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Web and Email Hosting - What they are and why they're needed

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Web and Email Hosting for Small Business Website

Any small business that uses the Internet as a business tool will need web and email hosting.

Let’s first quickly define “web and email hosting”. Most people reading this will already have an email account, which you normally get when you sign up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once signed up, you can access the Internet plus you get your own email address, something like “johno33@aol.com”.

In many cases a small business will sign up for an account with an ISP so it can access the Internet, and at the same time choose a name like “janesdecor@cox.net” for sending and receiving business emails.

So email hosting is taken care of once you have an account with an ISP, i.e. an email account is one of the services they provide. The only other thing you need for email is the software and this is usually bundled with your web browser. If you’re using Internet Explorer, you’re more than likely also using Outlook Express for your emails.

So when we say a small business will need web and email hosting, the email side of it is separate and fairly simple to set up through your Internet Service Provider.

When is Web Hosting Necessary?
The “web hosting” component is different and is only necessary once you’re ready to publish your website. Let’s look at how this works by using the analogy of a printed document.
Say you produce a brochure showcasing your products and distribute this to your customers. Each customer will file or store that brochure somewhere - in a filing cabinet, folder, desk drawer.

A website on the other hand will be stored on your computer's hard-drive (or that of your web designer), but that’s not much use for your customers as they can’t see it.

This is where the web hosting comes in. You will need to store a copy of your website with a web hosting company that has the hardware and expertise necessary to allow web surfers to see your site.

Companies that provide a web hosting service have computers with plenty of hard drive space where they will store all the pages of your website. They also provide permanent Internet connectivity, so are able to “serve” up your web pages whenever requested.

Hence the computers that store websites for serving to people browsing the Internet are called “servers”, while the people requesting the websites are known as “clients”.

Anyone surfing the web - the client - only needs to type in a web address and the site will be pulled by their browser from the relevant server.

Exactly how this happens is fairly complex and beyond my simple brain to understand.

All I do know is that there’s something called “The Domain Name System” (DNS) that helps users find their way around the Internet.

Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its “IP address” (IP stands for “Internet Protocol”).

Easy-to-remember Alias
Generally web surfers don’t see these numbers because the domain name (like “freds-friendly-hardware.com”) acts an easy-to-remember alias for the string of numbers.
Translating the alphabetical name into the IP address is called “resolving the domain name.” The goal of the Domain Name System is to allow any Internet user any place in the world to reach a specific website IP address by entering its domain name

But back to web hosting - this, because of the millions of websites that exist, is an extremely competitive, billion-dollar industry offering a multitude of options and pricing.

There are accordingly good, indifferent and bad hosting companies, so choosing carefully is crucial to the success of your business website.

Although it’s possible to run your own server and host your own site, this option demands complex technical expertise and equipment. That’s why most individuals and small businesses opt for one of the many web hosting packages available.

Next ... Best Web Hosting Sites

Last updated: August 2008. Copyright © 2006-2008 Scotch Macaskill, 18 Strawberry Fields, 36 College Road, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 33 3422811. Privacy: Your privacy is guaranteed. Personal information, including email addresses, will never be sold or given to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for further details.

Internet for Business
Web and Email Hosting - What they are and why they're needed
Home > Website Hosting > Web and Email Hosting Web and Email Hosting for Small Business Website Any small business that uses the Internet as a business tool will need web and email hosting. Let’s first quickly define “web and email hosting”. Most people reading this will already have an email account, which you normally get when you sign up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once signed up, you can access the Internet plus you get your own email address, something like “johno33@aol.com”. In many cases a small business will sign up for an account with an ISP so it can access the Internet, and at the same time choose a name like “janesdecor@cox.net” for sending and receiving business emails. So email hosting is taken care of once you have an account with an ISP, i.e. an email account is one of the services they provide. The only other thing you need for email is the software and this is usually bundled with your web browser. If you’re using Internet Explorer, you’re more than likely also using Outlook Express for your emails. So when we say a small business will need web and email hosting, the email side of it is separate and fairly simple to set up through your Internet Service Provider. When is Web Hosting Necessary? The “web hosting” component is different and is only necessary once you’re ready to publish your website. Let’s look at how this works by using the analogy of a printed document. Say you produce a brochure showcasing your products and distribute this to your customers. Each customer will file or store that brochure somewhere - in a filing cabinet, folder, desk drawer. A website on the other hand will be stored on your computer's hard-drive (or that of your web designer), but that’s not much use for your customers as they can’t see it. This is where the web hosting comes in. You will need to store a copy of your website with a web hosting company that has the hardware and expertise necessary to allow web surfers to see your site. Companies that provide a web hosting service have computers with plenty of hard drive space where they will store all the pages of your website. They also provide permanent Internet connectivity, so are able to “serve” up your web pages whenever requested. Hence the computers that store websites for serving to people browsing the Internet are called “servers”, while the people requesting the websites are known as “clients”. Anyone surfing the web - the client - only needs to type in a web address and the site will be pulled by their browser from the relevant server. Exactly how this happens is fairly complex and beyond my simple brain to understand. All I do know is that there’s something called “The Domain Name System” (DNS) that helps users find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its “IP address” (IP stands for “Internet Protocol”). Easy-to-remember Alias Generally web surfers don’t see these numbers because the domain name (like “freds-friendly-hardware.com”) acts an easy-to-remember alias for the string of numbers. Translating the alphabetical name into the IP address is called “resolving the domain name.” The goal of the Domain Name System is to allow any Internet user any place in the world to reach a specific website IP address by entering its domain name But back to web hosting - this, because of the millions of websites that exist, is an extremely competitive, billion-dollar industry offering a multitude of options and pricing. There are accordingly good, indifferent and bad hosting companies, so choosing carefully is crucial to the success of your business website. Although it’s possible to run your own server and host your own site, this option demands complex technical expertise and equipment. That’s why most individuals and small businesses opt for one of the many web hosting packages available. Next ... Best Web Hosting Sites
Last updated: August 2008. Copyright © 2006-2008 Scotch Macaskill, 18 Strawberry Fields, 36 College Road, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 33 3422811. Privacy: Your privacy is guaranteed. Personal information, including email addresses, will never be sold or given to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for further details.