The web hosting solution for a home-based business will likely be radically different from the needs of a large ecommerce site. The use of a web host is essentially the cyber-office lease for your Internet business. The web hosting solution houses the files you will need to upload and can store you online company data.

There are three primary web-hosting solutions and each one is designed to accommodate a specific need. This article will take a look at these three solutions and what type of business may require each solution.

Co-Located Server Hosting

We will start with the most comprehensive solution first. This type of web hosting is in-house and will typically cost the most. You will need to purchase one or more server specifically for your company use. This server will need to be monitored and will likely require an in-house Internet Technician (IT).

This solution works for larger companies with either lots of data to store or who want to be able to work on any solution regarding their web hosting immediately.

Dedicated Hosting

This plays a similar role to the co-located server hosting option in that you have your own server taking care of your online data. In this case, however, the server is located off-site and is maintained by a third party. Middle to large sized firms would likely use this option to maintain the highest possibility of uptime without the need for an in-house IT.

Shared Hosting

This is the most cost effective method of hosting and takes care of the majority of personal and small businesses sites. Most Shared Hosting options are less than $100 per month (often much less). Many of these same services are adaptable to allow for ecommerce solutions.

There are other options in web hosting solutions, but they typically fall into these three categories. Obviously the Co-Located Server Hosting option will be the most costly and labor-intensive solution, but it will be the best solution for the large business managing hundreds and thousands of transactions online.

The Dedicated Hosting option may be a good fit when a growing company needs a high ceiling for data as well as the comfort of knowing their fate isn’t tied to a server with multiple accounts.

The Shared Hosting solution is perfect for a business startup because it provides a cost effective way to get online without breaking the bank. Some Shared Hosting solutions provide the tools to allow their customers to develop their own ecommerce sites through template rich designs. Remember, just because the server is shared with others doesn’t make it a bad solution. To say otherwise would be to say an office building is bad because it contains more than one office.