In the age of the Internet, everything is accessible, instant, and digitized. As a business owner in 2018, it is near impossible to compete without having a reliable website. It seems like there is a plethora of knowledge that is necessary to even keep pace with the dynamic clime of the digital landscape. It may be overwhelming, but it is never too late to learn. The most important initial step is to grasp the fundamentals of web hosting.

Here are the 3 things you need to know:

What is Web Hosting?

Think of web hosting as your website’s cozy residence. The web host provides a nice little home for your website to live and thrive. The type of residence you choose for your website is contingent on the needs of your business as well as your service/cost preferences.

Your website’s home will need an address so that guests can contact and visit your website. The less complicated the address, the easier it is for guests to remember. This is called your domain. Most web hosting businesses require you to have a registered domain prior to utilizing their services. Read point #3 below for more information on a domain.

Your website’s visitors don’t want to come to a messy, disorganized home. That’s why it is important to create a quality website in order to attract and cater to your ideal audience. Be sure to read more about how to build a successful website for your business.

How Do I Find a Good Web Hosting Provider?

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best web hosting provider for your business. Particularly if you are a budding small to medium-sized business, first impressions on your website are everything. You don’t deserve a faulty, unreliable solution provider to house your website.

According to the Neilson Norman Group, the average web visitor will view your page for less than 20 seconds. To accentuate that speed race, 47 percent of users expect the website to load in less than 2 seconds. The last thing you need is a faulty host with a slow server.

Lucky for you, we’ve comprehensively listed our top 2018 web hosting picks to alleviate the research process. Be sure to also consider all the best qualities of a web hosting service when making your decision.

How Do I Decode All the Fancy Lingo?

These are some complicated acronyms that probably aren’t included in your hip kid’s texting dictionary of catchy lingo. In the world of web hosting, these words are definitely a good idea to know and have a better grasp on:

• Domain – This is the name of your website. For example, the domain of this website is consumer-rankings.com. A domain name should be short, to the point, and descriptive of your service so that it is easy for your audience to remember.
• URL – This stands for “Universal Resource Locator”. This is a complete web address to find a particular web page. For example, https://www.consumer-rankings.com/hosting/ has additional text after the domain name so that you are linked to a specific page on the website.
• Domain registrar – This is a type of company that provides you with a list of available domain names that can be registered along with the cost. More desirable domains will inevitably be more expensive. Most domain registrars will also offer web hosting services.
• SEO – This stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. It encompasses the measures taken to increase the quality and quantity of visits (or traffic) to your website. The more visits you have, the higher you will be ranked on search engine web results like Google or Bing.
• DNS host – DNS host stands for “Domain Name System” host. This is a type of company that makes sure your domain points to your website and email. They are often the same companies that offer domain registrar services.

There you have it – it’s easy as one, two, three. Your website is an integral asset to the success of your business. Therefore, it is inevitable that understanding web hosting is the key to unlocking your business’s potential in the digital realm.