There are several types of web hosts available to choose from on the internet today. They include:
Since this site is geared towards free hosting, we will concentrate
mainly on free hosts (use the left navigation to get there!). As
for the non-free host types listed above, many hosts offer all of these
hosting account types.
Shared hosts are possibly
the most common with regards to the numbers of domains served.
This is obviously due to the math involved. Host a hundred or so
accounts on a single server, and you can have thousands of domains on a
single shared host right away. Shared hosts offer many benefits
for the newbie internet entrpreneur. The most obvious is the low
cost of entry for pretty decent service. You can often get a
hosting account with 100mb of storage, a few GB of tranfer per month,
and a MySql database for a few dollars a month. This is often
plenty for new sites.
Virtual server hosting
accounts are usually a step up from shared hosting. Whereas a
shared host will typically have hundreds of accounts on a given server,
a virtual server will typically have a few accounts that may each have
multiple domains running. There may still be a large number of
domains on the server, but as an admin, you have more server level
control over your part of the server. You may tweak your part of
the server to handle more database driven sites or vice versa.
Dedicated server hosting are
usually for larger sites, or for networks of smaller sites for a given
company. You have total control over the server... you often
assume responsibility for all server tasks (security, stopping and
starting the server, tracking down server issues). Dedicated
servers are now affordable for most decent size web companies.
The decision to use dedicated servers though is not one made without
considering multiple issues (time to maintain, cost, admin skillset,
resource needs).