If you’re running a website, knowing who is hosting it and what services this host provides is important. If anything goes wrong with your site, your web host might be able to get things back in working order. But if you aren’t sure who is hosting your site, how do you find out? And what exactly does a hosting provider do for your site? Read on to learn more about why it’s important to know who is hosting your website.
What Does Website Hosting Do?
Web hosting is an essential service for any website. It allows businesses and organizations to get the website they created onto the internet and to their intended audience. A hosting provider serves as the link that connects a website to the internet by providing all the technology needed for people to view a site on their browser.
Hosting can be thought of as a storage space for your website, and a hosting provider stores all the files and data that you need on machines called servers. When someone wants to view your website, they simply type your web address into their browser, and the server will then connect them to your website.
In order to have your site hosted by a hosting provider, all you need to do is own a domain name. You can easily purchase a domain online, or allow the hosting provider to help you purchase one. Your site can’t be seen by audiences online if you don’t have web hosting, so it’s important to secure this service. But in many cases, a web host will provide you with more services than simple web hosting.
They will often provide you with the tools you need to keep your website running smoothly. If your site goes down, your hosting provider will be your go-to support in order to get it back up and functioning. Web hosting providers often offer different levels of services for businesses at different price points, so you can simply host a basic website, or run a more complicated eCommerce business.
How to Know Who Is Hosting a Website
If you’re unsure of which company is hosting your website, there are a few simple ways to find out. Web hosting is a service that you pay for, so you should be able to track down who you’re paying every month or year for the service. It may just be a question of asking your Accounts Payable department to look at who is being paid, or look for the receipt in your email.
If you are unable to track down the information you need this way, check out a free online tool that identifies web hosting. For example, Who is Hosting This? will give you information about the website’s host, IP address, name servers, and more, presented clearly and concisely. A similar site, Hosting Checker can give you information about who is hosting any site. You can use this tool to find information about your site or any other site on the internet. Some sites keep their hosting information private, but you can usually look at their name servers for more information.
Why It’s Important to Know Who Is Hosting Your Site
Your website is an important part of your business. It provides your customers with information and helps people find your products or services. If your website suddenly crashes, it can be a serious issue for you. When that happens, who do you turn to? Your hosting provider is your first line of defense, so it’s important to know who to contact if something goes wrong. If you notice that your website has a lot of downtimes or your site seems to always load slowly, this can be a problem with your hosting provider.
It’s also important to learn more about your hosting provider because you may be paying for services you aren’t even aware of, like email addresses for your domain or hosting multiple domains on one account. Learn who is hosting your site and what plan you’re purchasing with them to see if there are any additional features you can take advantage of.
Another important piece of information to know is if you’re using shared hosting or managed hosting. Shared hosting means you’re sharing a server with many other websites, sometimes hundreds. This is usually a sufficient solution for small, personal websites, but businesses looking for a more powerful and versatile option may want to look at managed WordPress hosting in order to take advantage of additional technology.
Find Hosting That Fits Your Needs
If you repeatedly encounter issues with your hosting, it may be time to switch providers or upgrade your plan. In many cases, your provider may only offer limited storage space on their server at lower price points, and they may also be unprepared for large amounts of traffic. If you’re looking to grow and scale your site and increase your traffic, you may have outgrown your current hosting service.
In addition, if you notice that there are times when your site is unreachable, or you find that there are some security breaches, you may want to look for a different hosting provider. In the long run, it’s a smarter idea to pay more for hosting because it means that your site is quicker, more accessible, and more secure. A site that loads quickly will rank higher in search engine queries, and if your site always loads reliably, it means more visitors can reach you and learn about what your business is offering.
Conclusion
If you’re running a WordPress site, managed hosting is built specifically for the platform so that you can make sure you’re making the most of all the features WordPress has to offer. WPFarm is happy to offer managed hosting that will help keep your WordPress site secure and running smoothly 24/7. And our customer service is here to give you the best support if you encounter any problems, so you can rest assured that your site will always be at peak performance.
