Web hosting is a service. You rent this service so you can publish your website on the Internet. A web host or the company providing the service has the facilities to publish websites. Through web hosting, you will be able to use disk space and other tools needed for publishing sites. There are two types of web hosting: free hosting service and paid web hosting. Free hosting is supported by ads while paid hosting gives you full control of your website.

A domain name is the unique address of your website. For example, www.you.com is a domain name. You can get a domain name from a domain registrar and register it under your own name or company. Most web hosting companies also offer domain registrations. You can also buy a domain from individuals who sell domain names. It is best however if you can register your domain name separately from the web hosting service. This way, you will not encounter problems when you transfer from one host to another.

It is a technical impossibility to have unlimited disk space and bandwidth. The disk space offered to you is just similar to the disk space on your hard drive. So no matter how huge hard drives get, their storage capacity is still limited to their maximum space. The same goes with bandwidth. The main point is that everything is finite. So if a host offers unlimited space and bandwidth, you have to check its Acceptable Use policy. Unlimited offers have many caveats. Read the fine print so you can identify the limitations of the service.

Anyone who wants to publish websites will need a web hosting service. If you do not know how to create a website, then you have to choose a web host that offers a web builder. A website builder allows you to create websites using ready-made templates. All you have to do is to put content in your web pages and publish them. By using a web builder, you will be able to publish a basic website in a couple of hours.

A control panel is your site management tool. You can use the control panel to build websites, set up emails, install scripts, transfer files, and manage tasks. In fact, almost everything you need to do can be provided by the control panel. So this utility is very important for you. You must ensure that your web hosting service can provide an easy to use control panel. The commonly used control panels are cPanel and Vdeck. Some web hosts however use their own proprietary control panels.

It depends on your needs and requirements. A shared hosting plan uses one server and you will share disk space, bandwidth, and resources with other webmasters. With dedicated hosting, you will enjoy exclusive use of a server. For the vast majority of webmasters, shared hosting is enough. But if your website is very demanding and attracts monstrous amount of traffic, then it is more advantageous to get a dedicated hosting plan. This way, your website will not suffer from slowdowns and outages.

Uptime simply means the time your website stays online. Most websites give 99.9 percent uptime guarantee. This is just an approximate estimate but this percentage is currently the industry standard. In most instances, your website will stay live and online 24/7. In some cases, your site might experience a few minutes of outage. But this should be very rare. If you notice that your site is experiencing regular downtimes, then you have to call your web host to resolve the issue.

There are two ways how you can upload files and pictures to your web hosting service. First, you can use the web uploader on your control panel. This is similar to the uploader service of most email providers which you use when attaching files to your message. Another method is to use FTP. Almost all paid hosting service will provide an FTP account for you. You will have to use third party FTP program so you can facilitate the fast transfer of files from your computer to the server of the web host.

The web builders of most hosting companies have built-in tools so you can install scripts and applications directly on your web pages. All web hosts support client-side scripts. So this should not be a big issue when you look for web hosting service. The control panel also provides automated script installation tool and script libraries so you can build different types of sites or web pages. This kind of tool offers one-click convenience for you. It is not really difficult to install scripts and applications because built-in tools are normally provided by the host.

It depends on your requirements. Most web hosts use Unix/Linux based servers because of their proven stability for shared hosting. Even if your desktop is Windows based, there is no problem getting a Unix-based hosting service. However, if you are using databases and programs that are based on Windows, then you will be better off if you get Windows hosting. Unix/Linux hosting however is generally cheaper. So if you are after the cost of the service, then Unix hosting is a good option.

Your disk space and data transfer requirements depend primarily on the type of your website and the amount of traffic you generate. If you are running a personal website or blog that primarily use text content, the basic plans of hosting services would be enough. But if you are running a business website that attracts plenty of traffic everyday, you must consider getting the premium or enterprise plans so you will not experience bandwidth and space problems. It is also best to overestimate your space and bandwidth requirements to prevent future troubles.

If you are paying for the service, then forcing ads, banners, or pop ups to your site is not permissible. You are paying for the space so you get exclusive use and control of your website. This is the main advantage of paid hosting. But if you are on a free hosting service, then the host can plaster your web page with lots of banners and ads and you can never do anything about it. This is the only way that the free host can earn from your website.

In most cases, cost really counts when it comes to the quality of service provided by a hosting company. Dirt cheap hosting services rely on the volume of customers that they can get. So you might get slower response from your host if you opt for the cheapest service. If you are buying premium service, it is more likely that you will get above average customer service. In the web hosting industry, you will really get what you pay for.

Yes, you can keep your domain name even if you are transferring from one host to another. As long as the domain name is registered under your own name or company, then it is yours to keep. All you have to do is to change the DNS settings in your domain registrar and point it to the server of your new hosting service. The process of transferring domain is easier if you register the domain outside of the service of your web host.