Find a Web Host

PROFESSIONAL HOSTING | FREE HOSTING

A web host is what makes your website accessible to the web.   Before you have a web host, your website is simply a file on your computer, only accessible to you. Your web host takes that file and puts it on their server (the server is basically a huge computer for the purpose of running services such as this) which can handle putting it on the web and deal with the traffic that comes by.   Thus, your site is made public to the web, and anyone can see it!  The web host is the beginning of your interaction with the public, so it’s important to choose a good one for your needs.

More than 95% of webhosts are professional–as in, you pay something for them. What “professional” means varies.  Shared servers, dedicated servers, and cloud servers are all different professional web hosts (and you can learn more about them from our professional webhosts page). You can expect to pay anywhere from under five dollars to several hundred dollars a month for professional webhosting.  Good hosting doesn’t have to break the bank: there are quality hosts that cost a reasonable amount.  The factors that influence the price include:

The amount of memory your site will occupy on the host’s computer

The speed with which you want your visitors to be able to connect to your site,

The amount of traffic you generate to your site

The ability to handle secure transactions and have unlimited email accounts on your site

ET CETERA, ET CETERA

Basically, the more popular/fancy/speedy your site is, the more you may have to pay.

There is also the option of free web hosting, but beware that you’re probably getting what you pay for.   Usually the free hosts offer you free space on their server, but put advertising (like a banner on the top of the page, or a pop-up window) on your site.   Free hosts may be the right match for a self-run website, but check it out on our free hosts page.