What is Hosting? What Does Hosting Do?
What is Hosting?
Websites are built on a land just like real life sites. The virtual land required to publish a website is called "hosting". Hosting and web hosting an English term.
Hosting is the service of storing all the files of your web page on a computer 365 days a year and keeping them accessible. These computers are called "servers" or "web servers".
Web servers are machines that are more specialized in terms of hardware than the computers in your home or office. Servers are hosted in places called "datacenter" or "data center". Data centers have very high speed internet connection, no power outages, and are protected against natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. For this reason, your sites will be accessible to your visitors under all circumstances.
What Does Hosting Do?
he images, written content, function files, in short, everything necessary for the publication of your website is stored in your hosting account. When visitors type the address of your site into their web browser, they are directed to the server where your site's files are hosted. Without having a hosting account, it is not possible to publish your site on the web.
What are Hosting Types?
Hosting service; They are offered to the market under various names according to the size of the resources required for your site's needs, the operating system used by the server and the type of provision.
Hosting Types According to the Operating System Used
Since web servers are actually computers, they need an operating system just like the computers in your home or office. There are two different types of hosting according to the operating system.
Linux Hosting
Also known as "Linux-based hosting". It is the type of hosting that uses the Linux operating system. It is ideal for hosting sites that use PHP, MySQL, Perl and Cgi. In addition, popular CMS systems such as WordPress and OpenCart are hosted with the best Linux hosting packages.
Windows Hosting
Also known as "Windows-based hosting". It is the type of hosting where the Windows operating system is used. It is ideal for hosting sites written in ASP coding language. In addition, applications developed on the .NET Framework run on the most stable Windows hosting. Windows hosting is also the type of hosting where MSSQL and Access database works best.
Hosting Types by Sharing Type
One site can be hosted on the servers where the hosting service is provided, or multiple sites can be hosted by fragmenting them with various methods. Hosting service can be examined in four groups according to the sharing type.
Dedicated Server
It is also called "physical server". It is a type of hosting where the entire server (therefore all server resources) belongs to the customer. Dedicated server users can host one site on this server, or they can host multiple sites with various virtualization methods.
VDS
It was created by abbreviating the initials "Virtual Dedicated Server" in English. It can be translated into our language as "Virtualized Physical Server". VDS packages allow a physical server to be used as more than one physical server through various programs. If a dedicated server is divided into VDS, each VDS has its own operating system and resources. In other words, some of the VDS accounts on a server may use a Linux operating system, while others may use a Windows operating system.
In VDS hosting packages, server resources are assigned separately for each VDS. For example, one of the 2 VDS accounts on a physical server with 2 TB storage space can be assigned 512 GB storage space, while the other can be assigned 1536 GB storage space. It is also possible to determine other resources such as traffic and RAM in this way.
VPS
It is named with the abbreviation of the initials "Virtual Private Server" in English. It can be translated into our language as "Virtualized Private Server". Just like VDS packages, it is created by virtualizing a physical server and separating it into different physical servers. The difference from VDS is the common use of server resources. In other words, in this hosting model, VPS accounts installed on the server use RAM, CPU and other resources in line with their instant needs.
Shared Web Hosting
It is sold in the market under the name "shared hosting". As the name suggests, it is used to host many websites on one server. In shared hosting accounts, only one site can be hosted on an account. Resources such as CPU and RAM are shared by all sites on the server. For this reason, your site may experience access problems due to excessive resource consumption of other sites on the server. Because it is economical, it is ideal for sites that have few visitors and do not need too many resources.
Other Hosting Types
In addition to the hosting types listed above, there are four other hosting services on the market called "WordPress Hosting", "Cloud Server", "Business Hosting" and "Email Server".
WordPress Hosting
It is a type of hosting specially optimized for WordPress usage. It is allocated over Linux-based servers. Since websites published using WordPress consume a lot of server resources; this web hosting product has been preferred in recent years.
This hosting package is usually sold with WordPress installed. Many applications and free themes that will make your site more functional are also installed as standard. In addition, any updates to the WordPress software itself are automatically received.
WordPress hosting packages usually do not have access to the hosting panel. When you want to edit WordPress files, a plugin called WP-CLI is used. This plugin creates a command line in the admin panel and editing of theme, plugin, system files is done from this command line.
SSD is used for storage space in WordPress hosting. Since disk read and write capacity is faster than HDD, visitors' access to content becomes faster.
Weak aspects of WordPress in terms of security are made stronger with various security patches. In addition, different software is used for caching to make the site run faster.
It is also possible to use CDN services and SSL certificates in some packages. It is also sold in packages where it is possible to use subdomains.
The first of the two biggest disadvantages is that if you want to publish your site in a different script other than WordPress, this is not possible without changing your hosting type. The second disadvantage is that since there is no server access, it does not allow you to make any optimizations you may need on your server.
Cloud Hosting
This technology, which can be translated into our language as "cloud server", can be defined as obtaining virtual physical servers from a server pool consisting of many physical servers, using virtualization method.
The biggest advantage of cloud servers is that server resources can be increased or decreased over a panel, as needed. When your needs for system resources change, you do not need to physically change a server.
Your site is not negatively affected by any hardware failure that may occur on cloud servers. Instead of the reduced resource due to failure, resources are provided from other servers in the server park. Therefore, your website will not be down or lose speed until the related malfunction is fixed.
The visitor who wants to access a site hosted on a cloud server visits the server located in the geographical location closest to him for access. To explain this situation with an example; Germany, Bulgaria, a visitor in Greece who wants to enter the site on a cloud server created by virtualization of physical servers on Turkey; It displays your site from the server in Bulgaria, which is the closest geographical location to it. In this way, the speed of access to your site and the speed of navigation within your site will be higher.
Today, many web hosting companies prefer cloud server solution in VPS packages. In addition, SSD storage technology is used in almost all cloud servers. Cloud servers created with HDD are relatively slower.
Corporate Hosting
It is a web hosting solution generally preferred by businesses with heavy e-mail traffic. The only difference from a normal Linux or Windows hosting service is that different technologies are used to send and receive e-mails more efficiently. In addition, the storage space is also larger so that e-mails can be stored in the system without being deleted.
E-Mail Server
It is preferred by businesses with very high e-mail traffic. This hosting type cannot host a website or any other application. The entire server is optimized to provide e-mail traffic perfectly.
Mail Hosting
When you look at it, it has the same purpose as an e-mail server, it is one of the most ideal solutions for businesses and institutions with very intense e-mail traffic. In these packages, which are created for e-mail use only, website publishing cannot be done.
Services Provided by Hosting Companies
Hosting companies offer services such as domain sales, domain transfer, ready-made site sales, SSL certificate sales, server maintenance and optimization, as well as web hosting services.
Depending on the type of hosting package you purchase, some of the above services may be included in the service you purchase. In order not to experience a future victimization in packages that include server maintenance and optimization, the limits of this service should be clearly learned before purchasing.
How to Ensure Hosting Security?
Hosting account; It is the most important element necessary for a site to continue its broadcast life without interruption. Therefore, its security must be ensured at a high level. In order to ensure the security of the hosting account, it is important to pay attention to the following points.
1. Use passwords that are difficult to guess. Create passwords using numbers, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, punctuation marks, and special characters.
2. Do not use the same passwords on your hosting account as you use on your social media accounts and email accounts. Learning these passwords, which are easier for malicious people to intercept, means learning the passwords to your hosting account.
3. Assign different passwords to all password-accessed areas of your hosting account, such as databases.
4. Periodically renew the passwords of all encrypted areas in your hosting account.
5. Use an on-screen keyboard when entering passwords for your hosting account.
6. Keep a note of the dates you access your hosting account and the dates you edit the files. Check the system logs to see if your account has been accessed or edited without your knowledge.
7. Do not give any file on the system a "chmod 777" value unless necessary. The ideal chomod values are "644" and "755".
8. Only use plugins, modifications and patches from trusted sources. Do not install software of unknown origin on your hosting account.
9. Always install antivirus software on your computer. Prevent malicious software that you may unintentionally download to your computer from accessing your information such as passwords.
Which Hosting Company Should I Choose?
What is more important than determining the features of the hosting package you choose is to be able to give a healthy answer to the question "which hosting company should I choose?". Because hosting service; It is a service that is generally used annually, and in some packages, it is a service used by prepaying monthly.
Like every service, the hosting service has a certain cost to the company that provides the hosting plan. Prices are close to each other in many of the leading companies in the sector. For this reason, if a hosting plan is sold at prices that are contrary to commercial logic, there is a danger of not being able to use that service until the end of the service period. Because many of the new companies entering the sector are trying to provide services at prices below cost in order to increase their customer base. If they cannot reach the number of customers they target, they disappear from the sector quietly because they cannot pay the data center costs. In such a case, there is a situation of not being able to access the files of your sites again. This means that both the money you pay and the effort you spend for your site will be wasted. For this reason, before the price of the hosting service, you need to pay attention to how long the company you will buy has been in the sector.
Another factor to consider when choosing a hosting company is the after-sales service policy of the business. Because websites are structures that can be accessed 24/7 and therefore 24/7 server-related technical problems may occur. A hosting company that provides technical support only during working hours may cause you to lose visitors because it will provide late support for problems that will occur outside of working hours.
Which Services Can Be Purchased Together with Hosting?
Domain Registration
Domain name is one of the essential services for publishing a website. This service, which represents your brand on the internet, must be carefully selected. Domain names that are not catchy and easy to pronounce will unfortunately not be sufficiently adopted by users.
If you have not registered a domain name yet, you can find the most suitable domain name for you by going to our Domain Inquiry page.
Corporate E-mail
In addition to being a high quota and frequently backed up service, corporate e-mail service provides you with superior protection with professional antispam filters. The standard e-mail service included in hosting packages has a low quota and a standard antispam filter. For this reason, corporate e-mail packages with high quota and professional antispam feature are recommended. You can choose a suitable package for you by reviewing our Corporate E-mail packages.
SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate creates a secure layer between websites and visitors' browsers, allowing information and data to be exchanged in encrypted form. If you have an e-commerce site, you must have a paid SSL certificate. Both the bank or organization you provide virtualpos requires this, and it will give confidence to users who will shop on your site. SSL certificates can be purchased for 1 year and 2 years. We recommend you to take a look at the SSL Certificate services we provide.
Hosting Selection for High Traffic Websites
The resource utilization and requirements of high-traffic websites are also higher than normal websites. The reason for this is that while each user performs transactions on the site, transactions also take place in the software. These processes also use a certain amount of resources. By resource, we mean RAM, CPU and IOPS values. The higher the optimization value of your site and the resource values of your hosting package, in parallel with this, the number of users your site can handle will increase.
Choosing Hosting for Low Traffic Websites
Sites with low traffic generally do not need a lot of resources. For this reason, there is no need to go through an unnecessary financial burden by purchasing hosting packages with very high resources. Considering the optimization value of your site, it is possible to save money by purchasing an average package.
Differences between Hosting vs. Server
We can explain the difference between hosting and server most clearly as follows. Imagine that you rent only one room of a house with hosting. Several other people live in the same house with you. Hosting is exactly like this. On a specific server, there are several more sites other than your sites. It is subject to certain rules and restrictions. However, in server service, the house is completely yours, you can set your own rules and you are the most authorized person. We have briefly explained the difference between this example. In addition, server service provides higher performance than hosting service.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hosting
Does a Good Hosting Improve the Speed of the Website It Hosts?
Of course, we mentioned it in our article. The processes in the software of your website use a certain system resource. For this reason, the configuration of the server is also very important. After all, the resources of the server will be used for the operations to be performed on your site.
Should I Get Technical Support for Hosting?
Provider companies provide standard support in hosting packages and there is no paid support service. As atakdomain.com, we also provide 24/7 technical support free of charge. When our members have any problems, they can reach us around the clock and find solutions to their problems.
Is There a Need for an Advanced Control Panel?
Control panels are generally an interface where you can easily perform all the operations you need in hosting packages. World-renowned control panels are very good in terms of timeliness and stabilization. The habits of the users are also very important here. Most users prefer hosting packages with a control panel they are used to and familiar with.
How to Prevent Hosting Attacks?
There are many types of hosting attacks. Software-based attacks, that is, attacks based on uploading malicious files, redirecting to another site or corrupting site files due to a vulnerability in your site software, can unfortunately be prevented by software interventions. However, in attacks such as DDOS, that is, attacks that are intended to keep the server busy and unable to respond, there is protection for such situations in the server's network system and firewall. These are blocked by the technical team of the company that manages your hosting package. There is no intervention that users can do.
Is Technical Knowledge Required for Hosting Management?
Yes, a little technical knowledge is required. At least having knowledge about the operations to be performed on the control panel will be a great advantage. However, if you have any problems, you can request help from our technical team.
Domain vs. What are the Differences Between Hosting?
As you know, the domain represents the name of your website in the digital world. For example, atakdomain.com is a domain name. There are many domain extensions such as com.tr. Other popular extensions are com, net, org, info, etc.
Hosting is the area where the software that will run on your website, images, in other words, all the files that bring your website together are uploaded. The hosting package is the service that directly affects the performance of your website and has features such as various CPU, RAM, disk.
What Should Be Considered When Choosing Hosting?
First of all, a hosting package should be chosen according to the software language in which the website you want to publish is written. That is, if your site is coded with PHP, you should choose Linux-based hosting packages, if it is written with asp.net, mvc, .netcore technologies, you should choose Windows-based hosting packages.
In addition, CPU, RAM and disk features in hosting packages with various features should be in line with the needs of your website. If these features remain low, the speed of your website will be very slow, and if it is more than normal, this will return to you as an excessive expense. Because as the features of hosting packages increase, their prices will increase proportionally.
