A plain English explanation of web hosting — what you are paying for, how it works, and what to look for when choosing a provider.
Every website in the world lives on a computer somewhere. That computer is called a server, and it is connected to the internet around the clock so that anyone, anywhere, can access the files that make up your website at any time of day or night.
Web hosting is simply the service of providing that computer — renting space on a server so that your website has somewhere to live. When someone types your domain name into their browser, their device connects to that server, retrieves your website files, and displays them on their screen. The whole process typically takes less than a second.
Your domain name and your hosting are two separate things. The domain is your address — for example, yourbusiness.co.uk. The hosting is the building that address points to. You need both, and they are usually billed separately, though some providers bundle them together.
The most common and most affordable option for small business websites. Your website shares a server with many other websites — potentially hundreds of them. Each website gets a portion of the server's resources. Shared hosting is perfectly adequate for most small business sites and costs very little, typically a few pounds per month. The downside is that very busy neighbouring sites can occasionally affect performance.
A step up from shared hosting. The server is still shared, but your portion is isolated from other users using virtualisation technology — so neighbouring sites cannot affect your performance. VPS hosting offers more control and better reliability, at a higher cost. Suitable for businesses with growing traffic or more demanding requirements.
You have an entire server to yourself. Maximum performance and control, but significantly more expensive and requiring more technical knowledge to manage. Rarely necessary for small or medium-sized businesses.
The hosting provider handles technical management — security updates, backups, performance optimisation — on your behalf. Often provided as part of a web design and maintenance package. Particularly suitable for business owners who want everything looked after without needing to understand the technical detail.
Rather than a single server, your website runs across a network of servers. If one server has a problem, another takes over seamlessly. Generally very reliable and scalable, with pricing based on usage. Increasingly common as costs have reduced.
Uptime refers to the percentage of time the server is operational. Look for providers that guarantee 99.9% uptime or higher. At 99.9% uptime, a server could still be down for around 8 hours per year — acceptable for most small businesses. Anything below 99.5% should be treated with caution.
For a UK business targeting UK customers, hosting on UK-based servers offers slightly better loading speeds for UK visitors and avoids any complications around data storage legislation. Many hosting providers offer a choice of server location — choose UK where possible.
An SSL certificate encrypts data between your website and your visitors' browsers, producing the padlock icon and the https prefix in the address bar. It is a basic security requirement and Google penalises sites that do not have one. Most reputable hosting providers include SSL certificates free of charge. If a provider charges extra for SSL, look elsewhere.
Confirm that the hosting provider performs regular automated backups of your website and that restoring from a backup is straightforward. Daily backups retained for at least 14 days is a reasonable minimum. Some providers offer this as standard; others charge extra.
When something goes wrong with hosting, you need help quickly. Check what support channels are available — phone, live chat, or email — and what hours they operate. A provider that only offers email support with a 48-hour response time is of limited use during a crisis.
Cheap hosting is not always poor hosting, but very cheap hosting often comes with compromises in reliability, speed, or support. For a business website that is expected to work around the clock, paying a modest amount more for a reputable provider is almost always worthwhile.
If your website is built and managed by a professional web designer, they will handle hosting on your behalf and you will rarely need to think about it. What you should know is:
If you are managing your own website, understanding the basics above will help you make informed decisions and avoid being sold services or upgrades you do not need.
