Web hosting is the method in which surfers of the web can successfully browse the Internet. Its main purpose is
practicality, wherein a person without website familiarity can create a significant site that could pass as a site
made by a knowledgeable professional.

Given that there are a lot of different web hosting alternatives, a web user usually ends up making a hastened
decision. In choosing a web host, the type of website you have created must be put into consideration. Before
getting a web hosting provider, one should know the basics of web hosting. Types of web hosting plans include:
Shared Website Hosting – Shared hosting is the hosting of multiple websites on the same web server. It is also
called virtual hosting and is usually recommended for new websites because of the fact that it is the most
economical way to start a website. The site will be placed on a server with other websites to share the
resources.

Dedicated Website Hosting – For sites running within a dedicated space, the dedicated website hosting is
usually the preferred hosting plan. With this, the web server is devoted entirely to your site. Dedicated website
hosting offers the option of purchasing your own server or paying for access to a server owned by someone
else.

Virtual Private Server Website Hosting – Virtual private servers are becoming the foundation among many
web hosts. They actually follow closely after shared hosting. As high configuration servers are expensive to set
up, this inexpensive solution suits the industry and people desiring an internet presence with little involvement
and cost.

Grid/Cloud Hosting – Fairly a new hosting technology, grid or cloud hosting allows hundreds of individual
servers to work together so that it looks like one giant server. With the need continuously growing, the idea of the
hosting company is to add more commodity hardware in order to create a larger grid or cloud.

Colocation – In this type of hosting plan, the user brings in their own server hardware and they provide power,
an internet uplink and they also provide cooling and physical security. The responsibility of replacing and getting
the server software, data storage and backup procedures running when they fail falls on the hands of the user.
Self Service – This is said to be the ultimate hosting plan due to the fact that the user does it on his own. The
user will be the one to buy the servers, install and configure the software, double up everything for redundancy
and assure that there is sufficient cooling and power in the machine room.