Getting started on web hosting can be exhausting, especially when starting. However, it doesn’t have to be like this, and in this section, we are going to look at web hosting terminologies you need to know before diving into web development.
Types of Web hosting
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Shared web hosting
This is the most basic and cheapest web hosting type. On a shared hosting plan, a website shares a server with other websites, in some instances, thousands of websites, which can greatly reduce performance. This type of hosting is perfect for websites that are just starting, have low traffic and do not require a lot of computing resources.
Although the cost of shared hosting is low, it comes with its own disadvantages such as slow websites, low bandwidth and downtime, especially if you are sharing a web server with high traffic sites. It can also lead to your website being blacklisted by email services such as Gmail because it might be sharing the same IP with spamming websites. -
Virtual Private Server(VPS) hosting
VPS hosting allows users to have more control over their servers compared to shared hosting, by having a unique IP address. Websites are hosted on their own unique virtual space within a shared server, which means that they are not affected by other websites on a server. Therefore, with a VPS plan, users are not worried about being blacklisted by email service providers and a spike in traffic from other websites that share the same server does not affect a website hosted on a VPS server. They are also highly customizable and users can tailor their hosting to their preference. -
Dedicated servers
In this type of hosting, a web server is completely rented by users, giving them complete control of their website. Because users are not sharing resources with other websites, it means that a website can utilize all the resources on the server. Users also have root and admin access to the server and customize according to the flavor their want their website to be. They also have control over what operating system they want to run and the type of security they want to be implemented on the server.
However, it is one of the most expensive plans available, therefore, they are used for websites with high traffic and for users who need more control over their servers. -
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting involves interconnecting multiple computers to work together by combining their computing power. This type of hosting is faster than shared hosting, reliable and efficient for running high traffic websites - Reseller Hosting
This package allows entrepreneurs to sell spaces of their servers to other developers. Resellers buy servers with huge space, subdivide it and sell portions of their server space to other clients.
File transfer terminologies
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File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP allows website owners to download and upload content to their websites via specific protocol standards. FTP accounts can also be created for other users, giving them the ability to download and upload content to your site without them accessing the entire servers. - Secure Shell (SSH)
This is also another way for file download and upload to a website and involves using a UNIX based command-line interface to communicate to a server’s UNIX-based systems through secure logins.
SSH is heavily encrypted, therefore making it a safer preference. Most shared hosting plans do not offer SSH connections.
Web hosting security terminologies
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Secure Socket Layer
This is a means of encryption used for providing secure and authenticated communications across a network. It is commonly used by web servers and browsers to authenticate secure connections between servers and clients. However, mailing servers also use SSL to ensure that communication is secure.
When a website is secured by an SSL, HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) appears in the URL. websites without SSL certificates are sometimes flagged by browsers as unsafe because hackers can be able to hijack client-server communication and steal valuable information. -
Spam filtering
These are safeguards put in place in email servers to prevent your website from getting overwhelmed by spam emails. Although it does not address server security directly, it can help you detect DDoS early and implement contingencies. - Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS)
DDoS are attacks that are carried out using interconnected computers working together to overwhelm server and deny other clients from accessing it. When a server is targeted by these types of attacks, massive requests are sent to its IP address until it reaches its breaking point, where no other request can go through, therefore, any other user on the website is denied service by the server.
Email hosting terms
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Autoresponders
Autoresponders allow users to automatically respond to certain types of emails, such as notifying clients when you are out of work and they happen to send an email. -
Internet Message Access Protocol(IMAP)
IMAP offers an easy way to retrieve emails by leaving a copy of an email on servers that can be accessed from anywhere. IMAP is very useful for email clients that use multiple devices to access their emails. - Pop 3
This is an email protocol that allows users to retrieve emails from the server. It allows users to download emails from the server to their local computers and read them even when offline.
Other web hosting terminologies you need to know
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Uptime
This is the amount of time your website can stay online without getting interrupted. A good uptime for a web hosting service should be 99 percent, which means that it will be online 99 percent of the time. - Top Level Domain (TLD)
TLD are domain extensions such as .com, .website, .social that form the last part of a domain name. It is found at the highest level in the DNS hierarchy.
