What is “hosting a website”?

To many newbies, the whole process of making a website is drowned out by the confusing enigma that is hosting a website. Most don’t know were to begin. And for those that have a general idea of what website hosting is all about, they are still not quite sure about the “how to” aspect.

In this post, let’s take a look what website hosting entails, why it is better if you have a hosting company do it for you, and even a little bit about how your domain name (a.k.a. URL or website address) fits into the whole equation.

What is “website hosting”?

In order for a website to appear on the Internet, you first need a computer that is connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. That computer must have special software installed to handle this ominous task. Since most people prefer not to open up their computer to hordes of unknown visitors and would like to avoid the hassles of running the necessary software, they choose a hosting company to do the dirty work for them.

A hosting company — or a host — is a place where special computers called servers reside. They have the necessary Internet connections and software to “serve up” websites to millions of visitors. These served websites are created and run by normal, everyday people (i.e. you and me.)

Lets take a look at very personal example: you.

When you create a website you actually make many different kinds of files: html files, image files, CSS files, and so forth. In order for people to visit your website you must first upload or “send” these files to a hosting company’s server. Once uploaded, then the whole word can see your newest creation of website design genius…

…but not yet.

Getting a domain name

You must first get a domain name (a.k.a. URL or website address.) There are many places to buy one. Yes, you have to buy your www.whatever.com. It only costs about $10 a year depending on where you purchase it. But once it’s yours… it’s yours.

Your domain name is NOT your website. It is a pointer that tells people where to find your website. Let’s get into that a little more, shall we? Look at the image below:

When a visitor clicks on your www.whatever.com domain name, they are first routed to an Internet hub. This hub contains a listing of all known domain names and where each one is hosted. The hub then connects your browser to the hosting company’s server where the files of that particular website are stored. Got it?

The BIGGEST newbie mistake

Many newbies are so excited to get their first domain name that they rush out and buy it at the first company they come across. This can cause major Australia-sized migraines (no offense to Australians, mind you). Remember what I said above: your domain name is NOT your website! If you buy a domain name at one company but then sign up for hosting at a different company, then you’ll have to go through a few hoops to get your domain name to point where your website is actually hosted. It’s actually not that difficult to do. But for the newbie, it’s just another step that must be done.

The BEST newbie advice

If you’re thinking about jumping into the World Wide Web with your website creation, it’s best to find a hosting service that also allows you to purchase domain names. This way, the hosting company will automatically point your domain names to your websites. Easy. Easy. Easy.

The are countless hosting services out there and most of them are very good and very affordable. My hosting service of choice is Lunarpages. It’s always been dependable, allows me to have unlimited websites for the same monthly fee (about $5.00 a month), and can automatically install extra goodies such as Wordpress for blogging or PHP-BB (a great forum application) all for free.