What is web hosting?
The Internet is a collection of millions of websites
connected together. Each website is assigned a unique
URL,
commonly referred to as a domain name.
A domain name is the name of your website. It is generally prefaced
by http://www and ends with ".com". Think of domain names as the
phone numbers of the Internet, only YOU get to decide what it
will be. It is how people will contact, or reach your website
by typing it into the address bar in their
browser. For example,
Total Computer Solutions owns the domain name "totalcompsol.com"
which is our unique URL. If a user types "www.totalcompsol.com"
in a browser, our website will appear. Domain names also
allow you to personalize your email addresses by ordering
email such as "sales@yourdomainname.com". All domain names are
unique, so before you choose one you need to be sure that no one
else is using it. Click here to get a domain name.
Every piece of data that is on the Internet is stored on
a
server
somewhere in the world. Servers are the storage containers
of the Internet. A website is a collection of files that
are stored on one of these web servers. When someone sends
a request to view a website's content (by typing the domain
name in the address bar) they are sending a request
to the computer storing the website's content: its
web server. Since that computer is connected to the Internet,
it is able to receive the request and send the visitor the
files they want to see. In order to respond to these
requests, a computer must be built with significant power
and
software.
Additionally, these computers need an extremely fast
connection to the Internet. It can be expensive and time
consuming to maintain this type of computer.
In order to place your website on the Internet, you must have
a web server to store your files on. Building a website and not
having a web server is like buying a phone without installing
a phone line. Some people choose to purchase a web server themselves,
but the cost of purchasing and maintaining a web server can be
very expensive. Therefore, most people decide to rent space
on someone else’s server through a web host. Total Computer
Solutions uses
hundreds of servers that people rent space on in order to place
their site on the Internet.
There are two main types of web servers: shared and dedicated.
A shared hosting server is one in which there are many clients
sharing the same web server. A dedicated
hosting server, however, is dedicated to only one client.
A shared hosting server, as explained above, is one in which there
are many clients sharing the same web server. Shared servers are
available for a fraction of the cost of dedicated servers and
are used mainly for email and as a means of distributing data
by such methods as the web (HTTP),
FTP, or streaming audio or
video. Shared servers are an excellent solution for entry-level
hosting needs as they provide a reliable web presence
to those who may not have extensive technical resources.
Since many sites share the server, extremely high traffic sites
may drain server resources and not function properly
in this environment. Therefore, if your site will be generating
thousand of visitors each day, a dedicated server environment
is probably best. Additionally, shared servers typically support
the most common software, but if there is a special application
you need to run, you will most probably need the flexibility
of a dedicated server.
A dedicated hosting server, as explained above, is fully
dedicated to the needs of one customer and is designed to accommodate
mid- to advanced-level hosting needs. Since there is no sharing
of resources with other customers, dedicated servers are
able to handle sites that are heavily data-driven and high-traffic.
Dedicated servers can also support advanced ecommerce programs,
video streaming, and multimedia programs. Dedicated server response
time depends exclusively on the volume of activity on the client's
website(s) as opposed to shared servers, whose response times
are reliant on other sites' activities. Dedicated servers give clients
the flexibility to download unique, custom software programs.
The server operating system does not make a difference for the
vast majority of web sites. People publishing to Microsoft web
servers can run Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS, or any other Internet-aware
operating system on their local computer. People developing their sites
using Microsoft-based tools such as
FrontPage, Microsoft Office
Extensions, Microsoft Office Collaboration,
Access or
SQL databases,
Active Server Pages, or
Visual InterDev
should host their sites on one of our Windows 2003 servers.
When you are ready to pick a web host, there are
several key features that your web host should have:
After you have your website online, you'll want to ensure that
people are able to find it. One important step you can take is
to submit your site to search engines. The majority of website
traffic originates from search engines. Submitting your site to
major search engines such as Google is a good way to get traffic
flowing to your site. Total Computer Solutions offers
many site services, including search engine submission. For a
description of how Total Computer Solutions can help you promote your
site, click here.
More and more people connect to the Internet each day, which is
causing destructive viruses and worms to spread more quickly.
These viruses cost businesses millions each year. Before picking
a host, you will want to ensure that you are protected. Total
Computer Solutions offers anti-virus protection to our customers. Please
click here for details.
Total Computer Solutions prides itself on keeping up to date on the latest
in technologies and software so that your websites will perform
at their highest level. We also provide you with
a broad range of tutorials to assist with troubleshooting and
site maintenance.
Do you feel ready to get your site online today?
Click
here to view our hosting plans.
