About Web Servers and Hosting Services

When you use your browser to visit a Website, you make a request to a Web Server by entering a URL address such as "http://USAtoday.com". When the Server receives your request, it serves or downloads the page you asked for plus all of the associated files that go with that page, like pictures and data.

Web Servers and Hosting Companies

A Web Server is a computer that runs special serving software. That software "serves" HTML pages and associated files when requested by a client, such as a Web browser.

If you want your site to be seen on the World Wide Web, you need to use a company that offers space on their Web server. These companies are called Website Hosting Companies or Internet Service Providers (ISP).

An ISP also provides a business or organization with access to the Internet and related services such as Internet transit, dial-up access and leased line access, in addition to hosting and domain name registration

There are literally thousands of Web Hosting companies and they each offer different options and variations of things like cost, reliability, storage space, customer service, and security.

Some Web design software programs require that certain technologies be available on the server to be totally functional. For example, if you are going to use Microsoft FrontPage, then you'll want to find for a hosting company that supports Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions or Microsoft SharePoint® Services. These are two technologies that a server administrator can run on a Web server. (You do not need to install them on your own computer.) They extend the functionality of the server so it will work with special functions in FrontPage.

Some Important Considerations when Deciding on your Web Service:

ASP pages can only be processed on Windows-based Web servers.
ASP.NET (the NET framework) and PHP are usually not offered on the same server. If so, you'll have to choose between one or the other. Some Microsoft programs require the NET framework, while other programs are set up to work with PHP programs. You should know ahead of time what programs you will be using so you can ask what the hosting company can provide.
MySQL can run on UNIX, Linux, and Windows-based Web servers but not all ISP companies will offer it on all of their server setups.
MS SQL (by Microsoft) and ASP.NET will work on the same server..

Check with your web server provider to verify what they CAN and CANNOT do. Some will provide services that other don't or cannot provide.

Be sure that the Web design program you are going to use will work on the server that will host your Website.

Some Services that will vary with each Hosting Company:

The Platforms or Operating System that are available through your Web hosting company. The two most popular are Unix (or Linux) and Windows based servers. Not all scripts have versions that run on both server types. Have a good idea of which scripts you might need on your server.

If you are going to use specific Windows applications such as Access, ASP, Cold Fusion or MS SQL, then you'll what to be on a Windows based server.

If you are buying a hosting package for the first time, you may find Unix easier to use. Also, if you are going to use programming languages such as PHP, CGI scripts, or want to interface with a database such as MySQL, then you'll probably want to be on a Unix/Linux server.
If HTTP publishing is supported, then you would upload (publish) your site files to an HTTP location. For example: http://Servername/WebSitename
If FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is supported, then you would upload your files to an FTP location. For example, ftp://WebSitename.com/Foldername.
Your Home page will be named either index.htm, index.html, default.htm, or default.html, depending on the kind of server. These names are used so when someone visits your site, the server will know which files to automatically download to them.
Advanced features like CGI, SSL, PHP, SSL and ASP. Sometimes they will be part of a package, and other times you will have to pay extra for them.
A user name and password will generally be required to publish pages to a remote server. Your Hosting company will give these to you when you sign up. This is preferred, because you don't want the world to have access to making changes to your account.
Space, a very important issue. This is the amount of storage space you have for your Website files, graphics and data. If you don't have enough, then you can't upload all of your files to your site. Most companies will allow you to grow, you just want to be sure you start with enough.
Bandwidth, another very important issue. This is the amount of data that you can download or upload over a specific period of time, usually one month. If you run out of bandwidth, then your hosting company could deactivate your site until the beginning of the next month.
Site statistics. Also referred to as reports or site reports, these are especially vital for businesses. It's important to know how many visitors are coming to your site and where they are coming from. With this information, you can direct energy and resources towards the things that will help you bring in more customers or make your site more popular.

Other considerations are

Guaranteed up-time
Daily backups
Technical support availability
Email capability
Server speed
Reliability (how long has the company been in business)

Before you sign-up for any website hosting service make sure you can get the features you need.

For more information on picking a hosting company and what you should know about them before you decide on their services, see the page on Picking a Hosting Company.

Security Requirements

Simply having a Website is a security issue. When you have a site accessible by the world, then anyone can be a threat to your site. For businesses, this is especially true. Like it or not, some people do have malicious intent for Websites.

Your host should provide a decent level of security and take essential measures to protect you.

Minimum Security that your hosting company should provide:

Firewall Protection
Software and Hardware that is kept up to date
They should have a backup program that makes regular backups of your site
They should regularly check their system for vulnerabilities
They should be able to provide you with their security policy

To maintain strong security, use a reputable Web host. One that updates its servers’ security protection programs and uses high-level hardware and software to keep its customers safe.

Many hosting companies care little about who they are actually hosting on their server networks, as long as the clients pay their bills. That means many companies will allow porn sites, spammers and sites that create security risks, on their network.

In the next section on Types of Hosting, I'll discuss the major differences in how your website can be hosted on a hosting computer.