Posts Tagged ‘server’
Just What is the Difference between Hosting and a Server?
I’ve been asked recently by a few folks about just what is the difference between getting a hosting account and getting an actual server?
So I decided that there were probably others out there that probably would like to know too.
Okay, a hosting account is where you website will live, like your house that you live in. You get so much space to put your website content and you can usually get your own email address. Your hosting account space and bandwidth.
Well what is bandwidth:
- it is how much space is accessed by people going to your website
- how many times things are downloaded from your website
- and many other things as well
I suggest if you really need to know, you go a Google search to learn. I am not that techy inclined
But for the hosting verses server, most users only need a hosting account to get started. Hosting accounts are much easier to use and understand. You can get hosting packages that are unlimited domain names, bandwidth, space, etc… but keep in mind please, that nothing is unlimited!
For a server, you have a lot more to deal with, you can add your domain to the server yourself, and set up how much bandwidth and space that domain name gets. It is much more complicated for most beginners, but as time goes on, it might be something to look into.
There are benefits to having a server, which you do pay monthly for just like with a hosting account, when you purchase a new domain name and add it to your server, it is usually instant that your website will be live. While, with just a hosting account, when you purchase a new domain name and then get the hosting, it can take up to 48 hours before you website is online.
Over at Hostgator.com they have many packages available and are outstanding. They packages for the absolute newest person to the more advanced user. Their reseller package is very easy to set up and use, and you can have a lot of domain names there, once you get past the techy part of it, but the support at Hostgator will walk you through everything step by step.
Just remember one thing here, if you are pretty new to hosting and websites, and dns, and ftp things, keep to the hosting packages for now, it’s not worth the learning curve. Once your website is up and running and you’re doing good, then, and only then, would I look into getting a reseller account or as some call it, a shared server or dedicated server. Keep in mind, these are much more expensive too, so please do your research.
I hope this helps some of you understand the difference between hosting and server.
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Have a great day
Laura
Tags: hostgator, HOSTING, server, website