What’s a Web Host?
January 24th, 2011
By Dori, via Wikimedia Commons
Every web site exists as a collection of electronic files on a machine called a server, which is essentially a big high-powered computer with a lot of memory. A typical server can host hundreds or thousands of web sites simultaneously. Web hosting services rent out server space to their clients for a monthly fee. When someone types your web address into their browser, they are connected to the server which then “serves” the files that make up your site.
If your organization has a web site, it has a web host. Hopefully, your organization has all the necessary details about your host, including contact information, service agreement, and account login and password. If you ask around and no one knows any of that, then your life just got a little more complicated, and you should read this post. Otherwise, read on.
When you log in to you web hosting account, you should see a page with a bunch of information about your account. Although this will vary a lot depending on the service you’re using, you at least be able to find details about billing, extra features like databases and email accounts, and of course the website itself. Take a careful look at the terms of you service agreement to find out what you’re being charged and what you’re getting for that money. At the very least, a hosting service ought to offer the features listed below. If your host does not offer these features, you may want to consider migrating to a new host.
- Option to host multiple web sites
- Ability to create multiple databases
- Capacity to run email accounts
- Add-ons (like blogging software)
- FTP access
You may not know what all of those features are or what they do, but chances are you will need to use most of them sooner or later.
Once you have successfully logged in to your web hosting account, you’ve taken your first step towards updating your website.