What is website hosting? A plain UK guide

What does website hosting actually do?

Every website is a set of files: pages, pictures, styles and often a database of content and enquiries. Hosting is the place those files live, on a server that stays switched on and connected to the internet all day, every day.

When someone visits your site, a few things happen in under a second:

1. They type your address or tap a link in a search result.
2. The internet's address book, called the Domain Name System (DNS), looks up which server holds your site.
3. Their browser asks that server for the page.
4. The server sends back the files, and the browser builds the page on their screen.

Hosting is the server's half of that exchange. If the server is slow, the page is slow. If the server is down, your site is gone until it comes back.

What is the difference between a domain name and hosting?

Your domain name is your address, such as yourbusiness.co.uk. Hosting is the building at that address, where your website actually lives. You need both, and they are often bought and managed separately.

A domain on its own shows nothing, because there is no website behind it. Hosting on its own works, but nobody can find it without a memorable address. The two are joined by DNS records, which tell the world which server answers for your domain. The same records also decide where your business email arrives.

What types of website hosting are there?

Hosting comes in a few main types. They differ in how much of a server your site gets, and in who does the technical work.

• Shared hosting. Many websites share one server and its power. A busy neighbour can slow your site down.
• Virtual private server (VPS). One physical server is split into private sections, each with its own share of power. Someone still has to set it up, secure it and keep it updated.
• Dedicated server. A whole machine for one website or business. It is powerful, but it needs expert care.
• Cloud hosting. Your site runs across a group of connected servers, so it can draw on more capacity when traffic rises and keep going if one machine fails.
• Managed hosting. This describes who does the work, not the machine. A team sets up, secures, updates, backs up and watches the hosting for you.

For most small businesses the choice is less about the machine and more about the care. A fast server that nobody updates is a risk. A well-run cloud platform with a team behind it is what keeps a business site safe and quick.

What does good hosting include for a small business?

Good hosting is judged by what your customers feel: a page that opens quickly, a padlock in the address bar and a site that is always there. Behind that sit six things to check before you choose.

• Speed. Google calls its page speed and stability measures Core Web Vitals. Its guidance on Core Web Vitals is clear. It says "We highly recommend site owners achieve good Core Web Vitals for success with Search and to ensure a great user experience generally." Fast servers, caching and a content delivery network (CDN) all help.
• Security and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). An SSL certificate gives your site the padlock and encrypts what visitors send you, such as contact form details. Firewalls, malware scanning and prompt software updates keep attackers out.
• Backups. The National Cyber Security Centre's guide to backing up your data lists "your website" among the things a business should copy. Daily backups you can restore matter more than any other single feature.
• Uptime and monitoring. Someone should know when your site goes down, ideally before your customers do.
• Location and power. Servers in the UK keep your site close to UK visitors. Renewable-powered hosting lowers the footprint of your website.
• Real support. When something breaks, you need people who answer, know your site and fix it.

Rather have it done for you? We build your website free, it goes live in days, and you pay nothing for the first 14 days. No card needed. See how the free 14-day trial works.

What does hosting have to do with your customers' data?

If your website has a contact form, a booking system or a shop, it collects personal data, and your hosting stores it. That makes hosting part of how you protect your customers.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's data regulator. Its guide to data security says that if you use a data processor, "you must choose a data processor that provides sufficient guarantees about its security measures". On encryption it adds: "if you are storing personal data, or transmitting it over the internet, we recommend that you use encryption". It also expects you to be able to restore personal data after an incident, which is one more reason backups matter.

This is general information, not legal advice. For what the rules mean for your business, read the guidance from the ICO or speak to a qualified adviser.

Why does running hosting well take real skill and time?

Buying hosting takes five minutes. Running it well is a job that never quite finishes. Most of the work is invisible when it is done right, and very visible when it is not.

Here is what a skilled team does, week in and week out:

• Applies security patches and software updates quickly, and checks the site still works afterwards.
• Keeps firewall rules and malware scanning current as new attacks appear.
• Renews SSL certificates before they expire, so visitors never see a "not secure" warning.
• Sets up DNS and the email records that stop your messages landing in spam.
• Takes backups every day, and tests that they can actually be restored.
• Tunes speed with caching, image sizes and a CDN, then measures the result.
• Watches for downtime at any hour, and acts on it, including at 2am on a bank holiday.
• Moves sites between servers without losing pages, rankings or email.

Each task needs experience to do safely. A wrong DNS change can take your email offline for a day. An untested backup can turn out to be empty on the one morning you need it. Together, these tasks add up to hours every month that come out of running your business.

What goes wrong when hosting is an afterthought?

Hosting problems rarely announce themselves. They show up as lost enquiries, a scary browser warning or a site that is simply gone.

• The site loads slowly, visitors give up and search engines rank it lower.
• The SSL certificate expires, and browsers warn visitors away.
• A hacked add-on puts spam pages on your domain.
• The site breaks and there is no recent backup to restore.
• Emails from your domain land in spam because the records were never set up.
• Something goes wrong late on a Friday, and there is nobody to call.

Every one of these is avoidable with good hosting, steady care and people who watch it. If you want to see what that care costs, our guide to what a managed hosting plan includes and our page on what a website costs set it out.

Should you manage hosting yourself or have it done for you?

You can run your own hosting if you enjoy the technical side and have time to keep up with it. Many owners would rather spend those hours on their customers. If that is you, hand the hosting to a team that does it every day.

Buzzozo runs Buzzozo cloud hosting, fully managed for you. It is our own UK platform with a free CDN and SSL, daily backups, proactive security and renewable power. If your site is somewhere else today, we move the site, email and DNS for you free, with no downtime. You never need to know what a DNS record is.

Hosting comes inside every plan, alongside the design, the writing, the changes and the support. A managed website, built and cared for by us, means one team looks after all of it, and you have one number to call.

If you are still deciding how your site will be built and updated, our guide to what a content management system is explains how the editing side fits with the hosting.

The Website plan is from £149 a month, with your website designed, written and built for you, and the hosting, security and care included. Compare the plans and prices, or start your free 14-day trial. No card needed, and you can cancel any time.

Common questions