Website Hosting and Domain Names

When a hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website. Web hosting makes the files that comprise a website (code, images, etc.) available for viewing online. Every website you’ve ever visited is hosted on a server.

The amount of space allocated on a server to a website depends on the type of hosting. The main types of hosting are shared, dedicated, VPS and reseller. They are differentiated by the kind of technology used for the server, the level of management provided and the additional services on offer.

Table of Contents:

• • • • What is Website Hosting?
      • How Does Website Hosting Work?
      • Types of Website Hosting Plans
      • USA on the Web Hosting Features
      • Popular Hosting Plans to Choose from
      • How to Pick a Web Host
      • How to Host a Website in 3 Easy Steps
      • Questions to Ask Yourself
      • Advantages & Disadvantages of Hosting Plans
      • Frequently Asked Questions

How does website hosting work?

Web hosting works by providing a physical location (a server) where all the files and data that make up a website are stored. This server is connected to the internet and is designed to serve those files to users when they request to view a particular website.

Here’s a simplified overview of how website hosting works:

1. Domain Name Resolution: When a user enters a domain name (e.g., www.example.com) in their browser, a Domain Name System (DNS) server translates that human-readable domain name into an IP address. This IP address points to the server where the website is hosted.
2. Request and Response: The user’s browser sends a request to the hosting server for the website’s files. This request is typically made over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or its secure version, HTTPS.
3. Server Processing: The hosting server receives the request and processes it. It retrieves the necessary files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc.) that make up the website.
4. Data Transmission: The server sends these files back to the user’s browser over the internet.
5. Browser Rendering: The user’s browser receives the files and renders them into a visual representation of the website.
6. Interactivity and Dynamic Content: If the website has interactive elements or requires data from a database, the browser may send additional requests to the server to handle these interactions.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how web hosting works:

1. Server Hardware: Web hosting begins with a physical server, which is essentially a powerful computer designed to store and manage website files. These servers are typically stored in specialized facilities called data centers.
2. Server Software: The server is equipped with special software designed to handle requests from the internet, manage files, and execute various types of processes. Common server software includes operating systems (like Linux or Windows Server), web server software (such as Apache, Nginx, or Microsoft IIS), and other necessary applications.
3. File Storage: The website’s files, including HTML documents, images, videos, scripts, and other content, are stored on the server’s hard drives or other storage devices. These files are organized into a directory structure.
4. Domain Name System (DNS): When a user types a web address (e.g., www.example.com) into their browser, the browser needs to find out where the website is hosted. It does this by sending a request to a Domain Name System (DNS) server, which translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses. The DNS server then provides the IP address of the web hosting server.
5. Request and Response: When a user enters a website’s URL in their browser, the browser sends a request to the hosting server identified by the IP address provided by the DNS server.
6. Server Processes Request: The server receives the request and processes it. It locates the requested files and prepares to send them back to the user’s browser.
7. Data Transmission: The server sends the requested files back to the user’s browser over the internet. This is typically done using the HTTP or HTTPS protocols.
8. Browser Rendering: The browser receives the files and interprets them. It renders the HTML, applies CSS styles, executes JavaScript code, and displays images and other media.
9. Interactivity and Dynamic Content: If the website contains interactive elements or requires data from a database, the browser may send additional requests to the server to handle these interactions.
10. Ongoing Maintenance and Monitoring: Web hosting providers are responsible for the maintenance and security of the servers. This includes regular updates, security patches, and monitoring for any issues that may arise.

Different Types of Web Hosting:

• Shared Hosting: Multiple websites share resources on a single server.
• VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server): A virtualized environment where a physical server is divided into multiple virtual servers, each with its own dedicated resources.
• Dedicated Server Hosting: A single physical server is entirely devoted to one website or client.
• Cloud Hosting: Resources are spread across multiple virtual servers, often from different physical locations.
• Managed WordPress Hosting: Specifically optimized for WordPress websites.

Choosing the right type of hosting depends on factors like the type of website, expected traffic, budget, and technical requirements. It’s crucial to select a reputable and reliable hosting provider.

Types of Hosting Plans

               Shared Hosting

• • Shared hosting is when a website is hosted on the same server as many other websites. Most web hosting companies provide shared hosting. It’s cheap and easy to set-up which makes it a good fit for new sites which don’t expect a lot of traffic in the short term. It’s best suited for personal websites as well as those belonging to small and medium-sized businesses.

• • Anyone serious about digital marketing or running an online business should carefully review their shared hosting options and make sure that your provider can offer services such as USA on the Web’s Business SSD hosting, which is designed specifically for e-commerce websites. Shared hosting isn’t suitable for large sites with lots of traffic either. These sites need a dedicated server to accommodate a suitable amount of resources to guarantee decent website performance.
    

    VPS Hosting

    

    Virtual private servers (VPS) also known as virtual dedicated server (VDS), is when a virtual server appears to each client as a dedicated server even though it’s actually serving multiple websites. For this reason, VPS style hosting is considered to be the stepping stone between shared hosting and getting your own dedicated machine. The main difference between shared hosting and VPS is that clients have full access to configure the VPS which is much closer to dedicated style hosting.

    VPS is often used by smaller websites and organizations that want the flexibility of having a dedicated server, without the high costs implied.

    Dedicated Hosting

    

    Dedicated hosting (sometimes referred to as managed hosting or a dedicated server) provides entire servers to rent. This type of hosting is comparatively expensive when placed side-by-side with shared hosting plans; for this reason, it’s only really used when a website has a lot of traffic or when more server control is required.

    There is more to dedicated hosting than providing a single website with entire server equipment housed in a data center. It allows greater self-service server administration facilities. This is considered a more flexible arrangement because it allows total control over the server, its software and security systems. At the same time, however, you need to have the technical expertise on-hand to manage the platform yourself.

    Cloud Hosting

    

    Cloud hosting is the latest hosting type to hit the market, and it’s become extremely popular in recent years. This type of hosting operates across many interconnected web servers that supply an affordable, scalable and reliable web infrastructure. Cloud hosting plans typically offer unmetered, reliable bandwidth and an infinite amount of disk space for unlimited domains which explains why so many large businesses are turning to the cloud. It’s an effective method of running a website with resource-intensive applications or a large number of content assets such as images, but it can have a much higher cost.

    Reseller Hosting

    

    Reseller hosting is a form of web hosting where the account owner can use his or her allotted hard drive space and bandwidth to host a website on behalf of third parties. The original hosting account owner is the ‘reseller’ in this instance. Reseller hosting is beneficial when the amount of space purchased isn’t required, and some of the allocated resources can be shared with another party. Sharing disk space, bandwidth, CPU, etc. while getting a recurring source of income.

    Hosting providers offer specific reseller hosting plans to accommodate entrepreneurs interested in this business practice. Buying a reseller hosting plan is also helpful for anyone with multiple domains. You may design your own hosting packages for your websites or clients gives the resources allocated to the reseller hosting account.

    How to Pick a Web Host

    Your selection of an appropriate and reliable web hosting service provider is an important step in coming online, especially if you are launching a business website. Hosts not only make your site available to others, but they also offer services related to managing these servers and its software, support, bandwidth, speed and so on.

    Free web hosting comes with a cost

    Bandwidth Allowance

    Bandwidth allowance (sometimes loosely referred to as “traffic” or “data transfer”) is the number of bytes required to transfer your site to all of your visitors when they browse your content. Does the hosting provide enough space for your needs? To give you a rough idea of the typical traffic requirements of a website, most new sites that don’t provide video or music on their site use less than 3 gigabytes of bandwidth per month. If you anticipate quick future expansion or your needs include sound, video, etc., then consider the extra space offered by a paid hosting provider.

    If you’re thinking about going for a free host, think first about the size of your site and how many visitors you expect on a daily basis. Many free web hosts impose daily or monthly limits on the amount of traffic your website can use. If your content includes lots of images or videos that attract over the “agreed” amount of visitors (traffic) per day/ week/ month, the host is within its rights to disable your website for breach of contract – or send you a bill.

    Another consideration before using free hosting providers is that they frequently impose a maximum size on the files you upload. If you wish to distribute software or high-resolution imagery, a paid host offers you the ability to load the larger file sizes you’ll need.

    Advertising

    Many, but not all free hosts impose advertising on your website to cover the costs of providing your site with free web space. Most people are put off by commercial banners and pop-ups. Sites littered with adverts are generally considered low quality and even spammy, which is an immediate put-off. To be on the safe side, check the fine print to see if adverts are expected in exchange for free hosting before you sign-up.

    Upgrade Options

    Look out for is whether a host gives your site room to grow. Most new sites start on shared hosting which is pretty powerful these days. However, as you expect a website to grow over the years, you might need to consider a more powerful server (virtual private or dedicated for example). Check the host has suitable plans to upgrade to and that the process is as straightforward as possible.

    Why pay for web hosting?

    Uptime (reliability)

    Reliability is extremely important for both free and paid services, but you should only expect any real reliability with a paid hosting plan. It’s likely that you’ll want your website to operate 24/7, and you’ll only get that from a web host with reliable servers and stable network connections. Before you decide on a host, check out its uptime history. You can read reviews and check their advertised uptime guarantees.

    A site that is hard to reach or frequently down loses visitors, customers, and can hit revenue hard. If someone finds your site and tries to access it only to find that it’s unavailable, they won’t hesitate to go to a competitor site. Slow access is also very frustrating for dedicated visitors (and for you also, when you upload new content).

    Traffic/Bandwidth

    Read and understand any limitations placed on the bandwidth you use and select an appropriate plan. If your site is going to incorporate video, audio, or other elements that require a higher level of bandwidth, you want a plan that matches your needs.

    PHP, .htaccess, SSH, MySQL, FTP etc

    If you need to install PHP or Perl – make sure you can do this without needing your host’s approval. If not you will have to wait for their say so before you can implement a feature on your site.

    Assuming you want to do things like customizing your error pages (the messages displayed when visitors land on an extinct page on your site), protect your site from bandwidth theft and hotlinking, etc. and to password-protect your folders, you’ll need the ability to create or modify “.htaccess” files.

    SSH access is useful for maintaining databases such as MySQL and when you want to run a blog or a content management system.

    FTP is a popular method to transfer web pages and other files from a local computer onto a web hosts computer (servers) so that it can be viewed by anyone worldwide. Some hosts only don’t allow you to design and upload your own pages. Instead, they ask that your pages are designed and uploaded using their online site builder. Unless you are an absolute beginner and plan a pretty trivial site, make sure you have FTP access or the ability to upload your pages by email or browser at the very least.

    Control Panel

    The purpose of a control panel is to allow you to manage various aspects of your websites hosting account yourself. You should expect a control panel from a commercial host so you can perform everyday maintenance tasks without having to wait for technical support to make simple changes. A ‘cPanel’ provides a simple dashboard to manage email addresses, account passwords and basic server configurations. It can be time-consuming to go through a technical support operator or be obliged to pay an additional fee each time you want to perform simple admin tasks.

    Multiple Domains Hosting

    It’s common to own more than one domain, they’re cheap these days, and it’s hard to resist owning a few. In this case, you need to accommodate extra domains with extra hosting space. To simplify the hosting process, it’s possible to host more than one domain from a single account. Each separate website hosted on the same account is called an add-on domain. Most shared hosting providers allow addon domains. It’s advisable to check in advance how they charge for it.

    Cost

    With web hosting as with everything, you often get what you pay for. If you have a basic website not expecting a large amount of traffic, expect to pay between $10 to $150 per year for shared hosting. Higher capacity hosting plans can start at $150 and go up from there.

    Most commercial hosts offer the flexibility to choose how you want to pay with monthly and annual payment plans; the latter gives you a cheaper rate. Once you’re reassured they offer a reliable service, you can switch to the cheaper annual payments, or switch hosts quickly if they don’t meet your expectations.

    Finally, let’s discuss renewals. If you’re satisfied with the price of a package, check the price for renewals. It’s a norm in the industry to offer low signup prices but charge much higher amounts on renewals. Unless you are ok with switching between hosts every few years, renewals prices are unavoidable.

    Email

    If you want to host email accounts alongside your website, check that your host allows you to set up the email addresses you want on your domain – before signup. It looks a bit shabby to have a random email address not associated with your domain: How much more professional does info@yourdomain.com sound over info.yourdomain@gmail.com?

    In the case that emails are provided, it’s not a big deal. There are other ways to get your hands on an email account at your own domain name.

    How to Host a Website in 3 Easy Steps

    1. Buy a domain name

    Any website needs a name. Therefore, the first step is to register a domain name for your future website. The name of the website will become its permanent address where users can find it on the Internet. A unique domain name can be registered through an accredited company or purchased from the current owner.

    2. Select a hosting provider and a hosting plan

    With a domain name, you need to think about choosing a reliable hosting provider. Hosting services allow you to host your website on the supplier’s server and eventually make it available to the whole world. Domain name registrars often offer web hosting services as well, e.g. Namecheap. But you can also use a domain name and hosting from different providers.

    3. Choose a hosting plan

    Choosing a hosting type is an important step in the process of hosting your website. There are five main types of hosting solutions: Shared, Managed WordPress, VPS, Dedicated Server, and Reseller. Choose a hosting based on the tasks that you plan to solve. For small personal blogs, business card websites, freelance portfolios, and smaller-sized companies – Shared Hosting is the best choice to start your journey. VPS and Dedicated Servers can be excellent solutions for online stores, digital service providers, and highly-loaded information resources. These plans offer a high level of control and ensure that computing resources are allocated to a customer’s exclusive needs.

    Why you need web hosting

    When it comes to hosting your website on the web, a hosting service is the first thing that gets in your way. The hosting service itself is easiest to compare with renting space for your store or shop window. The name of your website (domain name) resolves with the server address where your website is stored, such as the address book of your city that contains the addresses of stores or other public places. The only difference is that when the user enters the name of your website into the address bar of their browser, they are instantly sent to your website, and your hosting provider provides the resources you saved to display the requested page.

    Due to the fact that the concept of web services has been rapidly evolving over the past decade, the field of web hosting has evolved greatly and today it provides a huge selection of various solutions for any requests and needs. These so-called “bundled offerings” differ in the technology used for the server, the level of control offered, the traffic quotas, and the resources. In a competitive environment, hosting providers try to create solutions that are ready-to-use for any customer and meet any budget. However, you can’t get everything for a penny. That being said, anyone today can find a suitable website hosting option for themselves without spending too much on a service that you do not need.

    Hosting providers simplify and help their clients with all the preparatory stages and do everything so that you do not abandon your idea because of initial problems. Later in this article we will discuss how to choose the right type of web hosting for you and will introduce you to other details and additional services that any reliable hosting provider has.
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    Questions to Ask Yourself

    Picking the right web host is easy if you know what your website needs from a host. To help with that, ask yourself the following questions.

    What type of website am I building?

    Different types of websites come with different technical requirements. For example, a WordPress website will have different technical requirements than a static HTML website. First and foremost, think about how your website is going to be built. You’ll then be more familiar with things like the coding languages and databases your web host needs to work with.

    Do I need email hosting?

    We’ve discussed the benefits of setting up email addresses associated with the domain name of your new website. It would be a shame to miss out on this by overlooking whether your web host provides email hosting that fits your needs.

    How much data will I be storing and serving?

    The bandwidth you’ll require from your web host is not just a matter of traffic; it also depends on the file loading size of the webpages. If your website is packed with data-heavy pages, the more storage and bandwidth you’ll need your web host to have. On the other hand, a predominantly text-oriented site, such as a personal blog, will need a smaller amount of storage space and less bandwidth, while a photographic gallery with lots of high-quality images will need larger amounts.

    How much traffic do I expect?

    Most likely your traffic will start pretty low but, if you plan to build it up to higher levels, you’ll need a flexible plan where you can increase your bandwidth capacity as time goes on.

    What is my hosting budget?

    Think of a ballpark idea of how much you can afford to spend on hosting. If your budget is limited, your service might not include all the bells and whistles. If your budget is a bit more flexible, you might get some extra perks, such as free SSL.

    How technically proficient am I?

    The beauty of the Internet these days is that it’s possible for anyone, no matter their expertise, to set up a website. Certain types of website management tasks will require a bit more experience. If you don’t have the experience to administrate your server, leave it to the professionals and use a fully-managed web hosting service where everything is done for you. If your website creation plans relate to a personal blog or a small business, Managed WordPress Hosting like Namecheap’s EasyWP is a solid option.

    Already got hosting? Check out these step-by-step instructions on how to connect hosting with your domain and more ?

    3. Choose a web hosting plan

    Now that you’re up to speed on some of the features web hosts offer, it’s time to choose a hosting plan to bring your website online. When you browse between various web host’s products you’ll see five main packages on offer: Shared, Reseller, Dedicated Server, VPS, and Managed WordPress. Let’s outline briefly what each of these hosting types are.

    Advantages & Disadvantages of Web Hosting Plans

    Shared (Website) Hosting

    More or less considered the “entry-level” of hosting, Shared Hosting is when you and other customers are given access to one physical server so you’re essentially sharing or “renting” the same key resources (e.g. CPU, RAM, disk space, etc.). And, because you’re not paying for the full server costs – only the parts you’re using – the price is super affordable.

    Advantages

    • Cheapest hosting available (Stellar Shared Hosting from Namecheap starts at $1.44/month)
    • Ideal for any first-time, low-traffic, or low-bandwidth website
    • Requires minimal tech expertise

    Disadvantages

    • Has specific LVE limits (may be not enough for high-traffic websites)
    • Limited amount of storage space
    • Website performance can fluctuate, depending on other customers’ usage levels
    • Shared Hosting is the most popular type of hosting because it’s cheap and easy to set up. It’s ideal for any brand
    • new, low-traffic and low-bandwidth website.

    Managed WordPress Hosting

    Unlike the other hosting options we’ve discussed so far, EasyWP Managed WordPress Hosting from Namecheap is ready to go within just a few minutes. With other types of web hosting, there’s a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to install WordPress (or another CMS) and managing the technical aspects. Not so with Easy WP – its 30-second, one-click installation takes care of everything for you. Particularly appealing to both tech novices and more experienced developers alike, EasyWP is easy to use, but also offers a huge range of themes and plugins to customize your website to your heart’s content.

    Advantages

    • Easy setup – ready to use at just the click of a button
    • Faster than WordPress websites that use traditional Shared Hosting
    • Quickly manage all your WordPress websites from one dashboard with a single login
    • Easy migration service

    Disadvantages

    • Less control over the technical side of your website and server management and may not appeal to more advanced users
    • EasyWP Managed WordPress Hosting is the perfect option for those who don’t want to be so hands-on with the technical side of the running of their WordPress website. With its single dashboard and easy-to-use interface,
    • you can focus on learning how to use WordPress itself and producing quality content.

    VPS Hosting

    A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is somewhere between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Server Hosting when it comes to price and performance. Consider it the next best thing to having your own Dedicated Server, since a VPS is almost as good as having a private server. A VPS, in essence, divides a single server into separate virtual servers. Similar to Shared Hosting, there are multiple customers (websites) running on the same servers, but with a VPS, the number is far, far fewer and you have dedicated resources at your disposal. Similar to a Dedicated Server, with a VPS, you’ll have to take care of technical tasks related to your server.

    Advantages

    • Solid and reliable performance
    • Cheaper than a Dedicated Server
    • Customizable server setup
    • Enough storage space and bandwidth to power data-heavy, busy websites

    Disadvantages

    • More expensive than Shared Hosting
    • Requires technical knowledge if you go with a self-managed VPS plan
    • VPS is popular among website owners who need more storage and bandwidth than Shared Hosting offers.
    • A VPS user might find Dedicated Server Hosting above and beyond their needs regarding price and flexibility. Similar to a Dedicated Server, be sure to look for a fully managed option with your VPS if you don’t have the skills or any help with the handling of server administrative tasks.

    Dedicated Server Hosting

    When you purchase Dedicated Server Hosting, you won’t be sharing a server or any resources with anyone, and you get an entire server to yourself. This style of hosting gives you more control. You can configure everything on the server because it’s typically self-managed, which doesn’t suit all webmasters.

    Using this type of hosting means you have to take care of all the technical tasks that the hosting company would normally handle for you in a Shared Hosting service. Although there is the option of fully-managed Dedicated Server Hosting, this comes at an additional cost and is not typically included with most hosting providers.

    Advantages

    • A Dedicated Server means you’re not sharing with other websites and won’t be affected by others
    • More storage space and bandwidth than Shared HostingDisadvantages

    Disadvantages

    • Most expensive type of hosting
    • Requires advanced technical knowledge
    • Dedicated Server Hosting is the ideal choice for websites with a very large bandwidth and storage requirements.
    • If you don’t have the technical expertise or time to manage your own server and you don’t have anyone available to help, fully managed Dedicated Server Hosting from Namecheap is the right choice for you.

    Reseller (Website) Hosting

    Reseller Hosting is another form of Shared Hosting. With this style of hosting, you are permitted to sub-rent portions of your own allocated hosting space to others. A Reseller plan typically comes with a special dashboard where you can divide up your space into sub-accounts, allocating storage space and bandwidth.

    Advantages

    • Cheaper than a VPS
    • Typically more storage and bandwidth than Shared Hosting
    • Much less administrative work than VPS and Dedicated Servers
    • Great for when you want more resources than the limited ones available in Shared Hosting plans

    Disadvantages

    • Performance could be affected if other accounts sharing the server use more than their share of the resources
      There are fewer resources than with a VPS

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    USA on the Web Hosting Features

    • Host your business with zero downtime thanks to
    • USA on the Web’s Cloud Storage!
    • Cloud Storage gives you:
    • 100% uptime
    • The highest performance
    • True stability
    • Data protection

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    FEATURES

    Expect the Latest Technology
    Enhance your efficiency with the PowerEdge M1000e Blade Enclosure, Dell’s state-of-the-art shared datacenter infrastructure. Here every compartment is fully redundant, from the power supply to the network card, featuring high-speed SAN that delivers 100% uptime, unparalleled performance, and reliability. Learn more about Shared Hosting hardware specifications →

    Develop with Ease
    No wonder web developers prefer to host with us. Our Shared Hosting servers feature the latest software versions available, including but not limited to: your choice of CMS, Jailshell SSH, PHP, support for Perl, Python, Node.js, and Ruby scripts as well as various databases. Learn more about Shared Hosting software versions →

    Hosting You Can Trust
    All of our web hosting plans are backed by Namecheap’s Hosting Guarantee. This guarantee represents the highest quality you can expect from Namecheap and underlines our commitment to providing excellence in our hosting division. In addition to providing regular backups, 100% uptime, and efficient firewalls, we consistently monitor your server for security updates.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is Shared Hosting best for?

    Shared Web Hosting is an entry-level type of web hosting where one physical server hosts multiple websites (and often hosts hundreds of users). Since each user gets (“shares”) a section of that individual server where they can host their website files, this keeps costs low. Here users share system resources on-demand, receiving a percentage of databases, disk space, CPU, RAM as well as email and FTP accounts.

    Other resources include the single MySQL server, Apache server, and mail server. Considered the most cost-effective option, Shared Server Hosting offers enough resources for any startup, local business, or personal website. Learn more about Shared Web Hosting →

    How do I start using my Shared Hosting account?

    To turn your new Shared Hosting account into your personal website, simply follow these step-by-step instructions: Shared Hosting — Getting Started.What is cPanel?

    cPanel is a control panel that acts as a separate account, designed for managing your Shared Hosting service on the server. You’ll be able to build your website with our Website Builder as well as upload and manage files, create email accounts, and check the stats of your sites — all in one place. Your cPanel login details are found in your Welcome Email.Is USA on the Web Shared Server Hosting cloud-based?

    What is Cloud Storage?

    Designed to handle a variety of hardware and software-stack failures, Cloud Storage reinforces your data with an extra layer of protection by distributing it across various servers. Featuring zero downtime and the highest performance, it provides you with the utmost stability. Learn more about Cloud Storage for shared server hosting →
    What websites can be moved from another hosting provider with Namecheap’s free migration service?

    Will Shared Web Hosting work with my WordPress website?

    Yes! With our Softaculous one-click installer you’ll get your WordPress website up and running in no time. Want to know how to start building your WordPress website? Read through our simple guide →

    What should I pay attention to when choosing a shared server hosting provider?

    Besides the pricing, there are some important criteria to think about when deciding what hosting provider to use. You should look for uptime, server speed, traffic and resource limits, customization opportunities and what type of support they offer. Learn more here about affordable Shared Hosting.

    Should I choose VPS Hosting instead of Shared Web Hosting?

    What is a CDN and how do I use it?

    A content delivery network (CDN) is a group of distributed servers around the world to cache (store) and deliver assets (e.g. images and video) to your website visitors faster, no matter their location. In addition to faster website-loading times, a CDN also secures your website, protecting it from DDoS and/or cyber attacks. To take advantage of this web hosting tool, activate CDN by following this easy guide.

    Which server location should I choose and why is it important? Which datacenter locations do you offer?
    Your datacenter location all depends on where your website audience is located. For example, let’s say your user base is mostly in the UK. For this reason, we recommend choosing the UK datacenter. Cheap web hosting in Europe is possible, thanks to our sustainable EU datacenter, which covers audiences spread across Europe, Western Asia, and Africa. If your audience is US-based, the US datacenter location is recommended.

    What is EU hosting?

    How is hosting location-specific?

    It is ideal for your hosting server location to be as close to your audience as possible. If you need affordable hosting for Europe and/or Africa audiences then it’s a good idea to find Shared Hosting in Europe. This means your website and web pages will load faster, you’ll have higher search engine rankings, and you’ll boost your SEO. So for the best Shared Hosting EU, look no further than Namecheap’s EU datacenter, which is also 100% renewable energy-powered.

    Which hosting plan is right for me?

  • If you’re still undecided on which hosting plan is the best for you, you could consider alternative options. The quickest way to find guidance on this is by taking our online Hosting Quiz, which will point you in the right direction. The quiz will match you to the hosting plan that meets your specific requirements.

  • What is Shared Hosting?

    Shared Hosting is one of the most popular hosting packages because it provides an affordable way to get your website online. Shared Hosting works by allowing multiple users to share space on a single server maintained by the hosting provider (Bluehost). A Shared Hosting package can include multiple offers or combinations of features as offered by their hosting provider. Bluehost Shared Hosting is perfect for blogging, hobbies and small business websites.

    What are Shared Hosting Benefits?

    When you sign up for a Shared Hosting package, your biggest benefit is purchasing hosting at an affordable price. In addition to various features, our shared hosting platform is managed which means users don’t have to worry about server management and platform patches. When you purchase a Bluehost Shared Hosting package it also includes an SSL certificate, domain name and more!

    What is the difference between Shared vs WordPress Hosting?

    Anyone who has a website needs hosting to get their website online. Shared Hosting is a low-cost option for new users that is affordable and can be used with WordPress. Any website hosted through Bluehost automatically has WordPress installed and ready to use. Shared WordPress Hosting is fully integrated with all the WordPress features to include automatic WordPress updates and installation. For a more in-depth answer, head over to our blog and read shared hosting vs WordPress hosting.

    What is the difference between Shared vs VPS Hosting?

    When you have a Shared Hosting package you are one of multiple users hosting their website on a web server. This means a specific allotment of resources (RAM, CPU, etc) are not guaranteed for your website. Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting provides more space and bandwidth to manage a higher influx of traffic to your website. VPS Hosting in contrast to shared hosting, allows you to expand a website over time so you can easily scale up your website as it grows. Users have a much higher degree of control with VPS Hosting so you can customize your control configuration as you’d like. Learn more about VPS hosting vs shared hosting.

    How do I get started with Shared Hosting?

    USA on the Web strives to make it easy for our customers to get their website online with the purchase of our website hosting packages. When you visit the Bluehost website you will select your Shared Web Hosting plan. These plans vary in prices and features. Once you select your hosting package we will automatically install the latest version of WordPress for you. Once you’re logged in, it’s time to get your website online!

    What exactly is shared in shared hosting?

    Shared hosting allows multiple website owners to share space on a single server. This means that the server’s resources (RAM, CPU, etc.) are shared among all the websites hosted on that server. This makes it an affordable option for users who don’t require a lot of resources. For larger, more resource-intense websites, it may be better to go with VPS hosting or a dedicated hosting plan.

    Is shared hosting safe?

    Yes, shared hosting is safe. However, as multiple websites are hosted on the same server, there is a slight risk of one website affecting the others. That’s why it’s important to choose a reputable hosting provider, like Bluehost, who takes security seriously.

    Is shared hosting good for WordPress?

    Yes, shared hosting is a great option for WordPress websites. In fact, we offer automatic WordPress installation and updates with their shared hosting plans.

    How much traffic can shared hosting handle?

    The amount of traffic a shared hosting plan can handle depends on the amount of resources and bandwidth your website requires. Bluehost offers different shared hosting plans with varying amounts of resources and storage to handle different levels of traffic. If your website starts to outgrow your plan, you can always upgrade to a more powerful hosting option.

    How can I buy a domain for a shared hosting website?

    When you purchase a shared hosting plan with a provider like Bluehost, you can often get a free domain included with your plan. If you already have a domain, you can easily transfer it to your new hosting provider. You can check the availability of a domain here.

    Can I get a professional business email account with a shared hosting plan?

    Yes, most shared hosting plans come with the ability to create email accounts using your domain name. Learn more about getting a professional business email account with Google Workspace.

    Can I have an eCommerce store on a shared hosting plan?

    Yes, you can definitely have an eCommerce store on a shared hosting plan. You can also opt for an eCommerce-specific hosting plan with Bluehost’s WooCommerce hosting. This will ensure that your online store runs smoothly and securely.
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    Frequently asked questions

    What is hosting and what is it for?

    In order for your website to be seen online, you need a web hosting service. Web hosting services differ by how the servers are set up (i.e. the space allocated) and the type of access that people (aka hosting customers) have to them. Every website you’ve ever visited has a website hoster. The main types of website hosting are Shared, Dedicated, VPS and Reseller. Learn more about web hosting →

    What is Shared Hosting?

    Shared Hosting is a type of web hosting where a single physical server hosts multiple websites. Considered the cheapest hosting plan, many users utilize the resources on a single server, which keeps the costs low. Users each get a section of that server where they can host their website files. Shared servers can host hundreds of users. Each customer who uses the Shared Hosting server has access to such features as databases, monthly traffic reports, disk space, email accounts, FTP accounts, and other add-ons offered by the hosting provider. System resources are shared on-demand by users on the server, where each one gets a percentage of everything from RAM and CPU as well as the single MySQL, Apache, and mail servers. Learn more about cheap hosting plans →

    What is WordPress Hosting?

    Managed WordPress Hosting simply means that all technical aspects of running a WordPress website are taken care of (i.e. managed) by the web hosting provider. Namecheap’s Managed WordPress Hosting, EasyWP, also features a user-friendly dashboard that allows you to update, manage, and back up all of your future installations. This means that you don’t have to figure out how to use a control panel (cPanel or Plesk) to manage your website. (As a friendly reminder, cPanel is a dashboard that is used to control your hosting environment.)

    What is VPS Hosting?

    VPS Hosting is a type of web hosting that’s suited for those who have outgrown Shared Hosting. Since multiple websites reside on a single web server with Shared Hosting, with no guarantee of resources, VPS Hosting allows for fewer users to share allocated resources of hard drive space, memory, and processor power. Each user on a VPS server has access to a virtual machine that runs on its own copy of an Operating System (OS). This lets VPS Hosting customers experience similar capabilities and performance levels of a Dedicated Server for their web hosting services.

    What is Reseller Hosting?

    Reseller Hosting is a form of web hosting where the account owner has the ability to use their allotted hard drive space and bandwidth to host websites on behalf of third parties. In other words, the reseller purchases the hosting provider’s wholesale services and then sells them to their clients/customers for a profit. Want more info? Check out Namecheap’s “Getting Started” guide for Reseller Hosting.

    Why should I use Email Hosting from USA on the Web?

    Although some web hosting providers offer free email, there’s often very few features and little-to-no support included. Private Email Hosting from Namecheap, however, features a premium interface with way more flexibility and cloud power to manage all your communication—both personal and professional. Learn more about what we offer →

    What is your money-back guarantee?

    First-time EasyWP, VPS, Reseller and Shared Hosting customers are eligible for our 30-day money-back guarantee. Dedicated Server customers have a 7 days of refundable period. Addons for web hosting services and Private Email Hosting are non-refundable. Read more about our website hosting guarantee →

    Does USAon the Web provide an uptime guarantee for web hosting?

    Whenever you purchase hosting from us, we offer you a monthly uptime guarantee. If for some reason we don’t deliver on this guarantee, which is determined by Namecheap, you’ll be eligible for a prolonged service cycle—depending on your chosen web hosting plan. Learn more →

    What web hosting plans are suitable for my WordPress website?

    All of our web hosting services, besides Email Hosting, work with your website. If you’re a beginner and you’re looking for the simplest way to host, we recommend EasyWP, which takes care of all the technical aspects, or Shared Hosting, which is one of the cheapest hosting plans and also features the free Website Builder tool. If you’re looking for web hosting that scales to your business needs, a VPS or Dedicated Server is the perfect website hoster choice.

    Which type of web hosting is best for me?

    If you’re not completely sure which type of hosting to go for, it might be a good idea to take our Hosting Quiz. This will help to show you which hosting plan is best suited to your individual needs at this stage in your web project.
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