What is Hosting?
TL;DR
Hosting is renting space on a server to store your website files and make them accessible on the internet 24/7.
Example
What hosting provides:
- Server space for your website files
- Bandwidth for visitors to load pages
- Email addresses at your domain
- Database for dynamic content
- SSL certificates for security
- Backups for recovery
Hosting types:
| Type | Best For | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | Small sites, blogs | 50-200 kr/month |
| VPS hosting | Growing businesses | 200-1000 kr/month |
| Dedicated server | Large traffic sites | 2000+ kr/month |
| Cloud hosting | Variable traffic | Pay per use |
| Managed WordPress | WordPress sites | 200-500 kr/month |
Popular hosts: Norway: One.com, Domeneshop, PRO ISP International: Vercel, Netlify, AWS, DigitalOcean
Explanation
Hosting Explained
Your website is just files (HTML, CSS, images, etc.). These files need to live on a computer (server) connected to the internet. Hosting companies provide these servers.
When someone types your domain, their browser:
- Looks up your domain's IP address
- Connects to your hosting server
- Requests your website files
- Displays the page
Choosing Hosting
Consider:
- Expected traffic volume
- Technical requirements
- Support quality
- Uptime guarantees
- Data location (GDPR)
- Price vs. features
For most small-medium businesses, managed hosting or good shared hosting is sufficient.
Why It Matters
For Business Owners
Hosting affects site speed. Slow hosting means slow website. Slow website means lost visitors and lower Google rankings.
Hosting affects reliability. Cheap hosting with 99% uptime means your site is down 3.65 days per year. Look for 99.9%+.
Hosting affects security. Good hosts include SSL, firewalls, malware scanning, and regular updates.
Hosting location matters for GDPR. If you serve EU customers, knowing where your data is stored is important.
What to Look For
- Uptime guarantee: 99.9% minimum
- Speed: SSDs, CDN included
- Support: 24/7, responsive
- Backups: Daily automatic
- SSL: Free included
- Scalability: Can grow with you
Need help with your digital project?
We build websites, apps, and digital solutions for businesses.
Get in touch