Web hosting is the ability to store a website on a server so that it can be displayed on the internet. It’s like renting space in a office to store your files for your website so that it can be accessed by internet users.

Some features that web hosting services provide are the amount of disk space available, personalized email address, data backups and SSL certificates.

Here is a breakdown of what each different service/feature means for your website:

Disk space

The amount of data that you can keep in the server, like the size of your office. The amount of space that your website will need depends on the size and capabilities of your website. Since this cannot always be measured or predicted. having access to unlimited disk space is the most beneficial.

Email address

There are two different types of email account access methods that First Source Web provides: POP3 and IMAP.

  • POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) is a standard method of email access through a device from a server. This method stores received emails in the server until they are downloaded from your email-client whether it be Gmail, Outlook, etc. Once it is downloaded from a device through the email client then it is removed from the server altogether. Because it is removed, a limitation for this method is that you wouldn’t be able to access your email from more than one device. For example, if you set up your email on a desktop PC it would download and remove the emails from the server, then they wouldn’t be accessible if you tried to check your email from a mobile device.
  • IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a more advanced method for accessing your emails. Instead if automatically removing the email from the server after it is downloaded, IMAP stores a copy of the email. This gives you the ability to keep emails on a mail server and access them from multiple devices. This ability gives IMAP an advantage over the POP3 method.
Data Backups

Data backups are necessary for data security and peace of mind. Automatic standard weekly data backups are a necessity. First Source provides an option to upgrade to a third-party premium plug-in which gives more options for data reassurance.

SSL Certificates

SSL certificates are security technology for creating an encrypted link between a web server and an internet browser. This encrypted link will ensure that any data given through the web browser is secure and private. SSL is mostly used to secure important information like credit card transactions, data logins, etc. One way to know if a website has SSL is their url will begin with https instead of just the standard http. Not only is SSL beneficial for websites that deal with secure transactions, but Google decided that this added layer of security will be a ranking factor in their algorithm. So not only will an https site provide reassurance and security for users, but it will increase your sites SEO.