What is the best way to host a simple HTML Website?

All the websites need to be accessible to the community on the internet. For this, the website files are stored on the web servers which are run by different web hosting companies. These hosting providers store and maintain the website and also makes it accessible on the internet. They also provide add-on services like data backup, firewall protection, domain name registration, technical support etc.

Types of Hosting

Before hosting any website, it is necessary to know what type of hosting is preferred by the user according to their website convenience.

The following are the major four types of web hosting.

Shared or Virtual Hosting

In this type, the website is stored on the same server as other websites which share the same website resources. This is the best type of hosting for entry-level websites since these are cheap and affordable. But sharing of resources can slow down the whole server.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is different from other hosting's since resources being used are spread across different servers. It makes the website files available on the cloud resources which vanishes the need to actually create an infrastructure.

Free Hosting

There are many platforms over the internet which provide hosting free of cost. But these companies provide lower bandwidth and lesser data transfer which can be a disadvantage to the user.

Dedicated Hosting

This is best suited for large businesses and websites with huge traffic. Dedicated hosting gives you access over an individual server which is used only for your website. This is the most useful and expensive type of hosting.

Ways to host a HTML Website

Getting a Domain Registered

All websites have one or more IP addresses which are collections of numbers and characters. It is not reliable to remember these addresses therefore each IP address is assigned a unique name which is called a domain name through which it can be found on the internet. There are several domain registrar companies who provide domain at cheap prices.

Companies Providing Hosting And Domain Name

• GoDaddy.com

• Hostinger.com

• BlueHost.com

• iPage.com

• A2Hosting.com

Free Hosting Providers

Some platforms provide free hosting for the user. These hosting's are beginner friendly and do not cost you a penny. There is no contract and you can change your web hosting whenever you want. But with this there are disadvantages of free hosting providers. They provided limited disk space and lower bandwidth to the consumer. Also the access to C-panel is denied.

Free Hosting Providers

• GitHub Pages

• Netlify

• 000webhost.com

• Digital oceans

Creating own server

If a user doesn’t want to rely on any of the hosting companies, he/she can create a server on its own. These servers other than web hosting can be used for storing and managing data, playing games, home automation etc. All the access to security and control will be in the hands of the user but it requires a complicated process to set up a server from choosing a hardware to getting a domain name.

What is the best way to host a simple HTML Website?

The best way to Host a website is through buying a domain from a web hosting company and if it is a simple website shared hosting is most affordable and reliable. One should check the following features in the company before purchasing a hosting.

Resources Provided

Many hosts give unlimited bandwidth - which is the amount of data that can be transferred from the server to the user and also provides unlimited storage for the data. These resources are important for the websites having huge traffic. For free hosting websites this can be a disadvantage since they provide limited bandwidth and space.

Speed of response also matters on how long a website takes to respond to a request. Top hosts provide responses in about 250-450 milliseconds or so.

Uptime of a Host

Uptime is the time interval for a website to stay online. There can be several for a website to be offline like routine maintenance by the host, severe weather conditions, cyber attacks etc. This time should be as high as possible.

Many hosts provide an uptime guarantee to the consumer which is signed on an agreement called as SLA(Service Level Agreement) which ensures a user compensation if they fail to meet the guaranteed uptime.

Security

The basic security that any good host should provide is −

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate

It creates an encrypted and secure link between the website and the visitor, so that no bad intending person can see the information between the website and the visitor.

Automatic Backups

It saves copies of your site automatically.

DDoS Protection

It monitors, detects and prevents malicious attacks which target the traffic to your network. It blocks the detected services which can cause harm to the network.

Firewall

It is a network security tool which monitors the incoming and outgoing traffic on the website. These are the first line of defense in network security for over 25 years.

Technical Support

A user can expect some technical support from the web hosting company anytime you need it. These support include hardware related problems with servers, domain name setup, account management, address server configuration issues etc.

To a new user, technical support is expected from the company, which makes the company more impressive and reliable.

Goals of Website

How to host a simple HTML Website widely depends upon the goals for which the website is being hosted.

• If the website is hosted for a learning purpose free hosting providers are the best which helps to learn all about hosting in practical.

• If the website is hosted for a small business purpose, shared hosting can be purchased in any of the web hosting companies.

• If the website is hosted for a huge business purpose, dedicated hosting might be a good option.

Conclusion

To make the website accessible on the internet, it is necessary to have a hosting. There are different types of hosting. Also, these hosting's are provided by different companies whether to be purchased or for free. There are also certain criteria's a web hosting company should fulfill including performance and security. The hosting of a HTML Website will highly depend upon the goal or purpose of the website.