Web Hosting for a Small Business: The Types and What to Check
Web hosting is the computer that keeps your website online, so people can open it at any hour. Your domain name is the address, and hosting is the place that address points to. You need both.
This guide explains the main types of hosting and what to check before you pay, in plain words.
Our main page for this service: Cloud Hosting.
Domain and hosting are two different things
A domain name, such as yourbusiness.com, is the address people type. Hosting is where your website's files and data live. You can buy them from different companies.
Keep the domain in an account that you control, so you can move the website later without losing your address.
The main types of hosting
Most small businesses choose from these:
- Shared hosting: many sites share one server. It costs the least and suits a small, quiet site, but a busy neighbour can slow you down
- VPS (virtual private server): your own slice of a server with set resources. You get more control, and more to manage
- Cloud hosting: your site runs across several servers, so it copes better with traffic spikes and a failed server
- Dedicated server: a whole server for you. It suits large or special needs and costs the most
- Managed hosting: the provider looks after updates, security and backups for you, on any of the above
What to check before you pay
A cheap plan can cost more in the end if it lacks one of these:
- Backups: how often they run, where they are kept and how you restore one
- Speed: SSD or NVMe storage, and a server that is not far from your visitors
- Uptime: ask what is promised and what happens in an outage, and do not rely on a percentage alone
- Support: whether you can reach a person, and how fast
- Renewal price: the first-year price is often lower than the price after that
- Email: whether mailboxes are included, and how many
- Security: an HTTPS certificate, malware scanning and software updates
- Room to grow: whether you can upgrade without moving the site
Is free hosting worth it?
Free hosting suits a test or a hobby page. For a business it often comes with ads on your pages, slow servers, no backups and little support, and the provider can close the service at short notice. If customers rely on the site, pay for hosting.
What we offer
Our hosting is NVMe cloud hosting with cPanel, automated daily backups and 24/7 server monitoring. Tell us about your site and its traffic, and we send a written quote.
Details for businesses in India: NVMe web hosting with cPanel.
Frequently asked questions
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that stores your website's files on a server that is always online, so visitors can open your site at any time.
What are the three types of web hosting?
The three most common are shared hosting, VPS or cloud hosting, and a dedicated server. They go from cheapest and simplest to most powerful and most expensive.
What is the difference between web hosting and a domain?
The domain is the address, such as yourbusiness.com. Hosting is the place where the website lives. You need both, and you can buy them from different companies.
Do I need a domain name for web hosting?
You can get hosting without one, but visitors need an address to reach you, so almost every business registers a domain.
Is free web hosting worth it?
For a test or a hobby page, it can be fine. For a business it usually means slow servers, ads, no backups and little support. Pay for hosting once customers rely on the site.
Can I host my own website?
You can, but then you run the server, the security, the backups and the uptime yourself. Most small businesses are better off paying a hosting provider.
How much does web hosting cost?
It depends on the type, the storage and the provider, and the renewal price often differs from the first-year price. We do not list prices here. Ask for the renewal price in writing before you buy.
Not sure which plan fits your site?
Tell us about your site and how many visitors you expect. Call +91-86194 70448 or email contact@gtsltd.in. We work remotely, in English, with businesses in India and abroad.