Web Hosting Basics: Overview of Hosting Plans

Running a small personal Website is simple, but when you run a business or a busy site, there are several different hosting options. This article is a basic summary of the different types of hosting accounts available for your site and the advantages they offer.

Hosting Accounts

The simplest way to publish a Web site is with a hosting account. With this arrangement your site shares a server with a number—sometimes hundreds—of the host's other customers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing—a well-managed shared host is ideal for a small site, and can cost as little as $5.00 a month.

There are thousands of Web hosting companies, and they offer a wide variety of different accounts. Here are a few factors you may want to consider when choosing a hosting account:

• The amount of disk storage available for your files
• The amount of network bandwidth included per month
• Whether features you may need such as PHP, MySQL, or CGI are included
• Whether the host can provide reliable service

Be sure to check a host's reputation before trusting them with your site. In particular, distrust any host that claims to offer unlimited bandwidth—there's almost always a limit. Some so-called unlimited hosts survive by kicking out the customers who use the most bandwidth.

Dedicated Servers

If your site gets too big for a simple hosting account, or needs a special software configuration not available from hosts, you will need a dedicated server—a server that runs your site and nobody else's. There are three basic ways to have a dedicated server:

• Purchase a machine and connect a broadband connection to your home or office. This is rarely the best option, since you are not allowed to run a server on many affordable broadband lines, and professional-quality lines cost more than any other option.
• Purchase a machine and pay a local ISP to place it online. This is called colocation. Since the ISP has ample network bandwidth already, the monthly charge is almost always lower than a dedicated line to your own location.
• Lease a server. In this arrangement, you pay a monthly charge and the host places a machine online and dedicates it to you. This is often the best arrangement—the price is much lower than colocation, and the up-front cost is usually lower than the cost of purchasing a machine.

Managed and Unmanaged Servers

If you lease a dedicated server, you will find that there are vastly different prices, ranging from $99 to thousands of dollars per month. One of the biggest differences is whether the server is managed or unmanaged:

• A managed server includes administration and support. A good managed host will troubleshoot problems, help you with configuration, answer your questions, install or patch software, and keep the server running—your job is simply to upload your files and run your site. Managed servers are the most expensive option, but if you don't want the hassle of administration they are ideal.
• An unmanaged server includes an Internet connection and a preconfigured server. You are the administrator. While an unmanaged host will usually deal with hardware problems, you have to deal with any configuration beyond the default, software troubleshooting, security, and other issues. Technical support is usually minimal. While an unmanaged server can cost as low as $99 a month, don't consider it unless you're ready to become an administrator.

Choosing a Dedicated Server

Assuming you will be leasing a server, and have determined whether a managed or unmanaged server fits your needs, there are a number of other factors you should consider:

• The reputation of the host. You're trusting the host with much more than a simple hosting account, and paying them more—be sure you can count on them.
• The components of the server, particularly the processor, memory, and disk storage. Choose a server that can handle your site and accommodate some future growth, because upgrading to a faster server is usually not an inexpensive or simple task.
• The network bandwidth available per month. To avoid unpleasant surprises, be sure you have a way to monitor how much bandwidth you are using and know what you will be charged if you go over your monthly allotment. 

Virtual Servers

A virtual server is a compromise between a dedicated server and a traditional hosting account. Servers are shared, but they only support a small number of customers, and you are provided with more management access than a typical hosting account—often it is configured to act just like your own server, with full root access.

A few years ago, virtual servers were an ideal low-cost alternative to a dedicated server. Today, I don't recommend them at all for the following reasons:

• Thanks to the low cost of PC hardware, full dedicated servers are available at very low prices: $99 a month or lower. Below this price point, excellent shared hosting options are available and may beat a virtual server.
• The software used to divide a server into "virtual" servers is not perfect, and one customer's actions can cause trouble for the others that share the server.

Conclusion

The busier your site gets, the more time you have to spend thinking about server software and management. If you put off moving to a dedicated server until absolutely necessary, then choose a good server at a reliable company, you can minimize these issues and focus on running your website.