Choosing Web Hosting: Complete Guide for Beginners

Web hosting is the backbone of every website. Without good hosting, your website can be slow, unreliable, or even unreachable. In this guide, we explain everything you need to know to make the right hosting choice.

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the service that makes your website available on the internet. You rent space on a server where your website files are stored and served to visitors.

How Does It Work?

1. Visitor types your domain name in the browser
2. DNS translates the domain name to an IP address
3. Browser connects to the hosting server
4. Server sends your website files to the visitor
5. Browser displays the website

Types of Web Hosting

Shared Hosting

What is it? Multiple websites share the same server and resources.

Advantages:

• Affordable ($3-15/month)
• Easy to manage
• Maintenance by provider
• Good for beginners

Disadvantages:

• Limited resources
• Other sites affect performance
• Less control
• Security risks from neighbors

Suitable for:

• Small websites
• Blogs
• Portfolio sites
• Starting businesses

VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server)

What is it? You get a virtual "own server" on shared hardware.

Advantages:

• Guaranteed resources
• More control
• Better scalability
• Better performance than shared

Disadvantages:

• More expensive ($20-100/month)
• More technical knowledge required
• You are responsible for updates

Suitable for:

• Growing websites
• Online stores
• Business websites with more traffic
• Hosting multiple websites

Dedicated Server

What is it? A complete physical server exclusively for you.

Advantages:

• Maximum performance
• Full control
• No shared resources
• Maximum security

Disadvantages:

• Expensive ($100-500+/month)
• Technical management required
• Overkill for most sites

Suitable for:

• High-traffic websites
• Enterprise applications
• Specific compliance requirements

Managed WordPress Hosting

What is it? Hosting specifically optimized for WordPress.

Advantages:

• Optimized for WordPress
• Automatic updates
• Staging environments
• Expert support

Disadvantages:

• Only for WordPress
• More expensive than regular shared hosting
• Sometimes limited plugin support

Suitable for:

• WordPress websites
• Those who do not want technical management

Cloud Hosting

What is it? Your website runs on multiple connected servers.

Advantages:

• High availability
• Automatically scalable
• Pay-per-use pricing
• Built-in redundancy

Disadvantages:

• Variable costs
• More complex management
• Can become expensive during peaks

Suitable for:

• Websites with varying traffic
• Business-critical applications
• Projects that need to scale

JAMstack/Edge Hosting

What is it? Modern hosting for static sites and serverless functions.

Examples: Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages

Advantages:

• Extremely fast (CDN-first)
• Free tier often available
• Automatic deployments
• Modern development workflow

Disadvantages:

• Not suitable for all sites
• Requires modern stack
• Limited for dynamic content

Suitable for:

• Next.js, Gatsby, Hugo sites
• Marketing websites
• Documentation sites

Important Specifications

Storage Space

SSD vs HDD:

• SSD: Faster, more reliable, more expensive
• HDD: Slower, cheaper, more storage

How much do you need? | Website Type | Estimated Space | |--------------|-----------------| | Small website | 1-5 GB | | Medium site | 5-20 GB | | Online store | 20-50 GB | | Large site with media | 50+ GB |

Bandwidth

How much data can be sent monthly.

Rule of thumb: Average page size x Number of visitors x Pages per visit

Example: 2MB x 10,000 visitors x 3 pages = 60 GB/month

Tip: Choose "unmetered" where possible.

CPU and RAM

Important for:

• Dynamic websites (WordPress, etc.)
• Databases
• Concurrent visitors

Typical requirements:

• Small site: 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM
• Medium site: 2 CPU, 2-4 GB RAM
• Busy site: 4+ CPU, 8+ GB RAM

Uptime Guarantee

What does it mean? Percentage of time your site is accessible.

| Uptime | Downtime per year | |--------|-------------------| | 99% | 3.65 days | | 99.9% | 8.76 hours | | 99.99% | 52.6 minutes |

Minimum: 99.9% uptime guarantee

Security

SSL Certificate

Required for:

• All websites (Google ranking factor)
• Online stores (legally required)
• Login forms

Types:

• Let's Encrypt: Free, automated
• DV (Domain Validation): Basic
• OV/EV (Organization/Extended): Business

Backups

Requirements:

• Automatic daily backups
• At least 7-14 days retention
• Easy restore option
• Off-site backup storage

Note: ALWAYS make your own backups in addition to your host's.

DDoS Protection

Protection against attacks that overwhelm your site.

Minimum:

• Basic DDoS protection
• Traffic filtering
• Rate limiting

Firewall

• Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• IP blocking capabilities
• Malware scanning

Performance Factors

Server Location

Impact:

• Closer to visitors = faster
• Local hosting for local visitors

Solution: CDN for global reach

PHP Version

For WordPress/PHP sites:

• Latest stable PHP version
• Ability to upgrade
• OPcache support

Caching

Server-side caching:

• Varnish
• Redis
• Memcached

Check: Does the host support caching?

HTTP/2 and HTTP/3

Modern protocols for faster load times.

Required: HTTP/2 minimum, HTTP/3 as a bonus

Support

Types of Support

Phone:

• Direct contact
• Fast for urgent problems
• Not always 24/7

Live Chat:

• Quick response
• Easy switching
• Sometimes limited hours

Ticket/Email:

• Documented
• Not urgent
• Longer waiting time

What to Expect

Good support:

• 24/7 availability
• Technically proficient
• Fast response time
• Native language or good English

Red flags:

• Email only
• Long waiting times
• Non-technical agents
• Upselling as first response

Prices and Contracts

Typical Prices

| Type | Monthly Price | |------|---------------| | Shared | $3-15 | | Managed WordPress | $15-50 | | VPS | $20-100 | | Dedicated | $100-500+ | | Cloud/JAMstack | $0-50 |

Watch Out For

Introductory discount: $2.99/month often becomes $9.99/month after the first year.

Contract lengths:

• Monthly: Flexible, more expensive
• Yearly: Discount, commitment
• 3-year: Biggest discount, long lock-in

Hidden costs:

• Setup fee
• SSL (should be free)
• Backups
• Migration
• Domain

Popular Hosting Providers

Regional Providers

Advantages:

• Local support
• Local servers
• Familiar with local regulations

International Providers

Advantages:

• Often cheaper
• Larger infrastructure
• More features

Examples:

• Cloudflare (Pages/Workers)
• Vercel
• DigitalOcean
• Hetzner

Checklist for Choosing

Determine Your Needs

• [ ] Type of website (WordPress, custom, etc.)
• [ ] Expected number of visitors
• [ ] Storage space needed
• [ ] Budget per month/year
• [ ] Technical knowledge

Compare Providers

• [ ] Specifications vs price
• [ ] Uptime guarantee
• [ ] Backup policy
• [ ] SSL included
• [ ] Support options

Test Before You Choose

• [ ] Request trial period
• [ ] Test support quality
• [ ] Read recent reviews
• [ ] Check for hidden costs

Migration

When to Switch?

• Regular downtime
• Slow load times
• Poor support
• Better price elsewhere
• Need more resources

Migration Checklist

1. [ ] Backup everything
2. [ ] Choose new provider
3. [ ] Test on new environment
4. [ ] Prepare DNS (low TTL)
5. [ ] Migrate during quiet hours
6. [ ] Verify everything works
7. [ ] Update DNS
8. [ ] Monitor after migration

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upgrade later? With most providers, yes. Cloud hosting scales the easiest.

What if my site gets hacked? Good hosts help, but you are ultimately responsible. Good backups are essential.

Is free hosting an option? For hobby projects, possibly. For business use: no.

Should I keep my domain with the same provider? Not necessarily. It is often convenient to keep domain and hosting separate.

Conclusion

The right hosting choice depends on:

1. Type of website: WordPress vs custom vs static
2. Traffic: How many visitors do you expect?
3. Budget: What can you invest?
4. Technical knowledge: How much do you want to manage yourself?

Our recommendation:

• Start-up/small: Managed WordPress or JAMstack hosting
• Growing: VPS or Cloud hosting
• Enterprise: Dedicated or enterprise cloud

Need help choosing the right hosting? Contact us.

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