Choosing The Right Web Server For Your Website

When you first get into setting up your website it can get very confusing navigating through a lot of new terminologies and concepts. So let’s start with the basics: What exactly is web hosting? Web hosting allows organizations and individuals to host a website or web page onto the Internet. Websites are hosted/published, on special computers called servers. Essentially, web hosting is the server space where your website resides. Just as the physical location of a business has a direct effect on it’s sale/success, likewise web hosting has an effect on website performance.

Example: When Internet users want to view your website, all they need to do is type your website address(URL) or domain name into their browser. Their computer will then connect to the server and your web pages will be delivered to them through their internet browser.

Choosing the right hosting services will bring about the difference between a reliable website that offers an apt user experience or a website that doesn’t perform at all. So, let’s get an overview of the various types of Web Hosting Servers (WHS) and Operating Systems (OS) available today.

By enlarge, there are 3 types of Web Hosting Servers:

Shared server: Shared server refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one internet server. This is generally the most economical option for hosting, as the overall cost of server maintenance is amortized over many customers.

Dedicated server: A dedicated server is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases an entire server, not shared with anyone else. Dedicated servers are  expensive as compared to shared servers or VPS

Virtual Private Server (VPS):
VPS stands for Virtual Private Servers which mimics a dedicated server within a shared hosting environment. VPS hosting shares the space between shared web hosting and dedicated hosting server.

Let us now look at the basic technical features of each of the above mentioned servers:

Now you must be wondering, Which of the 3 web hosting servers suit my business? Here’s our recommendation:

Who needs shared hosting:

• Static websites
• Small businesses & Start-ups websites
• Personal Bloggers.

Who needs Dedicated Hosting:

• Websites that receive a large volume of traffic
• Big e-commerce websites
• Websites handling huge data queries

Who needs VPS hosting:

• Small medium size business
• Growing Websites
• Websites containing large multimedia (Videos, Images)

Operating System (OS) on the server:
Operating systems for web hosting servers are often called hosting “platforms.” Web hosting requires an operating system on which the servers and the software run. You must be familiar with the operating system on your personal computer, which might be something like Windows or Linux OS. There are 2 major hosting platforms available i.e Linux and Windows. Let’s look at each of their features which will help you make a more informed decision:

Linux:
Linux Hosting is based on Linux operating system(OS) on the server. Linux being an open source hosting platform, it becomes a cost saving affair. It uses few resources, making the system more efficient and reliable. Linux servers and softwares can be modified on the fly. It has a lion’s share in the web hosting industry. Some great giants that prefer using Linux OS are: NASA, Google,IBM, Microsoft, Facebook and many more.

Windows:
Windows is a group of several graphical operating system families, all of which are developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft. Windows being a proprietor owned platform, Windows server is little expensive & complex in nature although it is known to be beginner friendly with its graphic user interface. It is compatible with popular Microsoft programs and remains up to date with its system updates.

Lets compare the 2 Hosting Platforms head to head:

Buying a hosting service is the first and the most important decision to be made to publish your website. Whether you’re a multinational online giant or a one-man-band photographer, if you have a web presence, you need to spend time to figure  the right web hosting for you. The kind of Web hosting services you opt for completely depends on the nature of your website. Whether you are looking at high traffic on your website or just using as a personal blog, there is an ideal Web hosting service for each kind of business.