What is Hosting?
TL;DR
The service that stores your website files and makes them accessible on the internet. Hosting quality directly impacts Page Speed, uptime, and security. Options range from cheap shared hosting (fine for small sites) to dedicated servers for high-traffic sites. Choose hosting with SSL Certificates included and servers geographically close to your customers.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Hosting
What type of hosting do I need for my business website?
Most small business sites work fine on quality shared hosting ($10-30/month). If you get significant traffic or need more control, move to VPS or managed hosting. Cheap $3/month hosting often means slow speeds and poor support, worth paying more.
How does hosting affect website speed?
Hosting is the foundation of site speed. A slow server makes everything slow regardless of optimization. Quality hosting offers faster servers, better caching, and CDNs. Server location matters too, host close to your customers for faster load times.
What's the difference between shared and dedicated hosting?
Shared hosting puts multiple sites on one server, sharing resources, cheaper but slower. Dedicated hosting gives you an entire server, faster and more control but expensive. VPS is a middle ground: virtual private servers that simulate dedicated hosting at lower cost.
Does hosting affect SEO?
Indirectly, yes. Hosting affects page speed (a ranking factor), uptime (sites that are down get deindexed), and security (hacked sites get penalized). Invest in reliable hosting as the foundation of your SEO efforts.
Terms Related to Hosting
Domain Name
Your website's address (like "yourbusiness.com") that people type to visit your site. Choose a domain that's memorable,...
Read definition SEOPage Speed
How fast your website loads. Page speed is a ranking factor and hugely impacts User Experience, 53% of mobile users aban...
Read definition SEOSSL Certificate
Security technology that encrypts data between your website and visitors (the "s" in "https"). SSL is a ranking factor,...
Read definition Web DesignA/B Testing
Comparing two versions of a webpage to see which performs better. You show version A to half your visitors and version B...
Read definition Web DesignAbove the Fold
The portion of a webpage visible without scrolling. Critical content, headlines, and Call To Actions should appear above...
Read definition Web DesignAccessibility
Making your website usable by people with disabilities, visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive. This includes proper Alt...
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