Web hosting involves the placement of a web site or many web sites on a server that is connected to the Internet. The web hosting server is located off site at a web hosting company that leases the use of the server. The web hosting company should have two or more separate connections to the Internet for redundancy. Since very few web hosting systems need the throughput available on the Internet connection, the connections are shared to reduce cost.

In general, a web site is a place or a "domain" on the Internet that can be used to display your ideas, products, services or anything you want the entire world to see. Your web site is only one area sector of a global network of computers, users and content that connect people around from around the world seamlessly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With a website, you will be able to have any information you choose presented to any and every user of the World Wide Web.

A website is a necessity in today's society. Millions of new users are connecting to the Internet from any part of the world at any time. People use the Web to do almost everything, including banking, shopping, and researching. Not only is it quick, convenient and easy, but it is always a changing environment. Newly updated sites always appear and there are always new things to explore on the Internet because of its comprehensiveness. A website is like a phone number, it is the first place people look before they do business with your company. If they don't find you, they will then find your competitors. A website could present vital company information to the prospective client. Almost everyone can be a competitor now, whether you are a multi-million dollar company or a startup with a revolutionary idea, visitors will base their judgment on the design of your website. Thus, there are endless opportunities on the Internet.

Shared web hosting is where many web sites from different companies are placed on one server and the server is controlled by the hosting company. This is the least expensive way to have a web site as you only are paying to lease a small portion of the web hosting server. However, a shared web hosting server tends to be less reliable and the available bandwidth is shared among hundreds of web sites.

Unmanaged web hosting means the hosting company provides bandwidth, physical security, and rackspace, but you are responsible for maintenance, monitoring, and upgrades of your system. With managed web hosting, the hosting company takes responsibility for everything. Which one is the right choice for your business will depend on how important the Internet-based computer system is to your company and your company's strengths. If your Internet-based system being unavailable from time to time is not a problem for your company then managed web hosting is probably not required.

Managed web hosting is normally best for companies that want to proactively manage their systems to maximize uptime. If this is not important to your company then unmanaged web hosting is less expensive and when a problem occurs you can either have your IT staff repair it or pay the hosting company on a time and materials basis.