Web hosting service

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Definition

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. (Wikipedia, retrieved 21:35, 29 October 2007 (MET).

A 'shared web hosting service or virtual hosting service refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Each site "sits" on its own partition, or section of the server to keep it separate from other sites.[1] This is generally the most economical option for hosting as many people share the overall cost of server maintenance. (Wikipedia, retrieved 21:35, 29 October 2007 (MET))

Links for shared web hosting services

“A shared web hosting service or virtual hosting service or derive host refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Each site "sits" on its own partition, or section/place on the server to keep it separate from other sites. This is generally the most economical option for hosting, as many people share the overall cost of server maintenance.” (Wikipedia/1/2010).

On the opposite, “A dedicated hosting service, dedicated server, or managed hosting service is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases an entire server not shared with anyone. This is more flexible than shared hosting, as organizations have full control over the server(s), including choice of operating system, hardware, etc. Server administration can usually be provided by the hosting company as an add-on service.” ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedicated_hosting_service Wikipedia, 1/2010). E.g. all of TECFAs servers (including the machine this wiki runs on) are hosted by our university and joinly managed by the central computer services and us.

Comparisons

Free php hosting services

You can get php/mysql services for free, but most often it's a better idea to pay and get domain registry, unlimited bandwith etc. Below are some website that provide indexes and evaluations of these services.

List of free web hosting services

There exist hundreds of free web hosting services.

Some of these are perfectly ok if you plan to learn installing and configuring portalware. Most serious services offer an upgrade plan. I.e. the business model is to provide you with minimal services that typically include: 100-350 MB of diskspace, very limited MySQL storage space (5MB), 5-15 GB of monthly transfer, 1-5 databases, limited accounts, no proper or limited domain names. Some also will include a banner with advertisements.

The list below includes more or less randomly chosen services. I don't have to time to evaluated these, so here are a few tips:

  • make sure to consult at least two independant reviews before you sign up ! Start with free-webhosts.com
  • pick up ad free ones
  • If you plan to use these services for real, make sure that they provide enough disk and database space, plus enough free transfer/month allowance.
  • Finally, make sure that no important PHP/MySQL (or respective features in other environments) are dispabled.

List in alphabetical order:

Good shared commercial services

Our local (Geneva) favorite:

Application-specific hosting

Links about web hosting

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