In order for the world to see your website it needs to be hosted on a web server. The server is a physical location for your website data and information.

There are several types of hosting providers, there are even free website hosting providers but as you know, nothing is for free. Free website hosting always come with a space limitation, built in advertisements or traffic limitation and most importantly no support.

Free hosting is generally not recommended but if you lack in funds, it’s a good way to get started. If you want to get serious and make sure your hosting is more reliable, no downtime, support, you should choose paid hosting.

You have 3 types of web hosting:

1. Shared Hosting – Your website will reside on a server with other websites. Advantages: Cheap. Disadvantages: Sometimes Slow, sometimes one website make the entire server crash.
2. Virtual Private Servers (VPS) – The server will be divided into independent allocated units with minimum resources for each unit. This means you get your own server on a server. Advantages: Reliable and Cheap Disadvantages: Limited resources, Server may crash due to other websites.
3. Dedicated Hosting – The server is rented to you and is completely yours to use. Advantages: No downtime, more power Disadvantages: Expensive.

Before you jump into spending good money on dedicated server or VPS, know that most shared hosting services are reliable and price is a factor when starting up your own website.

Most web hosting comes with 24/7 support and webmaster tools to help you get started. You can always upgrade your blog hosting service, don’t be afraid of traffic limitation or hosting limitation, cross that bridge when you hopefully get there.