would be considerably harder. The service they provide is normally chargeable, for obvious reasons but it is possible for personal websites to be hosted for free. Hosting companies have their respective servers and disk spaces that act as data centers; the files relating to your website are stored in there, waiting to be retrieved when someone decides to check what your site has to offer.
Free hosting deals are great for those who want to ‘dip their toes in the water’ for example but the range of services available to them will be limited. Free web hosting will not allow a huge mount of storage space so for those people that require sub-domains, upgraded email facilities and increased storage that a paid service is needed. There is a huge range of services available and often comparison sites are the best place to search as prices do vary considerably and you must really know in advance what type of service you need.
Initially, the majority of users decide on paying for a shared server with their hosting company.It is usually possible to upgrade to have a dedicated server for your files once you know the service provider is reliable; there is normally an additional charge for this facility. You need to have a registered domain to have a web hosting package otherwise files, websites and other digital information cannot be stored or accessed. The word ‘files’ is a generic term that can mean anything from video to audio tracks but be aware that basic packages do not give the most storage if you are intending to upload large files; however, as storage costs come down, companies are increasing this amount of space.
Another advantage of web hosting and your own domain name is that email addresses will include your own domain name and not that of those free providers such as Google, Yahoo and MSN to name a few of the thousands of providers whose services can be used. Such e-mail addresses are very important, especially if you’re truly serious in business as they provide you with a level of credibility that free email addresses never can. Another problem to consider is called bandwidth which is essentially how much digital data is being transferred using your domain name and will affect the cost of the hosting package, this needs to be considered carefully.
If your package cannot provide this or the company cannot meet your needs then visitors will not always be able to access your site during busy periods so a new package or company may be needed. This is extremely important if your website has many images, MP3 tracks or other large files like video clips; even a single web page can contain a great deal of information, all of which is considered as bandwidth. While it is possible to use your own home PC as a web host, this is not advised as the number of security issues involved will make it a risky proposition and it is far easier to pay another company for their web hosting service.
