{"id":1868,"date":"2021-12-24T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themindedmarketing.com\/?p=1868"},"modified":"2021-12-31T11:58:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T11:58:15","slug":"what-is-web-hosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themindedmarketing.com\/what-is-web-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Web Hosting Guide – Everything You Need To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Disclaimer: This page may contain some affiliate links. If you click through and purchase an item, we may earn a commission<\/em>. Thank you for supporting Minded Marketing!<\/em><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have found yourself scratching your head at the word “web hosting” then you might be surprised to know that you are not the only one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matter of fact, I am still surprised by the number of people that still ask if there is a difference between WordPress and Bluehost.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust me, it is not that obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started my first blog 8 years ago, I accidentally hosted my site on a free wordpress.com<\/strong> domain and had no idea what I was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So to make sure you avoid making the mistakes that I made, I want to give you all the information you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just this weekend, in our Blogging 101 group<\/strong>, someone asked me to explain the basics of web hosting and the different services you can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you are also about to start your online journey and need to figure out how to start hosting your site, then this article is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Web Hosting?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"what<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you read my full Bluehost review<\/a> then you probably already know a little bit about what web hosting is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But take this as a refresher course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web hosting<\/strong> is basically when a company provides space and storage on the internet and then rents it out to people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s like carving your own little piece out of the internet pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They provide the servers, and you pay a fee to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is The Difference Between WordPress and Web Hosting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most beginners get confused and think that if they start their site on WordPress.com<\/a>, then is it a fully hosted website that they own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not necessarily the case.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress is essentially a CMS (Content Management System)<\/strong> meaning it was made to allow you to create and save content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, WordPress <\/strong>also provides hosting for your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have your website on wordpress.com<\/strong> and you are not paying for it, then you have what we call “free hosting”<\/strong> meaning you are not paying for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this also means that you will have a nice wordpress.com stuck to the back of your domain name. Like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.reallygreatsite.wordpress.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, it does not look so nice. You also will have a very limited amount of features available to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you decide to host your site on WordPress.org,<\/a> or any other hosting provider<\/strong>, you will be asked to choose a plan that you can pay for and actually own your own domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So your domain name would look like this instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

reallygreatsite.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do you get better features, but you have full ownership of your website and this is much better for your SEO as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is WordPress Hosting?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now you may be wondering then why you see something called WordPress Hosting<\/strong> on other hosting platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is because WordPress hosting is not limited just WordPress.org.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any hosting provider can decide to provide dedicated WordPress hosting as a plan as well. This means that you must use WordPress as your CMS.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have another CMS then you can not use WordPress hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are The Different Types Of Hosting Options Available?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know what hosting is and also know what WordPress hosting is, we can now move on to the most common hosting services<\/strong> that you can usually find with any provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These services are available for almost any CMS so if you don’t want to use WordPress then you don’t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I highly suggest that if you are looking to build a blog or website with a lot of authority in the future, then you are going to want to stick to WordPress.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is by far the easiest and most dominant CMS available with over 40% off all websites on the<\/strong> internet <\/strong>hosted on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just some food for thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared Web Hosting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are a beginner, most likely shared hosting<\/strong> is what you are going to want to start with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just because it is usually the cheapest plan but also because it is the one that is going to be the easiest to start with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared hosting basically means that you are sharing a server with other websites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I usually use an apartment metaphor to explain it a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared hosting is like renting an apartment in an apartment building<\/strong>. You have your own space, but you are sharing the building with other tenants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept is simple and is actually one of the best options for beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Shared Web Hosting Providers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n