The web hosting solution for a home-based business will likely be radically different from the needs of a large ecommerce site. The use of a web host is essentially the cyber-office lease for your Internet business. The web hosting solution houses the files you will need to upload and can store you online company data.
There are three primary web-hosting solutions and each one is designed to accommodate a specific need. This article will take a look at these three solutions and what type of business may require each solution.
Co-Located Server Hosting
We will start with the most comprehensive solution first. This type of web hosting is in-house and will typically cost the most. You will need to purchase one or more server specifically for your company use. This server will need to be monitored and will likely require an in-house Internet Technician (IT).
This solution works for larger companies with either lots of data to store or who want to be able to work on any solution regarding their web hosting immediately.
Dedicated Hosting
This plays a similar role to the co-located server hosting option in that you have your own server taking care of your online data. In this case, however, the server is located off-site and is maintained by a third party. Middle to large sized firms would likely use this option to maintain the highest possibility of uptime without the need for an in-house IT.
Shared Hosting
This is the most cost effective method of hosting and takes care of the majority of personal and small businesses sites. Most Shared Hosting options are less than $100 per month (often much less). Many of these same services are adaptable to allow for ecommerce solutions.
There are other options in web hosting solutions, but they typically fall into these three categories. Obviously the Co-Located Server Hosting option will be the most costly and labor-intensive solution, but it will be the best solution for the large business managing hundreds and thousands of transactions online.
The Dedicated Hosting option may be a good fit when a growing company needs a high ceiling for data as well as the comfort of knowing their fate isn't tied to a server with multiple accounts.
The Shared Hosting solution is perfect for a business startup because it provides a cost effective way to get online without breaking the bank. Some Shared Hosting solutions provide the tools to allow their customers to develop their own ecommerce sites through template rich designs. Remember, just because the server is shared with others doesn't make it a bad solution. To say otherwise would be to say an office building is bad because it contains more than one office.
Related Articles
Web Hosting: Fruit Comparisons
By: Scott Lindsay | 16/05/2007 | Internet
You Google the term 'web hosting' and come up with page after page of possibilities and each hosting solution has a comprehensive set of solutions to common hosting questions.
If you are to believe every web hosting solution you come across you would have conclude that every option is the best...
Web Hosting: Portals
By: Scott Lindsay | 26/05/2007 | Internet
One lone computer in a business is useful. When that computer is connected to a second computer a small network is developed that allow files and information to be more readily shared. Large companies have hundreds or thousands of computers tied together in a company-wide network that speeds many processes...
Web Hosting: Design Comes Standard
By: Scott Lindsay | 26/05/2007 | Internet
It seems there is a misconception about what web hosting means. Many website owners think web hosting is simply the server where your web site is stored for access by online consumers.
A web host DOES provide this service, but web hosting is essentially a provider who makes a variety of...
Web Hosting: Do You Really Get What You Pay For?
By: Scott Lindsay | 26/05/2007 | Internet
There is an assumption among business owners that in order to have a quality website you need to follow the old adage, "You get what you pay for."
The truth is, in web hosting you can pay a significant amount of money and receive poor service. Certainly the reverse is true,...
Shopping for a Shared Hosting Company
By: Steven Cancel | 23/05/2008 | Computers
Great details on what to look for when shopping for a web host.
What to Do When You Need to Find a Quality, Cheap Web Hosting Package
By: Kevin Nelson | 24/06/2006 | Web Hosting
Finding affordable web hosting is a critical step in getting your personal or business website on the web. Here is an overview of the various web hosting options available to you and some quick tips that will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of having your website online while avoiding the headaches of choosing a bad web host.
The 5-Minute Guide for Using Free Ecommerce Web Hosting
By: Kevin Nelson | 24/06/2006 | Web Hosting
Free ecommerce web hosting can be a good option for brand new online businesses. However, as your business grows, you may need to seek out other options. Here's how to use ecommerce web hosting to get your business off the ground and some tips on when you should seek out more feature-rich options.
Simple Tips for Choosing Good Webhosting
By: Ryan Bauer | 29/10/2005 | Web Hosting
When you start your own website, you want to make sure that you have reliable, decent hosting - if your host is down all of the time, your site might as well not even exist in the first place.
Latest Internet Articles
Use Blogs to Increase Website Traffic
By: Adam Maxwell | 24/07/2008
It's often said that using a blog is a great way to increase website traffic, and there's a reason it's often said - it's true! However, it's also possible to use other people's blogs to get more traffic, and here are three ways...
The first way is to leave comments on...
Is it Worth Paying For Traffic?
By: Adam Maxwell | 24/07/2008
There are so many different ways of generating traffic that some people get overwhelmed by the choices, and get tempted by paying for traffic, but is this increased traffic worth the price..?
It may not sound very helpful to say 'sometimes', but in truth there are a lot of variables.
It depends...
E-book Mania Can be Easy Profits for You
By: Bob and Cindy Floyd | 24/07/2008
Many online home businesses are created by the sale of a simple e-book. The popularity of the e-book has increased in the "I want it now" society that is in love with the idea of getting their desired information immediately. Not have to wait for something to be shipped to you is quickly becoming the desire method for most internet information shoppers.
Benefits of Article Marketing- #4 Social Bookmarking and Blogging
By: Jeff Schuman | 24/07/2008
No article marketing discussion today can leave out blogging and social bookmarking. You can benefit both from increased traffic and search engine bait from bookmarking your articles to relevant social directories.
Free Ways to Identify a Profitable Market Niche
By: Martin Malden | 24/07/2008
3 steps you can undertake, easily and without spending any money, to identify a profitable market niche for your Internet or Affiliate Marketing business.
Can You Cheat the Search Engines to Get More Website Traffic?
By: Adam Maxwell | 24/07/2008
The idea of cheating search engines for more web traffic is as old as the search engines themselves.
No surprise there, but it's worth looking at how and why people do it, to see if it's worth the effort...
When search engines go about ranking how they display their search results, they...
Go Offline to Increase Website Traffic
By: Adam Maxwell | 24/07/2008
That may sound contradictory, to go offline when you want to increase website traffic, because surely you want to always be online to promote website business, right..?
Wrong.
Of course you would love to have a flood of traffic coming to your site from online generation, and this is obviously never to...
How to Start and Expand Your Personal Network
By: Phil Evans | 24/07/2008
This is about discovering and using the most important of all the basic network marketing strategies. If you know anything about network marketing you know that the success of your business falls solely on only one network marketing strategy: Prospecting.
More from Scott Lindsay
Ecommerce - Entrepreneurial Perseverance
By: Scott Lindsay | 03/10/2007 | Internet
"It is time for us to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever, the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it." - Vince Lombardi
How does ecommerce differ from entrepreneurialism? Well, the former is dependent on the latter. What this means is that for every ecommerce business...
Web Design - You Are Replaceable And That Should Make You Happy
By: Scott Lindsay | 03/10/2007 | Internet
In the past there was always a fear that automation would replace (or displace) honest, hard-working citizens. While this may happen, there is reason to look at automation as an ally in online business.
If you were to conduct an online search you would likely find businesses that rely on personal...
Site Promotion Tools - Never Stop Learning
By: Scott Lindsay | 03/10/2007 | Internet
Site promotion for your online business is something that takes on a life of its own. Site promotion is not relegated to one specific site promotion tool. If you find one tool that seems to work for you it may not be long before it is not as effective as...
Internet Marketing - One Bite At A Time
By: Scott Lindsay | 03/10/2007 | Internet
Internet marketing provides the ability to expand the possibilities of your website while giving a nod to your own dogged determination and mental quickness.
Internet marketing is not simply a one-size-fits-all piece of clothing designed to allow you to simply apply one standard where you discover yourself on the same footing...
Web Branding - Bottled Rainforest
By: Scott Lindsay | 03/10/2007 | Internet
Have you ever been around a poet that knows so much poetry by heart that they annoy you every time the subject of poetry comes up? They are passionate about their love for poetry and are emotional as they explain the complexity of the poems they recite.
Certainly you have...
Web Design - Using The Family Tree
By: Scott Lindsay | 02/10/2007 | Internet
When it comes time to work on a web design you should work to develop the site before you actually develop the site. What I mean by that is try to map out what you are wanting in your website and how everything should break down logically.
Think of it like...
Seo - Tracking Words
By: Scott Lindsay | 02/10/2007 | Internet
WordTracker.com provides both a free and fee-based service to help you in finding keywords or phrases that will assist you in developing word lists for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies.
Obviously the fee-based software provides several upgraded features that can be a real benefit to business, but the use of the...
Site Promotion Tools - How Many Sites Do You Need?
By: Scott Lindsay | 02/10/2007 | Internet
Site promotion tools are an important element in making sure you give online users the greatest opportunity to visit your website. It is likely you have infused your site with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies, and you have included site link information in any forum posts and blogs. You might...
Internet 
