step in hosting a website.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has given you an idea of how to host a website or optimize your existing website. With some know-how and confidence, you’ll be up and running quickly.
Remember, there’s no such thing as a stupid web hosting question, so don’t be afraid to research.
Here’s a quick recap of the five steps on how to host a website:
- Research the available web hosting providers.
- Work out your budget.
- Choose a type of hosting.
- Choose your hosting plan.
- Register your domain name.
FAQ
1. What do I need to host a website?
At a minimum, you need a hosting plan, a domain name, and your website files (or a site builder). Most beginners choose a hosting provider that bundles the essentials—like SSL, email, backups, and one-click installs—so you can launch without handling server setup yourself.
2. What’s the difference between a domain name and web hosting?
A domain name is your website’s address (like yourbusiness.com). Web hosting is where your website’s files live so visitors can access them online. Think of the domain as the street address and hosting as the actual house.
3. How much does it cost to host a website?
Costs vary based on your needs. Basic sites can often run on low-cost plans, while high-traffic or ecommerce websites may require higher-tier hosting with more resources, security, and support. Always compare plan features (uptime, bandwidth, storage, backups, SSL) rather than choosing based on price alone.
4. Which hosting type should I choose: shared, VPS, dedicated, or cloud?
- Shared hosting: Best for beginners and small sites with low traffic.
- VPS hosting: Good for growing sites that need more performance and control.
- Dedicated hosting: Best for very large sites with consistently high traffic (and bigger budgets).
- Cloud hosting: Great for sites expecting growth and needing easy scalability with reduced risk of downtime.
5. Can I switch hosting providers later if I outgrow my plan?
Yes. Many hosts offer migration support, and you can usually upgrade plans or move providers as your traffic and needs increase. If you expect fast growth, choosing a scalable plan early (such as a cloud or higher-tier option) can help you avoid headaches later.
