Web hosting can seem complicated, but at its core it's a simple concept. This guide strips away the jargon and gives you the essentials.
The Simple Explanation
A website is a collection of files. Web hosting is a service that stores those files on a computer (server) that's always connected to the internet, so anyone can access your site at any time from anywhere in the world.
What You Need to Launch a Website
You need two things: a domain name (your web address, like yourbusiness.com) and web hosting (the server where your site lives). Many hosting companies sell both, which simplifies the setup.
How Hosting Plans Work
You pay a monthly or annual fee for a certain amount of storage space and data transfer (bandwidth). When someone visits your site, their browser downloads your files from the server — that download uses bandwidth. Most small sites use far less than their plan allocation.
Shared vs. Dedicated: The Simple Version
Shared hosting is like living in an apartment building — you share the building's resources but have your own space. Dedicated hosting is like owning an entire house — more expensive, but it's all yours. For most new websites, the "apartment" (shared hosting) is perfectly adequate and much more affordable.