How to host a website

Learning how to how a website need not be complicated. I'm a web hosting expert now but I used to be a beginner and you have likely searched the same terms as I did back when I was starting out. Over that time I've learned a great deal about hosting. So, let me fast track you past my mistakes and straight to hosting your first website.

At this point you may also be wondering what the difference is between web hosting and website builders. On the face of it both seem very similar. In some cases, both could be described as an all-in-one solution to making and hosting a website but they differ in that with hosting your own site you get a lot more flexibility. To learn more about that we've also written about web hosting vs website builders.

If you're looking for a step-by-step guide, you won't find it here. That's because the onboarding and set up process is different for every host; however, this will guide you through the concepts of hosting so when you do host your website you'll have a much better idea of why you're doing things.

Fundamentals

You can host your website at home (but you shouldn't!). A website is a group of files stored on a computer. When someone enters the address of where that file is stored a request is sent out over the internet to that computer. The files are accessed and then information is sent back to the requester and the web page appears in their browser. Assuming nothing went wrong.

For this to work the computer on which the website is stored needs to always be on. It also needs to have an internet connection able to withstand many people using it at once. You may be able to have your friends and family all use multiple devices at the same time in your home but it's not the same. Downloads and uploads are different for home and business use. Similar to how a nightclub bouncer will let as many people leave as they like but limit how many people can go in.

Your home internet can probably handle a few people using it all at once but not lots of people trying to access a file stored on your computer at the same time. Plus, do you really want the entire world being able to access your home internet? Absolutely not. You also don't want the electricity bill of leaving your computer on 24 hours a day.

No. This is not a good idea at all. What you need is a server that you can rent from a web hosting company. This is essentially a remote PC that's secure, always on, and connected to a powerful internet connection. There will also be systems for if there is a power cut, bad actors trying to break in, and help maintaining it.

Domain names

How do people find a website on a server? The answer to this is the DNS system. Every server has an address. This is called an IP address. An IP address is a chain of numbers unique to every server. Trying to remember the IP address of every server your favourite websites are on is like trying to remember the phone numbers of all your closest friends and family. So, a domain name is linked to an IP address in the DNS system. This way, you can type techradar.com instead of 199.232.198.114 and get some brilliant advice!

Things you need to host a website

Necessary

• A server: needed to store your website and be available for when people want to access it
• A website: it goes without saying that you cannot host a website without a website.
• Software: You'll need to have software installed on your server otherwise it won't work. With shared hosting this is all installed and updated for you. If you use a VPS you'll have to install the software required for your site yourself (or pay their management service to do it for you).

Good to have

• A domain name: an easy to remember name to people can find and remember your website
• An SSL certificate: A file that is stored with your website that authenticates it. Without it Google and people might not trust your site.

More complicated things that you can ignore (as a beginner)

• A database system: to store your website files. This will all be set up for you.
• Server software: that your website requires (PHP, Node.js, nginx). Again, set up for you.
• Security configuration: to keep the bad guys out. Set up for you, but you'll still need to do basic security practices.
• A content management system: to help manage the content of your website. This will be installed for you.
• A hosting panel: to help manage your server.

Why can you just ignore this stuff? Because I am going to recommend that you use shared hosting and WordPress and with shared hosting and WordPress the host takes care of all these things for you. All you need to do is focus on building your website. So, now is a good time to briefly introduce the different types of hosting.

Hosting types

Shared

Your website is hosted on a server shared with other websites. The host (who you rent the server from) manages pretty much everything server side and there is one click WordPress installers to help you easily build a site. We've written extensively about the benefits and drawbacks of shared hosting.

VPS

Your website is in an isolated environment that you fully control. If you use a VPS you then have to worry about all those more complicated things that I said you can ignore. You can learn more about shared vs VPS hosting but it's not something I recommend a beginner gets into unless its for a fun personal project rather than a serious website.

Dedicated

Your website is on it's own hardware and is fully isolated. You won't need this. You can read more about shared hosting vs dedicated hosting but at this stage you can ignore it.

Cloud

With cloud hosting Your website will share a pool of resources with other websites. This is more for enterprise customers but there are also benefits for startups using it too. You can learn more about cloud hosting in our guide

Picking the right web host and server

If you want a blog or portfolio, you can get by with the entry plans of some of the best web hosting providers like Hostinger, DreamHost, and SiteGround. These cost between $6 and $12 a month after renewal (SiteGround a little more). If you want to host an online store you'll be better off with the second level of plans from these hosts that are between $20 and $50 a month.

How to host a site

The simple way

Now you know some of the basics, I can tell you hosting a site is as simple as picking a web host and pushing a button to install WordPress (or not if it's preinstalled). Why install WordPress? Well, when you get a web host all you're getting is the server (and probably a domain name and other things thrown in too). You actually need to make the website to have a website and for this I recommend WordPress because every host supports WordPress and it's free and opensource. So, if after you've built your site you need to change your web host you can do it easily and keep the same website (you cannot do that with a website builder). All the best web hosting providers have WordPress hosting but for a deeper look at why they're good for WordPress you can check out my best WordPress hosting guide.

The more complex way

You can host a site with a VPS server too but it's more complex. First, you'll need to buy the VPS (I can recommend one of the best VPS hosting providers), then you'll need to upload files to it. Some hosts allow you to do this with a hosting panel for the server. Others will just give you the credentials needed to upload files via a file transfer service.

Summary: How to host a website

Hosting is so simple now that it really is down to just clicking buttons. Sure, you can make things more complicated and you might want to look into how to register a domain name with a domain registrar rather than the host but you don't need to be a technical person. Buying hosting from any of the hosts mentioned on this page will get you a really smooth onboarding process that's suitable for beginners and also provides advanced features too that you can make the most of once you've mastered the basics.