Last week we looked at Domain Names, this week, Hosting! To have a website that is accessible to everyone it needs to be stored on a computer somewhere, and one that is permentantly connected to the internet as well. This can be done yourself on a computer at home but if you are thinking along those lines then these posts are not for you. Most people, especially beginners choose to host their website with a hosting company.
A Web Hosting company will provide space on a server where you can host (store the files of) your website. They also often offer other features such as:
- POP3 email accounts
- Database support (e.g. MySql, MSSQL)
- Site Building Tools
- eCommerce Tools
For a starter site you are unlikely to need a hugely expensive package, Brandstar’s hosting company Wildhosting.co.uk offer a starter package for just £12.50+vat, which is perfect for many, especially home users. Things to look for when buying your hosting pacakge:
- Amount of Disk Space, usually measured in either MB (Megabytes) or GB (Gigabytes)
- Bandwith – when a visitor comes to your site and views it they use some of the bandwidth you have been allocated to download the text information, images etc.
- Email accounts, it is far more professional to have sales@mycompany.com rather than my_company_sales@hotmail.com!
- The platform the server offering hosting on, either Linux or Windows. If the tool you want to use is written in PHP then you will want a Linux host, if it is written with asp/aspx then you will want a Windows host.
Often Linux hosts have Fantastico installed which helps beginners install tools to use on their website, such as WordPress, which we will look at next week! This saves you uploading your own choice of tool to your site and configuring the database!
A few exampls of hosting companies:
So there we are, hopefully you know enough now to start investigating which hosting package you want. Next week we can talk through some tools you can use to build your site! 
*this link is an affiliate link, we have to run the site somehow if you want a link without the affiliate link then try this one: www.123-reg.co.uk. Please note, our affiliate status has no effect on us recommending 123-Reg.