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What’s all this about hosting?

PS blogpost 03 2020 Hosting Jere banner

Ever wondered what we mean when we talk about hosting your website? Keep on reading to find out.

Ever wondered what we mean when we talk about hosting your website?

Every website lives on a server somewhere. That server is basically a computer that contains all the files and data that run your website. Whenever you view a web page in a browser on your phone or desktop, the browser sends a request for that page’s URL to the world wide web. That request is then directed to the server that hosts that web page, using the IP address associated with that URL to find the right server. That server then sends back all the data and imagery needed to display the page in your browser.

Theoretically, you can host your own site on a computer sitting in your spare room, but that’s a pretty bad idea because you have to keep that poor thing running 24/7, and every time you have a power cut or your mum pulls the plug out to do the vacuuming, your site goes down. Good thing, most servers live in big nerdy data centres usually surrounded by brainy people who make sure everything stays in tip-top shape. The websites we build are all hosted either in data centres around New Zealand, or on AWS (Amazon Web Services).

So now you know what we mean when we’re about to go live with your new website and we keep raving on about hosting.