All websites need to be hosted on a server. Hosting is essentially the place where all the website files are stored and called upon when someone visits your site. Nowadays there are a number of different types of hosting packages you can choose from and all have their advantages and disadvantages.

It may be that you do not know what hosting company you use as you pay for it as part of your web management package through a web company.

Having the correct hosting company is not only important in terms of back up and restoring the files (should you need to in the situation of a hack or error in coding) but also to ensure that you have enough bandwidth to cope with the levels of traffic to your website along. The hosting company should also offer a secure server with regular security updates and support. The hosting of your website can also have an effect on how well your site performs on the search engines such as Google. If you choose shared for hosting then the other websites on that server may have an impact on how your website is perceived in the eyes of Google and mail clients etc.