What is web hosting? How it works and the types of hosting

Web hosting explained in plain English: how it works, the main types of hosting (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud, app platforms) and how to choose one.

1. Web hosting in one paragraph

Web hosting is a service that keeps your website on a server, a computer that's always switched on and connected to the internet, so anyone can visit it at any time. When someone types your address, their browser asks that server for your pages, and the server sends them back. A hosting company owns or rents the servers, keeps them running and secure, and sells you a share of one, a whole one, or a platform that runs your code for you.

You could run a server yourself, but it has to stay on day and night, cope with traffic spikes, get security updates and recover when a disk fails. Paying a host means someone else does that, usually far more cheaply than you could.

2. How web hosting works

Three pieces work together every time someone opens your site:

1. The domain. A visitor types example.com. The domain is a name you rent from a registrar, usually a year at a time.
2. DNS. The visitor's device looks up the domain's DNS records, which say which server answers for it. That's how the name finds your host.
3. The server. Your host's server receives the request and sends back the page: either a file it already has (a static site) or a page a program builds there and then (a dynamic site such as WordPress or a Node.js app).

The whole round trip usually takes a fraction of a second. Hosting is the third piece: the computer, the software on it, the network it sits on and the people who look after it. Our guide to static vs dynamic websites explains the two ways pages get made, which matters when you pick a host.

3. What a hosting plan includes

Plans are described in a handful of terms. Here's what they mean:

• Storage (disk): space for your files, images and databases. Fast NVMe drives are now common.
• Bandwidth or traffic: how much data your site can send to visitors each month. Read what happens when you go over: some hosts charge, some slow you down, some take the site offline.
• CPU and memory (RAM): how much computing power your site gets. This matters most for dynamic sites and apps.
• HTTPS certificates: the padlock in the browser. Good hosts issue and renew them for free, automatically.
• Email: mailboxes on your own domain, like hello@example.com. Common with cPanel hosting, rare with app platforms.
• Backups: copies of your site you can restore if something goes wrong. Check how long they're kept and whether you can restore them yourself.
• Support: who you talk to when something breaks, and how.

4. Types of web hosting

There are about seven kinds of hosting you'll come across. They differ in who shares the server, how much you control and how much of the work falls on you.

Shared hosting. Many websites share one server and its resources, each in its own account. It's the cheapest way to host a WordPress or PHP site, and it usually comes with a control panel such as cPanel, email and one-click installs. The trade-off is less control: you can't install system software, and the host sets limits so one busy account can't slow the others down. Cloudzyro's Web Hosting is shared cPanel hosting.

VPS hosting (virtual private server). One physical server is split into several virtual machines, and you get one of them, with reserved CPU and memory and full root access. You can install anything, but you also look after the operating system, security updates, the firewall and backups, unless you pay for a managed VPS. Our guide to shared hosting vs VPS compares the two in detail.

Dedicated server. A whole physical machine for you alone. Maximum power and control, the highest price and the most responsibility. Usually for large sites, heavy workloads or strict compliance needs.

Cloud hosting. Virtual servers rented from a large provider and billed by usage, so you can add capacity when you need it. Flexible and powerful, but you set everything up yourself, and bills can be hard to predict.

App platforms (also called PaaS). You send your code, from Git, an upload or an AI tool, and the platform builds and runs it for you. No server to manage, automatic HTTPS, and every deploy is a new version you can roll back. This is the natural home for static sites, React and Vite projects, Next.js and Node.js apps, and sites built with AI. Cloudzyro's Sites & Apps works this way, with a free plan that allows business use. See how platforms compare in Vercel alternatives.

Managed WordPress hosting. Shared or cloud hosting tuned only for WordPress, with updates, caching and staging handled for you. Convenient if WordPress is all you run.

Reseller hosting. Shared hosting you can split into accounts and resell, usually for web designers and agencies who host their clients' sites.

You may also see website builders (such as Wix or Squarespace), where hosting is bundled into a monthly subscription and the site can't easily move elsewhere, and colocation, where you own the server and rent space, power and network in a data center.

5. Types of hosting compared

• Shared: cheapest for PHP and WordPress; little server work; limited control. Best for blogs, small business sites and email on your domain.
• VPS: moderate cost; full control; you maintain it. Best for developers who need custom software.
• Dedicated: expensive; full control of a whole machine; you maintain it. Best for heavy, steady workloads.
• Cloud: pay for what you use; very flexible; you build and maintain it. Best for teams with infrastructure skills.
• App platform: free to moderate; no server work; you control your code, not the server. Best for static sites, web apps and AI-built sites.
• Managed WordPress: moderate; no server work; WordPress only.

6. How to choose web hosting

Start from what your site is, not from the cheapest plan:

• A WordPress or PHP site, or you need email on your domain: shared cPanel hosting. On Cloudzyro, Web Hosting from $3.33 a month on a yearly plan ($39.99 a year plus tax), with email, PHP 7.4 to 8.4, SSH, Git, WP-CLI and 30 days of backups you can restore yourself. See PHP hosting.
• A static site (HTML, or the output of Astro, Vite or similar): an app platform. These are usually free or close to it. See HTML hosting.
• A web app with a server (Next.js, Node.js, Express): an app platform that runs Node, with a database from a provider such as Supabase or Neon. See Node.js hosting.
• A site built with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another AI tool: usually one of the two above. See how to host a website for the whole process.
• Software that needs root access or a custom stack: a VPS, if you're happy to maintain it.

Then compare a few things that pricing pages tend to bury:

• Does the free or cheap plan allow business use?
• Do quiet sites go to sleep and load slowly for the next visitor?
• What happens when you go over your traffic: extra charges, slowdown or downtime?
• Do team members cost extra per seat?
• What's the renewal price, not just the first term?
• Can you restore backups yourself, and can you download your whole site if you leave?

7. Common mistakes when buying hosting

• Buying the wrong kind. A Next.js app on shared hosting, or a WordPress site on a static host, will fight you all the way.
• Choosing on the first-term price. Many hosts offer a low introductory price and renew at a much higher one.
• Paying for a VPS you won't maintain. An unpatched server is a security risk. If you don't want to be a sysadmin, choose shared hosting or an app platform.
• Registering the domain in someone else's name. Make sure you're the domain's owner, even if a designer sets it up.
• Forgetting email when you move. Email depends on MX records. Leave them alone when you point your website at a new host.

8. Web hosting at Cloudzyro

We offer both main kinds, so you can pick the one that fits:

• [Sites & Apps](/sites) for static sites, web apps and anything built with AI. Launch is free with business use allowed: 1 CPU, 512 MB of memory and 100 GB of traffic a month, and sites never sleep. Boost is $20 a month per site plus tax, with 2 CPUs, 2 GB and 1 TB. We never charge for traffic: a site over its allowance is slowed, not taken offline. Servers are in London, behind Cloudflare.
• [Web Hosting](/hosting) for WordPress, PHP and email: cPanel on our own servers in a UK data center, from $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year plus tax, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• [Domains](/domains) you can buy alongside either.

Prices for every plan are on the pricing page, and our guide to how much a website costs works through real totals.