When choosing a web host it is very important that you first consider what your needs are. After you have figured out your needs you will be able to choose the correct host type. Web host types can be narrowed down into the following categories:

• Shared Hosting - Your web site is located on a server that hosts many other sites.
• Virtual Private Server - Your site is on a server that is partitioned into multiple servers that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine, and fewer sites are on it than a typical shared server.
• Unmanaged Dedicated Server Hosting - A dedicated server, and almost all administration is left to the customer with very little customer support.
• Managed Dedicated Server Hosting - A dedicated server, and much or all administration is is provided by the hosting company.
• Co-Location Hosting - You actually bring or ship your own server to the host, and they put it on their network for you.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most popular type of web host on the market. Nearly all small businesses, intermediate to large web sites, and professional web sites require only a fraction of the resources of a complete web server. It would be expensive for these sites to all reside on their own server, which makes shared hosting the perfect choice.

Depending on the specific hosting plan, nearly all of a webserver's features should be available: PHP or ASP, MySQL, multiple email address, and a much greater amount of storage and bandwidth than with a free host. The downside to having a shared host is lessened security, due to 10's to 100's of other clients on your server, and usually total email addresses, databases and domains are not unlimited.

Virtual Private Server

A virtual private server (VPS) provides the same benefits of a dedicated server at a lower cost. The cost savings comes from not having to purchase a physical machine or pay monthly fees to lease a dedicated box. A VPS provides root access, server reboot capabilities, dedicated (virtual) hard drive with a complete UNIX (Linux) or Windows filesystem, dedicated memory (RAM), IP addresses, and much more.

VPS technology has been available on mainframe computing systems for many years now. The idea was to buy one very, very powerful dedicated mainframe machine, and to partition it into many virtual machines, each running their own operating system. Each customer gets one virtual machine, which looks, feels and acts like their own dedicated server.

Recently, technological advances have allowed this same concept to be deployed on common Linux and Windows systems running on x86 architecture. The host provides the "mainframe" and you buy the virtual machine, at a significant cost savings to buying a dedicated machine of the same power.

Unmanaged Dedicated Server Hosting

If shared hosting does not give you enough bandwidth, storage, or the features that you require, a dedicated hosting solution may be the right solution for you. With a dedicated server there are no limits on the number of databases and email aliases you can create. Your bandwidth is much greater, with typical dedicated server plans alotting 500-1000GB of bandwidth per month. If extra storage is needed, simply order a new hard drive for your server. The only downside: you must know a great deal about server administration.

Becoming a skilled server administrator requires a great deal of training and computing know how. If you are low on cash and are willing to learn server administration the hard way, prepare for a difficult journey. However, if your budget is large enough, then managed dedicated hosting may be a better solution.

Managed Dedicated Server Hosting

You have steep requirements for your web site. Shared hosting doesn't work for you, but you do not know how to set up your own web server, nor do you know how to customize it to your needs. You are going to need a lot of assistance to get your server box up and running and you need support when something goes wrong. The solution for you is a managed dedicated solution provider.

Managed hosting is a very specialized market, with a wide range of prices that depend on how much security, reliability, and the level of support you require. When choosing a managed dedicated server provider we recommend that you either get referred to the provider from a trusted associate or do a few hours of research on the web. Whatever you do, do not rush into a long term contract without knowing a fair amount about the service provider.

Co-Location Hosting

Colocation is a service in which a company will connect a server that you own to the internet. If you do not already have one, some companies offer to build a server for you. This is the key difference between dedicated servers and colocated servers. In a dedicated environment, the server itself is owned by the web hosting company, whereas in a colocated environment, the server is your own.

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