Spencer Rowley - more about hosting

So, you have designed and produced your perfect site, and now you want the world to see it?  Well, for that to happen, the site needs to be hosted somewhere, on a web-server that is constantly available to surfers around the world. 

What is meant by 'hosting', then, and what do I need to know before I go out looking for a hosting company?

Web Hosting, or 'Hosting', is a service that is provided by a vendor who offers to clients a physical computer, or location,  for the storage of web pages and all its attendant files. Put more simply, a hoster is a sort of 'landlord', who rents out physical space where one can store a web site, and offers a connection from this location to the world-wide web so that the web pages are generally accessible to all.  A hosting service provider will generally, but not always, charge for this service.  Different service providers will also offer different levels of hosting.  Some may offer more space on the server than another does, some may provide greater bandwidth or more 'add-on' programs and facilities.

When choosing a Web Hosting service there are several important things to keep in mind, such as;
How many e-mail addresses will I have? Will I have FTP access? Does my account have access to a CGI facility? How much Disk Space will my site be allocated? Will I receive any free software with my account? What is my bandwidth limit? What happens if I go over my bandwidth limit?  If I need a dedicated server, will I be able to get one? Are any advertisements placed on my site? 

But what does all this mean? The explanations below will help you to become more familiar with these terms in order to help you understand your web hosting options.

What is a Web Server?
This term is generally used to refer to the actual computer hardware upon which a web site, or multiple sites, are stored, and which provides access to those sites from the World Wide Web.  A web server will include all the hardware and software required to do this.

What does HTTP mean?
HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the basic system used by the World Wide Web to transfer information between computers. The rules of HTTP define how information is formatted and delivered, and also determines what action Web servers and browsers should take in response to various requests. For example, when you type  a URL into your favourite browser, this sends an HTTP command to the attendant web server informing it of the request to fetch and deliver the requested page.

What does URL stand for?
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the actual address of a particular web site and its documents (the RESOURCE) on the World Wide Web. The URL is split into several sections. The first section indicates what protocol to use (see HTTP above), and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the site is located.

What is a Domain Name?
This is a multi-part address used for both identifying and locating computers on the Internet.  The computers are actually located using  unique numbers in a system called IP addressing, but the domain name provides a much simpler method of remembering addresses.  These addresses are translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the numeric IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. 
Spencerrowley.com is the domain name of this domain.  Google.com and amazon.com are also domain names.  We don't need to know the actual IP addresses of these domains, we simply rely on the DNS to translate them for us.

What is an IP Address?
Every single computer that connects to the internet must have a unique address known as an IP (Internet Protocol) address. This is a numeric address written as a set of four numbers separated by dots:
For example 64.149.219.213. The address provides a unique identification of a computer and the network it belongs to.  It allows us to actually 'find' a computer anywhere in the world, and also allows us to determine other information, such as the service provider that is providing that computer access to the internet.

What does DNS stand for?
DNS stands for Domain Name System, a system of connection or 'mapping' domain names to IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic and generally use easy-to-remember words, they're easier for humans to use. The internet, however, is based on a numeric system of IP addresses. DNS is that part of the internet which translates human words into IP addresses.

What is FTP?
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, a system of transferring files from one computer to another across the internet.  This would typically be from a personal computer to a server or vice versa.  When your web site is designed, it is probably on a personal computer somewhere.  In order for it to be seen on the internet, it needs to be placed on a server - it will be FTP'd across.

What does 'uploading' mean?
Uploading is the physical transfer of a file or files from a local computer to a remote computer, usually a server.

What does 'downloading' mean?
Downloading would be the reverse of uploading (see above),  the transferring of files from a remote computer, usually a server,  to your local computer.

What is e-mail?
E-mail stands for Electronic Mail, utilising the internet to deliver a mail message.  E-mail has fast become an essential part of world-wide communication and is a standard business requirement.

What are POP and SMTP?
POP stands for Post Office Protocol, and is the most common protocol used to move e-mail around the internet. Most of our standard e-mail applications use the POP protocol, although some do use the newer IMAP protocol. (Internet Message Access Protocol). SMTP is also an e-mail sending protocol and stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. 

What is WebMail?
WebMail is simply a provision by an internet service provider to allow a user to access their e-mail messages from any computer in the world by logging directly onto a central mail server.

What is a CGI Service?
CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. A standard web page is usually written in HTML, which is rather restricted in many ways. CGI is a sort of 'add-on' program which integrates with HTML and provides a facility for many different things; counting visitors to your web site, or processing data obtained from online forms for example. In order for you to make use of CGI programs, or scripts, it is essential that your hosting service provides you with access to a CGI service.

What is Bandwidth?
Bandwidth, at least as far as hosting is concerned, is the amount of information that can be transferred from the server to a browser. Hosting services usually limit the amount of transfer a client has available to them in any one month.  Because of bandwidth restrictions, it is essential that your web-site be designed to be as 'lean' as possible;  it must not use excessive bandwidth, and it must load as fast as is reasonably possible.

What is Disk Space?
Disk Space is the total amount of hard drive space that a hosting service allows a client to have on a server.

What is a Dedicated Server?
A Dedicated Server is simply one that only has a single website running on it, as opposed to a shared server where multiple websites are being hosted. Usually only a very large company will require a dedicated server.

What does it all cost?
Click here for more information on pricing.