For hosting a website, it is essential to get a server space, only then you will be able to make the website accessible on the world wide web. This server space can be rented through a web hosting company. Various aspects have to be considered while hosting your website. The performance of the website depends on the web hosting platform; therefore it is important to select the best.
Here is a step wise guide for hosting your website:
Select A Domain Name
Selecting a domain name is the initial step; here are some guidelines for selecting a domain name:
- Keep it short but it must be memorable and impressive as well
- .com, .org or .net domain names work well for the search engine rankings
- Try to get your main keyword in the domain name, this will also help the search engine ranking
It is always advisable to have a short domain name because it is easy to remember. Choosing a domain name can often be a challenging task. When you decide on a domain name, it is no less than an investment and it is also a part of the organization’s overall branding. Therefore it is essential to select the right domain name that perfectly aligns with the nature of business of your company. Once you have selected the domain name, it will have to be registered. This can be done through the web hosting company itself.
Estimate The Hosting Requirement
The next step would be selecting an appropriate web hosting plan. For doing this you will have to estimate the web hosting requirements of your website. This will depend on many factors like the website design, type of website and the applications used. It is also essential to take the nature of the website into consideration. In case it is an eCommerce company, you will have to select a web hosting plan that offers with a shopping cart software and supports the online payment gateways like PayPal, Google checkout. In case you are not aware which web hosting plan is to be selected, you can opt for a shared hosting plan initially and then as the hosting requirements increase the hosting plan can be upgraded.
Hosting Platform
You will come across various web hosting platforms. Here is basic information on some of the most commonly used hosting platforms:
Shared hosting: In a shared hosting platform, several websites share the same server space. This is the most economical type of hosting. The hosting cost is reduced as many websites are sharing the server space. This form of hosting is preferable for personal websites, small and medium businesses.
VPS hosting: VPS hosting is based on partitioning a physical server in various virtual machines. VPS hosting partitions the server in terms of memory, disk space, processing power and bandwidth offering you with a dedicated chunk of resources.
Dedicated hosting: Dedicated server hosting is one of the most efficient hosting platforms. As the name suggest, it offers the user with dedicated hosting resources. The whole server is reserved for a single website or account and the resources are not shared. This is the perfect hosting platform for medium and large business websites.
Select A Web Hosting Company
The next step would be selecting the web hosting company. You will come across two types of web hosting companies, free and paid. It is always preferable to select a paid web hosting company as they will offer you with all the essential features like server monitoring and 24/7 technical support. Technical support is the most crucial factor as it will assure the uptime of your website irrespective of any issues. Web hosting is more of an investment, therefore make sure to select the best web hosting company after through research. Ensuring the uptime of your website is crucial therefore the web hosting company has to be reliable and professional.
The steps mentioned above are the most crucial ones for hosting the website. No prior knowledge or skill is required for hosting a website. The most crucial factor is making the right decision in terms of selecting the web hosting company, once that is done; the web hosting company will guide you in terms of selecting the right web hosting platform.
