With advances in modern technology, it’s nearly impossible to run a business without having some sort of presence on the internet, and that tends to be a website. Whether you want to offer your expert knowledge through a blog and still have a physical store for shopping or would like to provide your entire business online, you may want to start out with a website hosting service.

Website hosting is a simple way to create and run a website without having to be the person running it twenty-four hours a day, all year long. The industry that began with only 4 hosts for website hosting grew to reach 126 million hosts over the last 50 years as it is widely recognised as the first step to getting a website. As more business owners and blog writers are moving online, it is expected to grow exponentially with hundreds of companies offering their servers to host sites worldwide.

What Is Website Hosting?

So what exactly is Website Hosting? It effectively refers to an online server that enables you to publish a website on the internet. It’s basically like paying rent for space on a physical server to store all of the website files that make up your website to ensure that your website is functioning properly, and is live on the worldwide web.

The server connects to a physical (or sometimes virtual servers) computer that will run without interruptions so that your website is always available for viewing. The web host keeps the server up and running while actively protecting it from cyber-attacks around the clock and ensuring it is Live, uninterrupted at all times.

Website hosting services are usually offered for monthly subscriptions that can be chosen based on the needs of your website and paid on a yearly basis, allowing your provider to ensure the required safety locks are in place.

Once you have the website hosting up and running, you will find that you need additional services. CFM Group can help you to further develop your website, manage your content, or perform maintenance on your website.

How Does It Work?

So, your website basically “exists” on a server. The server holds all of your website as files that can be sent as needed. When a visitor makes their way to your website, the server needs to actively send information to the viewer, so he can see  the site.

Say your visitor wants to see your blog or explore your services. The server will send the blog or services page to their browser screen. Once they chose a specific blog post or service, the server will display that post or service page on their screen. The type of website hosting service that you need depends on the size of your following and the specifications that you need.

Important Features to Look For in Website Hosting Services

Your website needs a domain name, which is effectively the “www.yourwebsite.co.uk” which you see on the address bar, when visiting a webpage. Unfortunately, purchasing a domain name can get expensive (if you need a specific name) but there are always available alternatives. In addition CFM Group offer their customers a FREE Domain name registration for Year 1 as part of our hosting packages that can save you some money.

When a website loads slowly, visitors may be hesitant to stick around so it is vital that the Hosting provides offers enough speed to ensure that every page loads in a timely manner. Some websites that are mostly text will load faster than a website that contains a lot of high-resolution photos.

Both storage and bandwidth are essential to the success of a fully functioning website. Your chosen host should be able to accommodate the size of your website and its up to you to determine whether you will have mostly text, mostly images, or a combination of the two.

Scalability in the website hosting server that you choose for your website is important. If you are worried about storage and bandwidth, make sure your web host offers increased resources or different types of hosting so that your website can handle growth and doesn’t crash when under duress.

The server that you choose to run your website needs to have continuous uptime, meaning that it can run 24/7 without interruptions to the service that your website is providing.

A professional website is going to have an email account that is associated directly with the domain. You should make sure that your web host offers this when you decide on the type of server that best suits you and your website.

Having technical support around the clock is also vital, especially if your business turnover comes from online purchases or transactions or if your site is used to take reservations and bookings. Your ideal hosting company will have 24/7 support through phone, email, or chat for any problems that you might come across.

Click here to have a look at our Hosting packages and also learn more about our Website Maintenance Packages, available to all our customers, nationwide, by clicking here.

CFM GROUP has over 10 years of experience in the Digital Marketing Industry. We are proud to have more reviews than any other local company in our industry, assuring our customers they are in good hands. Every single website we create is bespoke as no single client is the same as well as SEO optimised. Getting to know your business and your exact needs are integral to producing a beautiful website.  That not only looks professional, it sells your services or products to your target audience effectively.

We’d love to hear your view so do not hesitate to contact us, subscribe to this blog for free, or click here to arrange a FREE Consultancy meeting. Keep up to date with the latest content by following our Social profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.