Ever wondered what web hosting is, how it applies to you, why you need it and how it differs from a domain name? Well, in our blog, this month, we’re going to give you all the information needed to answer these questions and more!
A home for your website
When you start up a small business, one of the first things you need to do is find somewhere to host your website. Web hosting is very different from domain name registration (but more on that later), although they are often confused. Before we look at the difference between the two though, let’s understand why web hosting is so important for your Health & Wellness business.
What does website hosting do for you?
Web hosting is a way of providing a website with a server to live on, and the resources it needs to operate effectively. A good web host will provide you with many resources that your site can use, such as disk space for saving files, bandwidth for distributing those files across the internet, email addresses that people can subscribe to for receiving information from your business, and more.
How does a hosting service offer security?
The other thing that web hosts provide is security; they take on some of the responsibility of keeping your site safe and functional 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This, along with another element that offers security and peace of mind, an SSL Certificate (another blog on this coming soon!), should really help you in feeling that your website is secure. Just as an aside, an SSL certificate can sometimes incur an extra small cost, but often it is included in the basic hosting package.
Why are there hosting fees and how much do they cost?
These resources need to be paid for and are paid either by monthly subscription or through an annual agreement. In most cases you’ll be able to start out on a low-spec plan while you’re still in start-up phase, then move up into something mid to high-spec, when, and if, you need the extra horsepower that comes with multiple users accessing your site simultaneously. Therefore, cost can be anything from £5 to £80 a month depending on your needs.
Interested in finding out more?
We can help you understand and develop your brand, get in touch today.
Domain names
Now that we’ve covered why you need web hosting and what you can expect from it (and how much it will cost), let’s explore the difference between hosting and domain name registration.
The main difference between domain and hosting is that the domain is the address which allows a potential customer to easily find your website online, while hosting is where the website files are stored. To have a well-functioning website, you need both – a domain and hosting space.
Purpose of web hosting
There are many tasks a web host carries out:
Directing traffic
When someone types your website’s address into their browser, the server finds out which site they’re trying to access and then directs them there accordingly.
Keeping track
It keeps track of all your files so people can download something they’ve already seen or sent before without having to download it again.
Monitoring visitors
It monitors traffic on your site so you can see who is coming to visit and how often they’re visiting; and it’s responsible for backing up your site so that if anything should go wrong, you don’t lose everything.
Conclusions on webhosting
So, what is web hosting and why do we need to pay for it? Briefly, web hosting is a service that provides you with a server on which to store your website, as well as all the necessary resources (bandwidth, disk space etc.) for it to be accessible by people all over the world.
It’s important to have a good web host to ensure that your website is always up and running. First impressions count. And because most of your potential clients will check out your website (and your competitors’ websites) before they decide to work with you, you need to make that first impression great!
A good web hosting company will support you to do this by, for example, checking broken links and pages regularly. This means that when prospective customers click on one of your links, they get where, and what, they want, rather than a 404 error. Again, good hosting packages (but not all) will offer this type of support as standard.
What Evexus offers
At Evexus, we offer lite & premium website packages, which include website hosting and domain names in the price.
All our websites are hosted for you and built with technical and on-page SEO so Google (and other search engines) can find and index your site – the initial crucial step to you being discovered by potential customers. All you need to do is choose a package that suits you, let us know a bit about you and your work, decide on your favourite template – and we’ll do the rest!
Additions
In addition, we offer a lot of extras, such as;
A 6-monthly report
A 6-monthly report on how the website is performing
Advice on updates
Advice on any updates needed.
Editing and admin
1.5 hours editing of content and ad hoc site admin.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting performance issues such as broken links and pages.
Bolt-Ons and bespoke
We also offer bolt-ons and bespoke packages. Check them all out here.