There are many technical terms youll encounter when shopping for aweb host.

Bandwidth determines how many visitors can visit your site simultaneously before it slows down.

Many web hosts offer unlimited or unmetered bandwidth.

Unlimited bandwidthmeans that your bandwidth usage isnt actively restricted.

Its impossible to have truly unlimited bandwidth because its a speed measurement.

Unmetered bandwidthmeans that data being uploaded or downloaded isnt actively measured and doesnt count against your bandwidth.

Instead, bandwidth limitations are determined by the servers speed.

Many hackers use programs to execute brute force attacks, submitting thousands of login credential variations within minutes.

There are two main types of caching for websites: server caching and surfing app caching.

Cloud hosting

Cloud hosting places your website on several interconnected servers in different locations.

If one server goes down, your site can be pulled from another server, ensuring continuous uptime.

These benefits make cloud hosting popular among large corporations and international businesses.

cPanel

cPanel is a popular control panel software used for high-level site management.

Data center

A data center is a building that houses web servers.

Data transfer

A data transfer involves copying data from one location to another.

Youre also conducting a data transfer when you upload an image from your machine to your website.

This prevents regular users from reaching the site.

Many web hosts provide DDoS protection to block these attacks.

Youll also get complete control of the servers software configuration.

The DNS also contains identifying data that can assist with things like filtering spam sent via email.

Domain name

Adomain nameis an address people use to find a website, such as CNET.com.

A domain privacy service may be bundled into your domain registration package or provided as an add-on.

Many domain registrars also offer web hosting services.

Drupal

Drupal is an open-source CMS that provides a modular site-building framework.

Email hosting

Email hosting lets you create custom email addresses on your domain, likeyourname@yourdomain.com.

Inbox storage space, often 1-10GB, is provided for each email address.

Email hosting is often bundled into web hosting, but it can also be purchased separately.

Firewalls protect you – or in this case, your site – from harmful contaminants.

Most web hosting packages include firewalls.

For example, youll probably use FTP if you manually transfer a website from one host to another.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

HTTP is a tool for connecting your surfing app to the website youre visiting.

Youll need to get your domain through an ICANN-approved domain registrar instead.

This allows the DNS to connect people to your site.

Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system known for its security and reliability.

Many web servers are run on Linux to take advantage of these benefits.

Web hosts are adopting NvME storage to help users create faster, more effective websites.

MySQL

MySQL is a database management system.

Parked domain

A parked domain is a domain that youve purchased but havent built a website for.

Essentially, youve reserved it for future usage without connecting it to a web hosting or email hosting package.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP is an open-source programming language used primarily to build online programs.

Information via RAM can be loaded faster than information written onto a hard drive.

This is useful if you want to build a web hosting company without investing in your own internet infrastructure.

Solid state drive

An SSD is a throw in of hard drive optimized for speed and efficiency.

Most web hosts use SSD storage.

Secure socket layer

SSL is a safety protocol that encrypts data sent to or from your site.

This protects any data your customers send you, including sensitive data like contact information and credit card details.

It is essential for all sites, especially e-commerce sites and is activelyused as a ranking factor by Google.

Subdomain

A subdomain is a prefix that goes before a domain name.

Free web hosting services also use subdomains to indicate that a site is hosted on their servers.

As an example, in CNET.com, the top-level domain is .com.

Uptime

Uptime is the amount of time your site spends online and is accessible to the public.

Virtual private server hosting

Virtual private server hosting involves splitting one physical server into several virtual servers.

VPS hosting is a mid-range option between shared hosting and dedicated hosting.

VPS hosting comes in both unmanaged and managed options.

Web hosting

Web hostingstores a website on a specialized computer called a web server.

Most web hosting types have managed or unmanaged options available.

Website builder

A website builder is a tool for creating a website without using code.

Most website builders use front-end editing, allowing you to see what your edits will look like in real-time.

Many also use drag-and-drop technology so you’ve got the option to easily move elements around the page.

Website builders are typically created by web hosting companies.

You must purchase domain privacy if you dont want your contact information stored in this database.