In a digital age marked by an always-on and always connected populace, your company's website often serves as the primary storefront for your business. Whether it is a site brimming with the latest technology that requires an army of IT professionals to maintain it or just a single webpage with contact information, your website is where you make that all-important first impression.
Fortunately, creating a functioning and inviting website does not have to be an expensive or time-consuming project. With the help of web hosting services, large and small businesses can project a public presence that is as professional and polished as a website produced by that army of IT pros mentioned earlier.
For a small fee, a web hosting service can provide your business with a domain name and publish a credible, secure website that drives customers to your products and services. All it takes is a few mouse clicks, some basic information, and about an hour of your time.
The basic definition of web hosting is about as straightforward as it gets: It is a service that provides the infrastructure that allows an organization to publish a website. A web hosting service generally charges a recurring fee that provides the subscribing entity with a domain name, storage for website pages, and a server that allows general access via the internet and a web browser.
There are dozens of reputable and viable web hosting services available globally; most offer a similar basic set of web hosting services, while some specialize in less crowded, and potentially more lucrative, niche markets. Choosing the right web hosting service for your small business will require research and careful consideration.
Perhaps the most important factor when choosing a web hosting service is knowing exactly what your business needs from the provider. Most of the web hosting providers (whether listed below or not) will work with you to provide the service and features you request, but only if you can express those needs in a coherent way.
Fortunately, there are one-stop web hosting companies that cater to 99.9% of consumers. This is a DreamHost company that has been successfully operating in the web hosting market since 1997 all over the world!
DreamHost make sure your website is fast, secure & always up - so your visitors & search engines trust you. Guaranteed.
DreamHost Helps You Succeed. Grow your website faster by using DreamHost as your foundation.
- Super Easy to Use. DreamHost custom control panel is simple to use and removes the headache of managing your web hosting.
- Full Featured. We do more than web hosting. DreamHost tool suite includes everything you need to be successful.
- Fast & Reliable. If your website is slow or down, then you are losing customers, conversion and search engine rankings.
- 24/7 Expert Support. DreamHost award-winning US-based experts are available to help when you get stuck — anytime, day or night.
- Commitment to Security. DreamHost many security features include Multi Factor Authentication, auto-enabled sFTP and free secure hosting with Let's Encrypt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to make their websites or apps visible on the internet. Whether they're using a dedicated server, or sharing resources, every website is hosted on a server. The only way for a website to be visible on the internet is if it's hosted by a web hosting service provider, also known as a web host. In order to find a website, you type the domain name (or URL) into your browser. Your computer will then connect to the server where the website is hosted, and the webpage is delivered onto your screen.
What Are the Different Types of Web Hosting Products DreamHost Offers?
DreamHost offers several different types of hosting plans that work for all website hosting needs.
Shared Hosting:
Shared hosting is the most affordable option, but it does have its limitations. Shared hosting customers share the server's resources with other customers. If another website on the same server is receiving large amounts of traffic, or using a lot of the server's limited resources, it's possible that your site may run slower as a result.
While DreamHost works hard to make sure all sites on a shared server never disrupt other sites, this is always a possibility due to the nature of the product. That's why we recommend that you look at our more powerful options if you're expecting to experience high traffic levels on your site.
What can I host on shared hosting? Shared hosting is perfect for blogs, portfolios, personal/business sites, and database-driven sites. Learn more about shared hosting.
WordPress Hosting (DreamPress)
DreamPress is DreamHost's managed WordPress hosting. It's a scalable service that allows users to manage their WordPress sites worry-free via automatic updates, caching, daily backups, and a content delivery network (CDN). Learn more about DreamPress.
VPS
DreamHost's Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a premium solution that runs faster than our shared hosting. It's available as an add-on to an existing DreamHost plan, but also as a standalone service. DreamHost's VPSs use Linux-VServer to create a "virtual machine" that protects a user's resources from others on the same physical machine. This allows for a more powerful solution.
Shared vs. VPS Hosting. On a shared server, resources are shared by other users. On a VPS, these resources are more isolated which improves performance and helps to maintain stability. You also have the ability to control how much RAM your server uses.
What can I host on a VPS? A virtual private server is ideal for websites that require more resources than a shared server can provide, but may not need the full power of a dedicated server. VPS is ideal for businesses, ecommerce websites, designers, and developers that need unhindered performance. Learn more about VPS.
Dedicated
A dedicated server is a server that only contains your files on it. You also get full root access: a major benefit if you're looking to customize your server to fit your specific needs. Please note that DreamHost support cannot assist if any errors occur as a result of a customization.
Another benefit of a dedicated server is that your MySQL server is on the same server, allowing for faster access. With all other hosting plans your MySQL database is on a separate database server.
What can I host on a Dedicated server? Dedicated servers are fully-managed, business class servers. They are perfect for resource-heavy apps and giant websites. Learn more about dedicated hosting.
Cloud
DreamHost offers two different cloud hosting products.
Object Storage
DreamObjects is a cost-effective cloud storage service, which you can use to host static data for your websites, store backups, or develop the next big thing. You can access DreamObjects in your panel using the built-in interface, programmatically via standard APIs, or with a growing library of applications. DreamObjects is compatible with the Amazon S3 API.
- Learn more about compatible applications with DreamObjects.
- Learn more about DreamObjects here.
Cloud Computing
DreamCompute is a highly scalable cloud computing service built to power:
- Web and mobile applications
- Digital media and e-commerce websites
- Big data
- Testing and development environments
All instances can be managed through the DreamCompute's dashboard built off of OpenStack's Horizon.
How Do I Buy a Domain Name?
Buying a domain name with DreamHost is simple and comes with features that a lot of other hosts don't offer. Use our domain search tool to buy your desired domain name; we'll let you know if someone else has already purchased it, and will serve up alternative versions that are available.
After buying your domain name with DreamHost, you'll also receive:
+ Free WHOIS Privacy Protection (which keeps your website registration details private)
+ auto-renewals (so you don't have to worry about a lapse in ownership)
+ unlimited subdomains (like blog.yoursite.com, or mexico.yoursite.com, for example)
+ domain setting controls at your fingertips (like MX records, CNAME, etc.)
