What is a web hosting in computing: Meaning and how to buy one
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 10:35 am
When you plan to have your own website, the first thing you need is a hosting service to host it. And since I know that if you are new to this, the concept can be difficult to digest, so in this post I will explain in great detail, and in the simplest way possible, what web hosting is .
Meaning of hosting in computing
Hosting is an English word that means accommodation . That is why it is also normal to use the term accommodation to talk about hosting (in fact, in Spanish it would be ideal).
As you may know, a website is a collection of files (HTML documents, images, videos, etc.). All these files have to be stored somewhere, and that place is the hosting service.
Simply put, hosting is the space where a website is stored. Using a metaphor, if your website is a house, hosting is the land where it is built.
Physically, a hosting service is located inside servers. Servers are computers, but unlike the computer you might have at home, their only purpose is to store data. Hosting companies have large networks of student database and make money by renting out part of that space to their clients.
What is a web hosting for?
We can say that web hosting has three basic functions:
Storing web data
Protect them
Allow the web to be accessible through the Internet
But hosting doesn't just host websites. It's also widely used to host emails. Maybe a company isn't interested in having a corporate website but wants a personalized email address, and in that case, it will also need hosting. In fact, all your Gmail emails are hosted on Google hosting (free, as you already know).
There are also special hosting options for images, videos, emails and anything else you can find on the Internet.
How to buy a web hosting
A web hosting provider, or hosting service provider, is a company that provides the technologies and services necessary to make your website available on the Internet.
A domain must necessarily be associated with a hosting service, which is why companies that register domains usually offer hosting services. However, there is no problem with having the domain registered with one company and contracting hosting with another.
So to hire a hosting service you only have to go to one of the many companies that offer hosting services. The one we always recommend to our clients is Webempresa or Netrica, two companies that offer reliable hosting and that so far have not given us many problems.
Meaning of hosting in computing
Hosting is an English word that means accommodation . That is why it is also normal to use the term accommodation to talk about hosting (in fact, in Spanish it would be ideal).
As you may know, a website is a collection of files (HTML documents, images, videos, etc.). All these files have to be stored somewhere, and that place is the hosting service.
Simply put, hosting is the space where a website is stored. Using a metaphor, if your website is a house, hosting is the land where it is built.
Physically, a hosting service is located inside servers. Servers are computers, but unlike the computer you might have at home, their only purpose is to store data. Hosting companies have large networks of student database and make money by renting out part of that space to their clients.
What is a web hosting for?
We can say that web hosting has three basic functions:
Storing web data
Protect them
Allow the web to be accessible through the Internet
But hosting doesn't just host websites. It's also widely used to host emails. Maybe a company isn't interested in having a corporate website but wants a personalized email address, and in that case, it will also need hosting. In fact, all your Gmail emails are hosted on Google hosting (free, as you already know).
There are also special hosting options for images, videos, emails and anything else you can find on the Internet.
How to buy a web hosting
A web hosting provider, or hosting service provider, is a company that provides the technologies and services necessary to make your website available on the Internet.
A domain must necessarily be associated with a hosting service, which is why companies that register domains usually offer hosting services. However, there is no problem with having the domain registered with one company and contracting hosting with another.
So to hire a hosting service you only have to go to one of the many companies that offer hosting services. The one we always recommend to our clients is Webempresa or Netrica, two companies that offer reliable hosting and that so far have not given us many problems.