<img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-485" title="www is web hosting" src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/internet-surfing-150x150.jpg" alt="www web hosting" width="150" height="150" />  If you're reading this page because you're wondering "what is web hosting", then you've come to the right site.  If you already know what web hosting is I think you'll still find it as an excellent read and web hosting resource.  This article will be a little lengthy, however I'm going to take the time to break it down and explain it in the easiest possible way.

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Let's start by explaining what web hosting is not.

<strong>Web Hosting is not:</strong>

1.) A magical way to attract every person on the internet to your product or service

2.) It's not something that will increase your sales by 100% overnight

3.) It's not owning your own .com (that's domain registration)

Web hosting in it's truest form is an art of reliability, security, and balance.  The first step to web hosting is registering a domain name.  This is done through a web hosting company or a domain registrar.  This is a requirement for having a website and it allows you to purchase your own .com.  Your domain name should be creative and it should explain your purpose.  You have the freedom of selecting whatever domain name that you'd like to use and it may include your company name, initials, or the product/service that you offer.

Although domain registration and web hosting go hand in hand they're two separate items.  Once you select a domain name you're ready to start your web hosting journey!

<strong>What is web hosting</strong>

In short it's keeping your website or domain name online so visitors can access it.  Your web host is responsible for giving you a place on a server (powerful computer) to place your website files.  In most instances this same location is also used to receive and store any emails that you receive.  Those are the two primary components of web hosting - your website files and email.

Your website files are the html or web pages that makeup your site.  They're also the images, flash, stylesheets, java script, and other key components that give your website the look that it has.  If you don't have a website you should keep reading, however I would bookmark the following link so you can read about our <a title="Web Sitebuilder" href="https://itxdesign.com/rvsitebuilder/">Web Sitebuilder</a>.  A web hosting company allows you to store all of your web files on their servers.  It's great that you probably have a copy of your website on your computer, however you need to upload or place it on their servers so others can view it.  Once you signup for web hosting you receive a welcome letter that contains your host/server, which is the actual computer that your website is stored on.  Additionally, you receive your username and password and you use this information and your server name to upload your website to the server.

Your web hosting server is responsible for 99% of your web hosting experience.  What differentiates poor web hosting companies from great ones is the quality of their servers and support.  So as we outlined a server is nothing more than a powerful computer and it can be used to store your web files that visitors see when they access your website.

Email is the second key component and it's probably the most confusing.  I often hear clients say they use Yahoo, Gmail, or Cox for their email...  If you have your own website and your domain name is itxdesign.com then you should be using itxdesign.com for email.  You should never place a yahoo or any other free email address on your website.  First of all you're wasting money.  Email is almost always included for free with any hosting account.  So if your website is itxdesign.com you can have an unlimited number of email addresses that use your domain name, example bob@itxdesign.com, info@itxdesign.com.