Web hosting is defined as a company or individual having their own space in the World Wide Web, or cyber space. In this space, the individual can share data, information about his business, act as a post office (mail server), or share knowledge and information, across the internet with who so ever visits his space or web page, across the cyber space at any time of the day. This empowers the owner of the web page, to own a space physically and virtually on the internet for reasons that benefit him and suit him, and he is at liberty to publish what ever he desires, like files, data, directories, information, commerce, knowledge, multi media, it can be anything under the sun.
Who does this for him? There is web hosting service providers or web hosting companies who lease out space to individuals or companies. For an individual to do this directly on his own will not be viable for various reasons. First, one has to have the technical knowledge and skill, secondly it involves a lot of money to invest in the hardware and infrastructure required, and for the average member of the internet community, and this is out of reach. Hence, web hosting companies were created, to provide the web hosting service to those interested, by leasing out or renting out a space on the internet backbone, through a server, which was split into a number of areas or spaces, and this makes it cost effective. When a client leases an entire server for his own use and not to be shared then it is called a dedicated server.
Over the years this has evolved and the latest trend is to be responsible for your environment by contributing your own bit, and thus green hosting is the new mantra.
