Web hosting is, more or less, an agreement between you and a web hosting service provider that you will pay a monthly lease to own and operate a portion of their massive web servers. These are computers that will house all of your data and will allow others to get a good look at the content you so painstakingly create. Think of it as a storage unit with windows that other Internet users will drive by and take a peep through.

In order to operate a website you absolutely need a web hosting account, as no site can just live on the Internet without a web server. Since a web server usually costs thousands of dollars it is much more affordable to simply lease one from a web hosting provider. Web hosting services give you the opportunity to reach the world wide web without making a significant investment.

Before you begin your comparison journey, you have to decide what type of web hosting will fit your needs as a webmaster. Your basic choices are shared, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting.

If you are just starting out online and you don’t have a lot of websites, then you may want to begin comparing cheap shared hosting plans. If you want more freedom over your hosting account, then you may want to choose a more powerful VPS hosting plan instead. Finally, if you’re extremely serious about being successful online and you want the best of the best, then you should be comparing dedicated hosting plans.

Web hosting bandwidth is the measurement of data being transmitted through your web server at a given period of time.

Having adequate bandwidth is very crucial to the success of your site because it will affect your site visitor’s experience, especially when there are high traffic levels. Every visitor that views a page on your site is consuming bandwidth because they are downloading and uploading information to the web server. Thus, in order to accommodate high daily traffic levels you will need ample bandwidth. This is the primary reason why bandwidth is one of the two most important web hosting features to consider when shopping for a new plan.

Bandwidth is perhaps the most important because it dictates how many visitors your website can handle during a single time period.

Control panel is a graphical user interface (GUI) to manage your web hosting account. Within your control panel you can upload and organize site content, manage domain name settings, schedule duties and much more. Whether you need comprehensive traffic analysis or a simple interface to check your emails, a good web hosting control panel can do all of this and more.

Content management systems are comprehensive site management utilities that are becoming increasingly popular amongst webmasters. In the past, site management was a complex process that required advanced training, diligence, technical knowledge and internet experience. Now complete novices are building, organizing and maintaining large web sites with no formal training, and nothing more than a basic hosting account.

Content management systems are literally revolutionizing the way the internet is being developed, by giving webmasters convenient access to tools and resources needed for efficient site administration. While some website owners still code pages in HTML and upload files manually to their web server, it is becoming quite obvious that using a content management system is much easier and faster.

With a user-friendly interface you can control nearly every aspect of your website. If you are having difficulty updating your site one page at a time using an FTP client, or you simply need a solution that is suitable for the novice webmaster, then you may want to consider using a content management system. Most modern site owners use a CMS to maintain their websites, so if you are trying to compete on the internet you may want to consider doing the same as well. They are incredibly useful and usually included for free with nearly every web hosting plan.

SSL, or Secure Socket Layer, is a security protocol used to protect data as it is transmitted between devices on the Internet.

SSL certificates indicate the presence of this technology being used by a website. Most online shoppers will not shop at your site unless you have an SSL certificate.