Web hosting is the service that stores your website’s files and makes them accessible on the internet. Without it, your website simply can’t exist online. Every image, line of code, or page you see on your site is hosted somewhere—on a server that delivers it to anyone who types in your domain.
Think of it like renting space for your website. The domain is your address, the website is the house, and the hosting is the plot of land it sits on.
How web hosting works
When someone visits your site, their browser sends a request to your host’s server. That server delivers the files—HTML, CSS, images, fonts, scripts—that make up the page. The faster and more reliable your hosting is, the better the experience for your visitors.
You don’t need to understand the technical setup to benefit from good hosting—but it helps to know what affects speed, reliability, and cost.
Types of hosting (and what you need)
Not all hosting is created equal. Here are the most common types:
- Shared Hosting
Your site shares resources with dozens (or hundreds) of others. It’s cheap but slow and less secure. Best for simple, low-traffic websites. - VPS (Virtual Private Server)
A more powerful option where your site gets its own slice of a server. It’s faster and more customizable, but requires more technical setup. - Cloud Hosting
Scales dynamically with your traffic. Great for growing sites, with strong performance and uptime. - Managed WordPress Hosting
Specifically tailored for WordPress sites. It often includes automatic backups, security, caching, and updates. This is what I usually recommend for small businesses—it’s faster, safer, and support is WordPress-specific. - Dedicated Hosting
You get an entire server to yourself. Expensive and typically overkill for small and medium businesses.
Key features to look for
- Uptime guarantee
Look for 99.9% or higher. Downtime = lost sales and lost trust. - Server location
Hosting closer to your primary audience improves speed. - Support quality
When things break (and they will), fast, expert support matters. - Automatic backups
Daily backups save you when something goes wrong—without relying on you to remember. - Security features
Firewalls, malware scanning, and SSL certificates should be built in. - Scalability
Your host should grow with your business. Can it handle a spike in traffic during a launch or campaign?
Hosting vs. domain vs. website
People often mix these up:
- Domain = your website address (e.g.
yourbusiness.com) - Hosting = the server that stores and serves your website
- Website = the actual design, content, and functionality
You need all three working together to be online.
Bottom line
Your hosting is the foundation of your website. If it’s slow, unreliable, or insecure, everything you’ve built on top of it suffers—from SEO to user trust to conversions. Don’t cut corners here. Choose hosting that fits your site’s size, complexity, and goals—and if you’re not sure, get advice from someone who knows what to look for.
