Comparing web hosting and website builder – How to choose the right services to build your own website

Web Hosting

You bought your first domain – congratulations! Now it is time to choose a template and populate it with nice pictures and great text. But wait! You need a place to store and run your website. And this place is called a server. Do you not have one?  

The server is a computer where all data and settings are stored, so your customers can access it. Usually, it requires high technical capabilities, including security and support. Most website owners do not have their own servers and use web hosting instead.

It is an easier way to run your website without taking care of all the security issues, capacity problems, and support. Also, a server is expensive to own for just one or two websites. So, it is better to share it with other users.  

Types of Web Hosting

When you go to a hosting company to order a service, you will have to choose one from a few options. This can be particularly important, so it is good to spend some time reading and understanding the nature of the variants you have. 

Shared Hosting

It’s when a few domains are hosted on the same server. It has some advantages like being cheaper, optimizing the resources, and making it easier to support. On the other hand, it can reduce the loading time and cause some problems with capacity. 

Dedicated Hosting

It’s a service that offers one server per domain. It is used for heavier websites with a lot of data or many visitors, causing a high workload. It is more expensive for the website owner but leads to a better end-user experience. 

Website Builder Hosting

Many website building companies are offering their own hosting servers. This could ease your work. You do not have to think about two different tasks, but combine web development and hosting in one place.

Website Builder

Now you have the domain and hosting service set, you need to start building your content. But you are not a designer and find it difficult? A website builder is a thing you need. It is an online application where you can select an appropriate template and fill it will all the products you want to offer. 

Website Builder Types

There are two major types of website builders – online and offline. As you understand, using the online version, you will need an internet connection. The offline option requires a bit more technical skills but can offer a higher number of options for a greater design. 

What Does the Website Builder Contain?

Website builders offer a lot of templates – simple, complicated, static, or dynamic. You just need to select the most functional for your case. Other functions that you can use are image editor or text formatting. 

Website Hosting and Website Builder compared

In summary, website hosting allows you to upload as many files as you wish (unless you overpass the capacity you pay for) and have as many websites as you wish (unless you overpass the allowed number by the hosting company). In this case, you need to think about the website’s design as a standalone task. 

The website builder will do most of the job for web design, but most probably, you will not be able to host your website, so you need to think about combining it with a website hosting service.

First Steps

The steps you need to take are simple: buy the domain and secure your website name. Then you find a thorough website builder and create the design. Then you purchase the hosting service and upload your files there. And here we go, you are online.