What is web hosting?

With the increasing prevalence of digital technologies in our daily lives, owning a website has become vital for companies — which is why they often use Web Hosting plans. What is a Web Hosting plan? What types of hosting are available on the market? How should we choose the best one for our budget and needs? On this page, you can find all the information you need to develop a good digital strategy.

A web hosting plan, or cloud hosting package, is a service that stores files and content on a server connected to the internet. It is mainly used for building and publishing websites. Web users can enter your website name in their browser’s search bar, and access your website from anywhere in the world using the connections and redirections provided by your web hosting provider. There are several types of web hosting, such as shared hosting, dedicated hosting and cloud hosting.

A website requires a server to work. Websites are made up of HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. These files are stored on a server, which provides access to your data, content and pages. If you want to create a blog or forum, additional services such as WordPress or PHP may be necessary to make your website work.

A hosting provider does not just deliver the server — it also offers tools to optimize:

•  Security with anti-DDoS protection
•  High availability for the content hosted
•  Data protection in a GDPR-compliant environment
•  Access to technical support in the event of any issues

It’s simple: you store your website’s contents and files on your cloud hosting plan, and publish your website online. When someone types your domain name into their browser, a request is sent to the server your website is hosted on via your IP address. The server then sends and displays your webpages to the user. A good web hosting service will improve your website’s data distribution on the internet, keep it secure, and support all of your web projects.

There are several different types of hosting solution available on the market, each of which are adapted to different uses, requirements and budgets.

Shared hosting

With shared hosting products, hardware resources are shared between the users of a physical server. Each customer has their own disk space and storage space, which are fully isolated from other users. The rest of the resources (RAM, CPU) are shared. This is the best solution for beginners who are looking to host a website at a lower cost, and don’t foresee any hardware constraints. Like most hosting providers, OVHcloud pre-installs all of the services required for users to build their website smoothly. We offer the operating system, programming languages, and technologies that can be used to interact with databases.

Dedicated server

With this solution type, the user is the administrator of their machine, and its resources are fully allocated to them. A dedicated server is a physical server with hardware components that are fully managed by the customer. The customer also has root access.

Virtual private server (VPS)

A VPS (virtual private server) is a virtualized hosting solution hosted on physical machines. It offers high availability and flexibility by distributing workloads across multiple physical servers. The user manages their own virtual server(s) through a control panel, and adds the resources they need in just a few clicks.

To host a showcase website, e-commerce website or webmail server, there are several rules that should be followed. By implementing best practices, you can ensure visibility for your web projects, as well as guaranteeing integrity and security for your data and content.

Choose your domain name

Choose a short domain name that reflects your brand, and is easy to remember for those seeking to visit your website. This is the first key step to shaping your online presence.

Secure your data

By creating regular backups, you can ensure that your website and the data attached to it experiences zero downtime.

Protect your web users

Inspire trust from your customer base by activating your SSL certificate. Your domain name is verified as ‘https://’, and your customers’ data is protected.

Make your website easier to navigate

Improve your webpage loading speed with the CDN (Content Delivery Network), and improve the overall experience for your users.

There are many factors to consider when choosing your hosting plan. In addition to the budget, it is also important to consider the level of resources you need (bandwidth, RAM, storage space). If your website traffic is high, a shared hosting plan will not be the best solution, since you will most likely need more power than it can offer. In this scenario, a dedicated server would be a better option for you. The loading speed, flexibility and level of autonomy you need are also important factors to keep in mind. In any case, by opting for a locally-based web hosting company like OVHcloud, you can ensure sovereignty and security for your data. You will also get tailored technical support for your servers.