What is website hosting, and why do you need it?

In real life, this can be compared to getting your licence to drive a car. You can drive through the neighbourhood and look at all the houses and shops. Every now and again you can stop and buy something. Then you get into your car again and drive to the next stop.

Domain Name Registration
In comparison with real life, Domain Name Registration can be compared to you deciding to get your own business. Let's say we are talking of the days before the Internet. The first thing you would have done was to create a company, with its own name and identity, not so? Your Domain Name that you register can be compared to having a business name, or identity, through which you want to conduct business.

Website Hosting
Compared to real life, Website Hosting can be compared to you wanting to set up your own shop or office building. In the real world you have to rent office space, or rent space in a shopping center or retail complex somewhere if you want to establish a shop or an office, not so? In the same way, in cyberspace you have to rent space. The only difference is that you will not be signing a shop-lease, you will sign a hosting contract to rent hard disk space. This is therefore an ongoing, monthly cost.

Website maintenance
In the real world your office or shop must be maintained in different ways. First there is the basic maintenance, like cleaning and making sure the lifts still work. Then there is the stocking of new products, getting new products on the shop floor and positioning them so that they catch the eye of the client. In the same way, your website must be maintained. Information on your website must be kept current. There is nothing worse than a potential customer taking a look at your website and finding information that is dated.  You need to display new products,  or offer potential customers current and updated information about the company