 Many web sites are run on shared servers, where the number of sites hosted on a single server could run into the hundreds. Until recently, the next step up for a web site that had outgrown a shared server was to move to a dedicated server, which would host just that one site. Nowadays though, there is another choice – the virtual dedicated server. This is a server that has been partitioned into segments, each of which acts as a dedicated server. On a server of this type, there would be just a few web sites, with the effect that more of the servers’ resources would be available for each web site. As an example, a server may be portioned into 5 virtual servers. This would mean that each virtual server would have the use of 20% of the servers’ resources – processor time, hard disk space and so on. |
Many web sites are hosted on shared servers, where many different web sites share the hardware resources of one server. In contrast, having a dedicated server means that just one web site is hosted on that server. This means that all of the resources of that server - its processor power and hard drive space - are available for use by that web site. Dedicated servers are still owned by the hosting company though; the user is paying to rent the server for a period of time.
Anyone who intends to have a web presence will benefit from their own personal web hosting. Rather than relying on social networking sites, web hosting gives you all the tools you need to build a proper web presence. Many web hosting companies exist specifically to help people new to using web hosting and building web pages while others have enough utility that they will work. When considering web hosting for your own personal project, finding a company that is user friendly and offers features that you will use as well as those that you may need in the future are important.
A control panel is the administration portion of your web hosting account. It is an interface that you access to administer all the aspects of your account. You can typically control all portions of your site within the control panel without using any additional software including FTP software to upload files, though many people find it faster and easier to do so. Some web hosts use customized, proprietary control panels but most use one of the more popular platforms. Plesk is one of the control panel options that is preferred along with Server CP and Virtuozzo. However, the leader is in the industry is CPanel. Although there are some variances between the programs, they all have similar functionalities and features.
If you are new to web hosting and want to start an account, you may be overwhelmed at all the options that are available. In order to determine which hosting type best suits your needs you need to first understand the various types along with their primary features. Additionally, in order to determine which is best for you, it is necessary to analyze the features you want compared to the ones offered with each type along with your budget. You want a good balance of the primary features you need without paying for those you don't.
If you have considered web hosting but just feel overwhelmed, you are in the right place. Securing web hosting services can seem like a huge endeavor; whether you are setting up a personal page or have been tasked with getting a business onto the web. In reality, there are only a few decisions that need to be made to get started. Below are some of the things you should look at when considering web hosting options.
Blogging is extremely popular these days. Many businesses and personal sites use it to communicate with their customer base or visitors. Some people even use blog software as a CMS or content management system. There are several blogging platforms available, many for free but easily the most popular and most used is WordPress. WordPress is a free, open source blogging software that is easy to set up, easy to use and is highly customizable making is a leader in the industry. Because so many people use it WordPress web hosting has become its own niche in the industry.
When you go online, you are bound to stumble upon websites which compare the top 10 web hosting providers, enumerate their own version of the 
Whether you have a personal site that you use simply to blog on occasion or a global, large scale business, security is of utmost importance. Security is likely the aspect of web hosting that is most important to everyone, and if it is not, it should be. Lack of security can be devastating to a business if these problems result in loss of income or identity theft. Thus, it is important to understand what aspects of security you should look for and how to determine if your host provides security adequately.
Active Server Pages, or ASP, is a server-side scripting engine that allows web site developers to add interactive functions to web pages. Such dynamically-generated pages use input from the user to determine how a web page is presented. An example of its use would be to enable a web site visitor to log into a message board or to give access to a secure database. When ASP is used within a page, then the usual “.html” suffix is replaced with “.asp”.