Another pretty quaint article. But I love it.
An Internet Connected Filing Cabinet
That is the short answer.
Think of a web site as a collection of files that need to be delivered to someone’s computer. The files are stored on a server, a metaphor for which is a filing cabinet.
That filing cabinet sits in a room somewhere, literally, and the space where it sits has rent associated with it.
So hosting is rental space for files and access to those files.
Hosting is perpetual and is based on the amount of rental space as well as the amount of times files are moved in and out of the filing cabinet, as well as how large and how many files, known as bandwidth.
Email at your web address is also processed through the same server.
Look for a host with high amounts of space and bandwidth and low monthly cost if you are a do-it-yourselfer. Otherwise, look for a host that is virtually invisible, you don’t know about it, you don’t want to know about it. Actually, if you aren’t a do-it-yourselfer forget about hosting altogether.
Today there are so many hosts from which to choose with so much included space and bandwidth your choice will come down to the tools provided to you to achieve what you want.
Off Media provides invisible hosting only as part of your overall web solution.