One easy and effective way to explain “Web Hosting” is to use apartments as an analogy. Why do people rent apartments instead of buying a house? The quick and easy answer is that many people either can’t afford to own their own house or they don’t think their specific needs require them to have a separate house. And don’t forget the maintenance. It’s really nice not to have to worry about fixing the roof or mowing the lawn. So, a quick answer to the previous question is “People rent apartments because renting is the main option to buying when it comes to finding a home that meets their needs.” 

People use Web hosting for the same reasons. Their Web site needs a place to live. Why? Well, let’s quickly define what Web hosting service normally includes. First, it provides a place for you to put all of your Web site files (HTML, and images for example). They, just like you, have to live somewhere. Next, Web hosting gives your site an address so people can find it among the hundreds of millions of other Web pages that exist on the Internet.  Web hosting also normally (but not always) provides people with a way to get in touch with you. This could be a Web form or an email address. And finally, Web hosting provides a service known as “bandwidth.”  Bandwidth is the service that transmits all of your site’s data to each viewer. Transmitting that kind of data requires a very high-speed Internet connection and very stable (i.e. expensive) computer hardware. All of these services are supplied to a Web site by a computer known as a “Web server.”  All Web sites, from the largest to the smallest, use a Web server.

So, getting back to our apartment analogy, your Web site needs a place to live and you need to decide whether to rent or buy. Why do people rent (i.e. use a Web hosting service) instead of buying a Web Server? The answers are the exact same as they were when we were discussing apartments. First, Web servers can be expensive. The expenses involved include the price of the hardware itself and the high-speed internet connection required to process all of the Web site’s data. 

Another reason people use a Web hosting service is that their Web site doesn’t need its own Web server. How do you decide that? Many Web sites are not large enough (in file size) and do not get enough visitors to justify having their own Web server. Other key factors in determining whether (and where) to host a Web site include the programming language (example: HTML, ASP, PHP, JSP, Cold Fusion, etc.) used by the Web site and the type and size of any databases that the Web site may be using. Determining a Web site’s specific hosting needs is usually best left to a professional Web designer/developer. 

Web hosting is an integral factor in Web site ownership and maintenance. Choosing the wrong Web hosting solution can be an expensive mistake. And don’t think I was being facetious when I mentioned the roof and the lawn. Web hosting companies maintain the peek performance a Web server needs to quickly get a Web site to its viewers. And they make back-up files of all Web site data so, if something does go wrong, their trained professionals can have the Web site up and going again as fast a possible. Unless your company has the money and the in-house expertise involved in maintaining your own Web server, finding a good, reputable Web hosting company should be one of the first steps you take when you decide your company needs a Web site.