• Home
  • Domains
  • Internet & Tech
  • Security & Privacy
  • Google & Search
  • Editorial Praise
  • Contact

Strategic Revenue - Domain and Internet News

Internet news authored by John Colascione

Register Domain Names

  • Isn’t Print Dead?
  • Killer Acquisition
  • New gTLD Death
  • Online Censorship
  • Gullible Domainers
  • You’re A Loser
You are here: Home / Internet & Tech / What Is Web Site Hosting and Why Do I Need It? Seems Like A Monthly Rip Off

What Is Web Site Hosting and Why Do I Need It? Seems Like A Monthly Rip Off

February 14, 2019 By John Colascione Leave a Comment

*** Here Is A List Of Some Of The Best Domain Name Resources Available ***






NEW YORK – Once in a while I come across a person, customer or prospect that doesn’t understand what website hosting is and why they might have to pay for it. They seem to feel that hosting is some unknown, unexplained add-on which seems confusing at best or a rip-off at worst.

The particular people seem to think a website just ‘exists’ out there on the Inter-webs or are somehow part of the World Wide Web; they have trouble understanding what website hosting is and why the need it. To them it just sounds like some extra fee tacked onto their website presence which serves no purpose.

So let’s get into some details on what exactly website hosting is and why a business owner with a website would need to pay for a website hosting service.

There are two good analogies I like to use when explaining what web hosting is and why a website requires this added service and will go into the first one below.

  • A website (a combination of computer files) needs to exist on a computer that is connected to the Internet. Just as files on a desktop computer reside in and/or are organized in particular folders, a web site needs to have all of its files, which make up its web pages, somewhere on a computer, in a folder, which is accessible through the Internet. Imagine that your website is a bunch of computer files sitting on a computer in a folder and you want to access it from somewhere else. First you need access to the computer which contains the files and then you need to find and access the particular folder where your files are; this is how a website works. The website is a bunch of files, that are sitting somewhere on someone’s computer, in a folder, with your website name on it. The Internet accesses this computer by your domain name address and requests access to that particular folder on that computer where your web site files are stored – and you need to pay the owner of that computer to allow you to store your files there and then allow the Internet – or anyone using it, to look on that computer in that particular folder and download your web pages – your files, which are all linked to together with hypertext-links. No one is going to provide that computer so that you can store your web files there for free. So unless you are going to manage your own web server (computer) which is turned on and hooked up the Internet at all times, which is also configured to allow public access to your website files, as well as special FTP access so you can update and change your files, you need a web hosting service provider to do it for you. The web hosting provider will take care of all this for you and ensure your website is ‘online’ and accessible at all times. A good web host helps with problems and experiences few interruptions while a bad web host provides a computer that runs slow or doesn’t work well or periodically shuts off. The better your host, the better your service.

The second analogy I like to use is a little different and may be easier for some people to understand as it utilizes real estate as the host.

  • Think of a web hosting company as a landlord of an apartment complex. There are a limited number of apartments in the building and the landlord (the host) intends to rent them all out to tenants who can store in them whatever they desire as long as they are paying the rent and not causing any trouble for anyone else in the building. Your website rents a hosting space just like a tenant rents an apartment in a building with lots of other apartments. The tenant receives a key and a particular amount of space to put their belongings. The tenant can use the space and put pretty much whatever they want in there and they can come and go as they please and they can have guests visit if they want as long as the guests have the address. Provided the traffic in and out of the apartment doesn’t get too excessive they should be fine.  The landlord is responsible for keeping the environment safe and accessible to everyone going in and out. The most important thing for the tenant is that the rent (hosting fee) is always paid. If the tenant wishes to go on vacation they still have to pay the rent because their things are in the apartment and they are still taking up space in the building and that space is still allotted to them regardless of how much it is being used or how much traffic is or isn’t going in or out. If for any reason the tenant does not pay their bill everyone that had been given access to the apartment will lose access. The host is the building and the hosting account is one of the apartments. As long as the space of that apartment is allotted, the tenant has to pay the fees for the space. The only the tenant does not have to pay the rent is if they give up the space and move out.

Usually once I go through one of these analogies the person has a better understanding of what web site hosting is and why they need it and why they pay for it on a recurring basis. I don’t remember every explaining it like this where someone remained stumped.

John Colascione 2024
John Colascione

About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®

Filed Under: Internet & Tech Tagged With: .space, Access, Accessible, Analogies, Apartment Complex, Apartments, Building, Business Owner, Computer, Computer Files, Configured, Customer, Desktop Computer, Domain Name, Download, Files, Folder, Folders, Host, Hosting Account, Hosting Space, Internet, Interruptions, Landlord, Prospect, Public Access, Real Estate, Rent, Service, Tenant, Tenants, Traffic, Web Files, Web Host, Web Hosting, Web Hosting Company, Web Hosting Service, Web Pages, Web Server, Website, Website Costs, Website Files, Website Hosting, World Wide Web

*** Here Is A List Of Some Of The Best Domain Name Resources Available ***






Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search This Site

by: John Colascione

John Colascione

Best Site for Things to Do While Visiting Florida
John Colascione is Chief Executive of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, authored a book called Mastering Your Website, and is a key player in several Internet businesses through his brand SEARCHEN®

#Indiana.com

GEO domain name

Follow Me

John Colascione Twitter

The First Fiction Horror Story Based Entirely On An Internet Domain Name

The First Fiction Horror Story Based Entirely On An Internet Domain Name
A cyber thriller where the countdown to death is always ticking…

USED CARS ENTERPRISE

auto buyers market
Auto Buyers Market – Shop Used Cars by Participating Dealers at autobuyersmarket.com

In The News

  • DNJournal: New Book From Veteran Domainer
  • From Brandable to Exact-Match Geo Domain
  • InnovateLI: Two Deals, One Very Interesting Digital
  • Internet Commerce Association: John Colascione
  • NamesCon: Featured Attendee: John Colascione
  • Long Island Media Inc, SmartCEO, Future 50
  • Speakers, Name Summit, John Colascione
  • Speakers, Real Estate Summit, John Colascione
  • 24 Leading Domain Experts Analyze 2017

Popular Stories

New gTLD? Not So Fast; History Suggests New ‘Right of the Dots’ Could = Total Failure

Could Domain Investing Industry End with Legal Provision for Domain “Hoarding”

Did DuckDuckGo Just Acquire Premium Domain “Duck.com” from Google?

Websites and Domain Names to Become Insignificant within 20 Years or Less

Does the Domain Industry Suffer From Own Versions of Trumpted “Fake News” Stories?

Quotes to Follow

quote icon The domain name is equivalent to Gold. It is the only packaged item which is globally tax-free, portable, with value that is universal across different cultures. quote icon – Frank Schilling

quote icon Domains have and will continue to go up in value faster than any other commodity ever known to man. quote icon – Rick Schwartz

quote icon  Google knows you, your friends, your likes, what entertains you, where you are in the world at any given time. Google will soon predict your next action, your next thought, based on a collaboration of thoughts past. quote icon – John Colascione

Like These Headlines?

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

T.L.D. Brokerage

Domain Brokers

WHOIS Data Shrinks: GoDaddy’s Latest Move Reflects Post-GDPR Privacy Trend

PALM BEACH, FL - The public face of domain ownership is disappearing - and GoDaddy's latest announcement is just the latest proof. In an email sent to resellers today, GoDaddy announced it will no … [Read More...]

Google’s Search Market Share Dips Below 90% for First Time in Decade

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Google's global search engine market share fell below 90% in the final quarter of 2024, marking the first time since 2015 that it has dipped under this threshold. Regional … [Read More...]

Records From 2024 AT&T Data Breach Are Once Again For Sale On The Dark Web

PALM BEACH, FL - A massive trove of nearly 90 million AT&T customer records, including Social Security numbers and other sensitive information, has resurfaced for sale on the dark web, reigniting … [Read More...]

Domaining blog recommended by Domaining.com

Copyright © 2010-2025 StrategicRevenue.com - Property of Internet Marketing Services Inc.   FeedBurner: RSS
By using this site you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please exit the service.