Understanding Your Hosting Account

Overview

If you're new to web hosting, it's easy to see terms like hosting account, domain, DNS, cPanel, storage, bandwidth, databases, and email and wonder how everything fits together.

Your hosting account is essentially the space and services that allow your website and related services to operate on the internet.

This guide explains the most common parts of a hosting account, the different types of hosting you may encounter, and how everything works together.

What Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a service that provides the resources your website needs to be available on the internet.

When someone visits your website, their browser needs to retrieve your website's files and other information from a server.

Your hosting account provides the environment where those files and services can live.

Depending on your hosting plan, this can include resources and features such as:

• Website storage

• Website files

• Databases

• Email accounts

• Domain management tools

• SSL and HTTPS support

• FTP access

• Application installers

• Website statistics

• Backups or backup-related tools

• cPanel access

The exact features and resource limits available to you depend on your hosting package.

Shared vs. Dedicated Hosting

One of the first things you'll encounter when learning about web hosting is the difference between shared hosting and dedicated hosting.

The primary difference is how server resources are allocated.

Shared Hosting

With shared hosting, multiple hosting accounts operate on the same physical server.

The server's underlying resources are shared between the accounts hosted on that server, while each customer's hosting account remains separated from the others.

Shared hosting is commonly used for:

• Personal websites

• Small business websites

• Blogs

• Portfolios

• Informational websites

• Small online stores

• WordPress websites

• Websites that don't require an entire server of their own

The biggest advantage of shared hosting is that it provides a practical and affordable way to host a website without having to manage an entire server.

You generally don't need to worry about maintaining the physical server, operating system, or underlying hosting infrastructure.

Important: Shared hosting does not mean that other customers can simply access your website files or account. Hosting accounts are separated from one another using server-level security and account permissions.

Dedicated Hosting

With dedicated hosting, an entire physical server is allocated to a single customer or organization.

Instead of sharing the server's resources with other hosting customers, the customer has access to the server's available resources for their own workloads.

Dedicated hosting may be appropriate for:

• High-traffic websites

• Resource-intensive applications

• Large online stores

• Organizations with specialized hosting requirements

• Applications requiring extensive server resources

• Customers who need greater control over their server environment

Dedicated hosting generally costs more than shared hosting and may require significantly more technical knowledge to manage.

VPS Hosting

You may also encounter VPS, or Virtual Private Server, hosting.

A VPS divides a physical server into multiple isolated virtual server environments.

A VPS can provide more control and dedicated resources than typical shared hosting while generally costing less than an entire dedicated server.

VPS hosting is often used by customers who have outgrown shared hosting or need greater control over their server environment.

Which Type Is Right for Me?

For most new websites, shared hosting is a perfectly reasonable place to start.

You generally don't need a dedicated server simply because you're starting a website.

A dedicated server or VPS may become appropriate when your website or application has specific resource, performance, security, or customization requirements.

If you're unsure what type of hosting you need, consider:

• How much traffic your website receives

• What applications you are running

• How much storage you need

• Whether you require specialized server software

• How much control you need over the server

• Your technical experience

• Your budget

Have Freedom Hosting can help you determine whether your current hosting environment is appropriate for what you're trying to accomplish.

Your Domain Name

Your domain name is the address people use to find your website.

For example:

example.com

A domain is not the same thing as hosting.

Think of it this way:

Domain = Your website's address

Hosting = The space where your website lives

You can register a domain with one company and host the website with another.

For your website to work properly, the domain needs to be configured to point visitors toward the correct hosting service.

Your Hosting Server

Your website is stored on a physical or virtual server operated as part of the hosting infrastructure.

The server provides the computing resources required to deliver your website and other hosted services.

You may encounter information such as:

• Server hostname

• Server IP address

• Account username

• Nameservers

• Hosting service details

You may need some of this information when configuring domains, email applications, FTP connections, or other services.

Tip: Keep the original hosting information provided when your account was created. It can be useful when configuring your services or troubleshooting a problem.

cPanel

cPanel is the control panel used to manage many parts of your hosting account.

Instead of requiring you to manage everything directly from the server, cPanel provides a web-based interface with tools for common hosting tasks.

Depending on your account, you may use cPanel to manage:

• Website files

• Email accounts

• Domains

• Subdomains

• Databases

• SSL settings

• FTP accounts

• Applications

• Security features

• Other hosting functions

Website Files

Your website consists of files that are stored on your hosting account.

These may include:

• HTML files

• CSS files

• JavaScript files

• Images

• Fonts

• PHP files

• Application files

• Configuration files

For a typical primary website, these files are commonly stored in:

public_html

The exact location may vary depending on how your hosting account and domains are configured.

If your website files are placed in the wrong directory, your domain may display the wrong website or fail to display your site altogether.

Databases

Many modern websites use databases to store information.

For example, WordPress uses a database to store things such as:

• Posts

• Pages

• User accounts

• Settings

• Comments

• Other website information

Not every website requires a database.

A simple static HTML website may consist entirely of files, while applications such as WordPress typically require a database.

Email Accounts

Your hosting account may also allow you to create email addresses using your domain.

For example:

you@example.com

Email accounts are separate from your customer portal login and may have their own passwords and settings.

You can generally access hosted email through:

• Webmail

• Desktop email applications

• Mobile email applications

Your email application will require the appropriate incoming and outgoing mail settings.

Storage

Your hosting package includes a defined amount of storage for the services hosted within your account.

Storage can be used by things such as:

• Website files

• Images and other media

• Email messages

• Databases

• Backups, where applicable

• Application files

• Logs and other account data

If your account approaches its storage limit, you may begin experiencing problems such as failed uploads, email issues, or applications being unable to save new information.

Keeping your account organized and removing unnecessary files can help prevent this.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data transferred between your hosting account and visitors or other connected services.

For example, when someone visits a page containing several images, their browser downloads those files from your hosting account.

The amount of data transferred depends on factors such as:

• Number of visitors

• Page size

• Image and video sizes

• Downloads

• Other files served by your website

Your hosting package may have a defined bandwidth or transfer allowance.

SSL and HTTPS

SSL/TLS helps protect information transmitted between your website and its visitors.

When SSL is properly configured, your website can be accessed using:

https://

rather than:

http://

HTTPS is important for modern websites and helps protect information exchanged between visitors and your website.

You should use HTTPS for your website whenever possible.

FTP and File Transfer

FTP and other file-transfer methods allow you to move files between your computer and your hosting account.

You may use file transfer tools when:

• Uploading a website

• Downloading files

• Replacing existing files

• Moving large numbers of files

• Managing a website without using cPanel File Manager

For many customers, cPanel File Manager is sufficient for basic file management.

Applications

Your hosting account may support applications such as WordPress and other software.

Applications can often be installed through Softaculous in cPanel.

Applications typically consist of multiple files and may require databases and additional configuration.

If you're setting up a new WordPress website, using Softaculous can simplify the installation process.

How Everything Fits Together

A typical website setup looks something like this:

Domain

↓

DNS

↓

Hosting Server

↓

Website Files / Application

↓

Database, if required

↓

SSL / HTTPS

↓

Visitors

Your email follows a somewhat different path:

Domain

↓

DNS / Mail Settings

↓

Mail Server

↓

Your Email Account

Understanding these relationships makes many common hosting tasks much easier to understand.

A Simple Example

Suppose you own:

example.com

You purchase a hosting plan and want to create a WordPress website.

The process would generally look like this:

1. Your domain is example.com.

2. Your hosting account provides the space and resources for your website.

3. You configure the domain's DNS to point to your hosting service.

4. You access cPanel to manage your hosting account.

5. You install WordPress using Softaculous.

6. WordPress stores its files within your hosting account.

7. WordPress uses a database to store website information.

8. Your website uses SSL/HTTPS for secure connections.

9. Visitors enter example.com and are directed to your website.

You don't necessarily need to understand every technical detail to operate your website, but knowing how these pieces relate to each other can make troubleshooting much easier.

What Happens When You Change Something?

Hosting changes can sometimes take time to become visible.

For example:

• DNS changes may take time to propagate.

• SSL changes may require your browser to reconnect or refresh.

• Website changes may be affected by browser or application caching.

• Email changes may take time to be recognized by other mail servers.

If something doesn't appear to have changed immediately, don't assume that the change failed.

Give the system some time to update, then test again.

Keeping Your Hosting Account Organized

A little organization can prevent a lot of problems later.

We recommend:

• Keep track of your domain names.

• Keep your hosting account information somewhere secure.

• Use descriptive names for files and folders.

• Remove old files and applications you no longer need.

• Keep WordPress and other applications updated.

• Keep important website files backed up.

• Avoid making changes to files or settings unless you understand what they do.

• Contact Have Freedom Hosting Support if you're unsure about a potentially disruptive change.

Need Help?

If you're unsure about something related to your hosting account, check the appropriate section of the Have Freedom Hosting knowledgebase first.

If you can't find the information you need, you can open a support ticket with Have Freedom Hosting Support.

When requesting assistance, tell us what you're trying to accomplish and provide the domain or hosting service involved.

Never include passwords or other sensitive credentials in a support ticket.