Those who are planning to put up their own websites, whether for business or personal purposes, should first learn the basics of website hosting. Understanding the various kinds of hosting packages and the advantages and disadvantages of each kind should allow you to decide what type of web hosting is appropriate for your website.

There are five types of website hosting that you can avail- free, dedicated, standard, e-commerce, and collocation.

Free website hosting is obviously for free. If you do not have enough money to support an expensive type of website host, then this is naturally the best choice. However, free service means certain downsides like lack of customer service and support which can harm your business especially during downtime of your website.

Standard website hosting affords you extra features plus added security. On the other hand, dedicated web hosting gives you a certain server to accommodate your website. This is good for those who have websites for business purposes. Colocation enables the users to have ownership of their hardware. Meanwhile, e-commerce website hosting provides features such as secured socket layering that protects your clients particularly when they are shopping and purchasing items on your website.

Each hosting plan has their own bandwidth charge, operating system, administrative access, and server software. Review each hosting plan well before availing of one.

Website hosting has extensive benefits. First, it reduces the operating costs, allowing a website owner to dramatically increase the productivity of their websites. It helps in expanding one’s brand, since the Internet is a global medium of communication. Also, most web hosting providers allow 24 hour access as well as multi media exchanges over the website. Meanwhile, most website owners also get an additional space which they can use in putting up an FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions page.