Web Hosting and Domain Names

After web design, web hosting is the second most important component when planning to start a website. It can even be argued that web hosting is much more important than web design since you cannot possibly get your web site online without a web host, also, essential services like email addresses and other email services are tied to web hosting so web hosting is an absolutely essential part of having an online presence.

Internet services providers and other technology savvy individuals automatically assume every one knows what web hosting is, but if you are unfamiliar with this term you are not alone, many Velnet customers ask this question. Web hosting is when a company like Velnet offers fragments of space on one of their server computers. These computers are permanently connected to the Internet and are usually referred to simply as the “server”.

A web hosting company (such as Velnet) maintains this computer or server and ensures it is always on line (connected to the internet), sometimes essential maintenance work needs to be carried out on the server and it is disconnected from the Internet, this is referred to as down time. Customers who buy web space on such computers are web hosting clients. The web hosting provider (Velnet) gives you secure access to your portion of the server via a control panel for functions like email and via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for uploading your web site to the web space.

Some hosting companies can also make access to your web space available via other methods such as FrontPage Extension, Secure Shell (SSH).

Choosing the right web hosting service is important to ensure the web space you purchase is suitable for your needs. The first thing to consider, what sort of site do you want to host? The answer to this question will decide the type of web hosting package you should look for. Web hosting companies are known to have dazzling arrays of hosting options each promising bigger and better benefits to the customer, at Velnet we see no point in confusing things, we offer a simple set of packages which cater for every one from the beginner right up to the large E-commerce company.

The kind of things that will dictate what size web space you will require include, how big and complex is the web site you are going to upload to the space, does it contain many pages, images or sound files, will it be E-commerce or maybe just a simple 5 page web site with an enquiry form, these kind of issues affect how much web space you will need. If you still need help in deciding what kind of web space will best suite your needs our support team are there to offer their experience.