What Is Cloud Hosting and How Does It Actually Work?

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Just take a walk outside, look up into the clouds and see if there is anything hosted in it.

Nothing right? So, what is cloud hosting?

While some articles online will try to put up some technical meaning to it, just look at it this way.

You are trying to sign up for an account online on your chrome browser and a prompt just comes up demanding that you save your password to the browser.

Nobody has the time to remember some bogus alphanumeric passwords right? So you immediately took the option of saving your password and even syncing your browser across multiple devices.

Your home computer, laptop, and mobile phone are some of the devices that you have synced to your browser through your email address.

What you will notice is that while on a vacation on the opposite side of the globe and very far away from home, as you try to login to any site online for which you have already saved your login details, your browser should automatically insert your saved login details for you without any effort on your part.

This is just a brief idea of what cloud hosting is and how it works.

In this article, you will get to know what is cloud hosting, how it works, the advantages and disadvantages of using cloud hosting, and our recommended list of the best cloud hosting online.

By the end of this article, you ought to have a better knowledge of what is cloud hosting and how does it work.

What is Cloud Hosting?

The cloud is a term used to describe remote storage solutions. You can, for example, upload photos from your smartphone or files from your computer to a cloud storage service such as Google Drive.

This is not the same as saving data locally on a computer such as an external hard drive.

To put it another way, the cloud is an electronic system that allows data to be stored through several computers. This information is then disseminated through networks such as the internet.

Your website data is spread out over a cluster of multiple servers, effectively acting as one big database, processor, and space.

Cloud hosting works on the same principles.

Cloud hosting refers to the storage of your website on various servers, allowing you to access services from a number of sources.

As a result, cloud hosting is a very scalable, secure, and versatile form of hosting, making it ideal for websites that experience spikes and dips in traffic.

Instead, cloud computing gathers resources from a number of places to build a virtual server. When you use shared hosting, if your server goes down, so does your website.

But when a cloud server fails, other servers in the network step in to fill the void. Cloud computing provides an outstanding combination of cost and performance.

Anyone who needs versatility would benefit from cloud storage. Consider your contract to be similar to a pay-as-you-go cell phone: each month, you set your own resource usage and budget accordingly.

If you’re planning a large marketing campaign, for example, cloud hosting helps you to plan ahead for a busy month.

Types of Cloud Hosting

Whereas with conventional web hosting, you have the option of sharing your computer with other accounts (Shared hosting) or running your own machine solely for your websites (Dedicated hosting).

You have a similar option with cloud storage, but it’s either Public, Private, or Hybrid.

1. Public cloud hosting

When your hosting account is based on a single server, you have the option of sharing the computer with other accounts as in the case of a shared server, or running an independent server only for your website, just as you would have it in a dedicated serve. You have a similar decision to make with cloud hosting.

One of the options is the public cloud, which is similar to a shared server in that it stores data for several websites using a series of networked computers.

The expense of the resource is shared since the hardware is shared by multiple virtualized accounts. The virtual server’s resources are enclosed, unlike conventional shared hosting.

You don’t share disk space, computing capacity, or anything else with other accounts; instead, you share data center rack space. In effect, you get all of the advantages of shared hosting without any of the disadvantages.

Users can also build public cloud servers in seconds using a control panel or a RESTful API (a type of architecture design for an application program interface (API) that accesses and uses data through HTTP requests).

These servers are easy to scale as required, allowing users to manage and customize their setup without having to seek outside assistance.

2. Private cloud hosting

A private cloud, or private virtualization as it’s also known, is your best option if you don’t want to share your resources with other accounts or web pages. Sure, it’s more expensive, but it provides much more protection and power.

A private cloud is ideal for those who handle sensitive data or can’t actually afford downtime. It includes dedicated hardware, redundant networking, control, storage, and your preferred operating system (OS).

Unless you already have some technology in place private cloud hosting helps you to expand on it, lowering your initial investment.

Private cloud applications are used by larger companies and are available from proprietary software developers such as Nutanix, VMware, and Microsoft, as well as enterprise-grade open source solutions from Red Hat and others.

When the basic IT infrastructure is committed to a single client, all clouds can be classified as private clouds. It is only accessible to this client.

This is commonly used for medical centers, financial institutions, and other entities that must adhere to federal and state data security regulations.

Since the resources and storage are not shared with anybody else, this is an excellent choice for storing private data that you’d like to keep as secure as possible.

Managed private clouds and dedicated clouds are two types of private clouds. In managed private clouds, you can build and use a cloud that has been deployed, preconfigured, and even managed by a third-party provider. You can totally handle anything with a dedicated cloud.

3. Hybrid cloud hosting

Hybrid cloud combines public and private networks, as well as on-premises infrastructure, to give you the advantages of both worlds.

Although each hybrid cloud is unique, depending on the company and/or industry, deploying a private cloud can be beneficial if yours deals with sensitive data and complex workloads.

However, these can easily be deployed in a public cloud for testing environments and less-critical workloads. In other words, in a public cloud, less-critical systems can be modified regularly, whereas important databases can be kept secret.

This method will help you save money and increase efficiency while reducing latency, privacy, and security concerns. It’s no surprise, then, that this hybrid-like world is gaining popularity.

Other types of cloud hosting are:

1. Hyperscale cloud hosting

Given the many advantages of public cloud hosting, it’s no wonder that three major players – Amazon, Microsoft, and Google – have appeared on the scene.

Hyperscale companies include Microsoft Azure (Microsoft), Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Due to the extremely large size of their networks, they are often referred to as hyperscale cloud rather than just cloud servers.

They have a virtual basket of ready-to-use cloud services that are simple to consume, use, and expand on.

And all three platforms can provide far more than just stable, scalable, and global hosting.

They all provide a wide range of artificial intelligence-based services and machine learning systems to improve the service you provide to your customers, in addition to custom-designed virtual machines.

These are connected through a simple API call and work seamlessly with the rest of your cloud needs. Consider Polly from Amazon, Emotion from Microsoft Azure, and Big Query and Datalab from Google.

All three major players are actively innovating and changing what is possible with cloud computing and making it available to you, the consumer.

These cloud services aren’t about providing a commodity service where hyperscale providers compete on price.

Sure, there’s a race going on, but it’s mostly about features and technology. In the long run, the service with the most creative features and the most comprehensive list of features wins.

So, if artificial intelligence, machine learning, practical machine-based communication, or data analysis are the future of your market, there’s a cloud service that can support you along the way.

2. Managed cloud hosting

Many businesses are unaware of where to start as cloud systems become more creative and Artificial Intelligence and machine learning reach ever-higher levels of sophistication.

The fact that you can now use the same cloud services to handle your presence online as you do to run your company definitely adds to the complexity of the decision. Not to include the migration, operation, and upkeep of the system.

What used to be a conversation between a digital agency and a client about where to host a website or application is now often a company-wide digital transformation initiative involving a variety of professional partners.

This is why hyperscale cloud providers depend on Managed Service Providers (MSPs), which are infrastructure companies that specialize in developing and providing custom-designed hosting solutions tailored to their client’s specific requirements. Companies like Wirehive are an example.

An MSP will help you every step of the way on your way to the cloud. From identifying the business problems you need to address with technology to choosing the best hyperscale cloud for your organization, to architecting, installing, and maintaining their suggested set-up, they’ve got you covered.

3. Green cloud hosting

Companies all over the world are searching for ways to lessen their effect on the environment.

All three hyperscale cloud providers are committed to sustainability, but what exactly is green cloud hosting?

Green cloud storage, in a nutshell, is all about increasing data center energy quality.

To reduce their carbon footprint and achieve energy efficiency goals, a growing number of providers are turning to renewable energy sources.

However, as the value of sustainability has increased, providers have searched for new ways to reduce their environmental effects.

Microsoft, for example, has recently launched a program aimed at assisting its clients in meeting their own sustainability goals.

To summarize, if you care about the environment, you can’t go wrong with any of the big three (Amazon, Microsoft, and Google).

Advantages of Cloud Hosting

Are you still undecided about whether cloud-based hosting is ideal for you?

Let’s look at some of the most notable benefits of this cutting-edge technology.

1. Cost-effectiveness

When you’ve surpassed your shared hosting plan, your only other choice will be to upgrade to dedicated hosting. This, will, however, come at a high cost.

The money expended on unused facilities would be lost on a website that did not need all of the resources available on a dedicated server or did not require them all of the time.

With cloud computing, however, you only pay for the services you use. You remove them when you no longer need them, and you are not expected to pay for them.

2. Immediacy

You may not have the time to wait for customer service to help you by increasing your bandwidth allotment if necessary as and at when you need it.

If you have a significant increase in traffic, your website will be disabled if it causes service failure for other sites on your shared server.

Due to the increase in traffic, your website can experience downtime or slowness. However, with cloud web hosting, you can instantly expand your available resources when you need them.

Since the process is smooth, it will save you a lot of time and money, as well as some clients. There will be no visible changes to the website’s customers or users.

3. High uptime

If you’re using standard hosting, the uptime of your website is determined by the physical server environment.

If the server goes down, your website follows suit. Unless you’re using a content delivery network (CDN), which will help reduce the site’s total downtime.

Cloud storage is designed to have a high level of uptime. Since your site would be using the resources of several servers, you will easily be moved to a different server if one goes down or has technical problems.

Furthermore, since you can scale server resources on-demand, your website will not go down due to an unforeseen traffic spike.

4. Security

Let us just admit it, the security of your website is crucial not just for you, but also for your customers.

Fortunately, cloud storage is well-known for its security. Since your website is removed from any future issues with a physical server, this is the case.

All is managed remotely, which would not be the situation if you were dependent on a single locally hosted server.

Your site would be in danger if a local server was hacked.

Your website will remain up and running without any downtime or delays if one of the servers in your cloud network was compromised, crashed, or experienced a system overload.

The best cloud storage companies are well aware of this, and they make certain that their configuration and functionality are up to date in terms of protection.

SSL certificates, DDoS authentication, malware protection, remote server backups, and anti-spam filters are only a few ways to secure the cloud.

5. Scalability

You must choose a web hosting package with sufficient bandwidth, memory, and webspace. To do so, you must first determine the amount of traffic that will be generated.

However, when it comes to choosing a hosting plan, new websites face a common problem.

They must determine if they want the most bandwidth possible, even though they may not come close to reaching those quotas. Can they begin with a lower bandwidth plan and gradually upgrade as their traffic grows?

This problem is solved by using cloud hosting.

You didn’t have to stress about running out of bandwidth because your website is hosted on several servers. You can still pull resources from another server if one is at capacity.

Find a cloud hosting package that allows you to access and customize your server resources in real-time.

6. Customization

The cloud computing environment allows you to play around with the platform and improve it. This is particularly useful if you have administrative experience.

And if you don’t, the best cloud hosting providers have professionally managed services, with experienced experts handling the technical aspects.

7. Speed and performance

The majority of cloud servers will provide you with lightning-fast speeds.

Cloud hosting not only helps you to easily expand your website’s storage, but it also enables simpler load balancing between different server environments, which can help to reduce the burden on a single server’s resources.

Of course, the website’s speed is influenced by the server hardware base, so search for a cloud host with several caching layers, premium server hardware, and low-density servers.

8. Backup and disaster recovery

Any business faces the risk of losing data and even money.

A disaster recovery plan is a must for any company.

Data backups are automatic with cloud hosting, so disaster recovery is rarely needed.

Due to the obvious redundancy in data storage, data loss is extremely unlikely.

Disadvantages of Cloud Hosting

Just don’t get carried away by all the benefits that cloud hosting offers; there are some drawbacks as well.

The following are some of the problems that can occur when using cloud hosting:

1. Security

You might be saying, “Wait a minute.” Didn’t you just mention that cloud computing has a security advantage?

For the reasons mentioned above, security is a benefit of cloud hosting on one basis. At a different level, security is also a drawback.

Recent cloud hacking cases have demonstrated that not all cloud services are as protected as they claim to be.

You can’t afford confidential details about your organization or your clients to fall into the hands of hackers as a business.

One of the biggest drawbacks of cloud hosting is that you never know which hosting provider you can trust.

This drawback of cloud computing is more prominent in SaaS providers than in hosted providers. Since SaaS providers are more common, they are targeted more regularly and easily than hosted providers.

2. Downtime

The most significant downside to cloud computing is downtime. We’re not talking about a server outage, but rather a loss of Internet connectivity.

You can’t use the cloud until your Internet connection is restored.

Strong mobile data plans will temporarily alleviate this issue.

When internet connectivity and even electricity are lost, cellular coverage is always still available. Data plans are, of course, small, and mobile devices have limited battery life.

Then once again, you probably have greater concerns if power is gone than having access to your cloud services.

With that said, it should be noted that no matter how you intend to look at it, your hosting provider will still conduct routine maintenance from time to time.

What this simply means is that at the time of such maintenance, you should expect to experience server downtime.

While this is not much of an issue since you will have the opportunity to move to another server almost immediately and cut down your latency time, it is worthy to still mention.

You might be thinking that a slight delay in uptime is nothing right? According to uptime.is, a 99.9% uptime will still result in over 8 hours of downtime in a year for your website.

99.9% Uptime Guarantee

3. Limited control

With cloud hosting, you’re effectively entrusting the security of your data to a third party. You’re putting your faith in them to handle their data centers and servers with the same, if not greater, care that you would.

You must trust that your hosting provider’s data centers are both physically and electronically compliant and stable. Some people are concerned about the server’s lack of in-house power.

If this is a concern of yours, collaborate with a partner who has local contacts with where your host’s data centers are located, in order to help you spy around.

Speak with a representative one-on-one about your access issues, as well as the steps taken by hosted services to ensure the integrity and security of their cloud servers.

4. Limited features

All cloud service providers are not made equal. When it comes to cloud hosting for storage and backup, you can look for a service that provides unlimited bandwidth.

You may also have a shortage of storage capacity or access. Although most SaaS offerings start with a free bundle, you will be charged for premium features and extra storage. Can your company bear the costs as your requirements expand?

To address the issue of restricted features, work with a hosted services provider that can fulfill your cloud storage, virtualization, and backup requirements now and in the future as your company expands.

Working with a provider that can provide you with a hosting services package that is the best value for the functionality and space your company requires is ideal.

5. Vulnerable to attacks

The most significant issue with using web-based software or some other type of web-based application is that the Internet is rife with people trying to benefit from the mistakes of others.

A web-based service being compromised or having a data breach is not uncommon.

When using a cloud hosting service, keep in mind that many other businesses are already using the same service from the same provider.

This could lead to data theft by hackers or a competitor. Despite the fact that security measures are in place in the cloud, the possibility of attacks should be considered when using this form of service.

How Do You Choose the Right Cloud Hosting Provider?

When selecting a cloud hosting service, there are some important factors to consider.

We’ve done our best to accommodate them here. We can only point you in the right direction; we can’t tell you exactly what you need.

We suggest prioritizing the following items:

Your financial plan

This is a major one. What is the maximum amount you are able to pay on hosting?

Customer service

If you’re new to the world of web hosting, this can be a lifesaver. It will not only assist you with any hosting issues but will also teach you how it works.

Money-back guarantee

Money-back guarantees mean that you are not locked into an 18-month deal for a service that you don’t want or need. It allows you to observe a service provider in operation.

Uptime

One of the most critical features to remember is uptime. When your website goes down on a regular basis, it’s a nightmare for everyone involved, so having a provider with near-perfect uptime is a huge plus.

Root access

Root access is also useful for those who are more tech-savvy. You can add extra software that will support your site directly if you have more control over your server’s climate.

When Should You Use Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting is a highly adaptable hosting option. It helps companies like Facebook, which demands high performance, bandwidth, and 100% uptime, as well as startups who are just getting started scaling their traffic and services.

Cloud hosting is accessible at all levels, from enterprise companies to individuals who run high-traffic blogs, due to its versatility.

At a higher level, cloud storage can be beneficial to businesses who need near-perfect uptime and want to scale their servers as required without experiencing any downtime.

Working with a high-quality cloud service provider will provide you with reliable security and lightning-fast site efficiency.

Cloud web hosting is also a good fit for site administrators who have a lot of traffic and see traffic spikes that cause their websites to slow down or even go offline.

If your site receives a lot of traffic, you may get a dedicated server or a virtual private server, but these options do not provide you with the scalability you may need.

You can also need varying levels of professional competence depending on the provider you select. With Hostinger’s cloud hosting, you get an easy-to-use control panel that even novices can use.

Most hosting providers, on the other hand, can require a higher level of technical expertise to properly manage your cloud servers.

Who Should Switch Over To Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting isn’t suitable for all types of website owners. For example, if your site is currently hosted on a shared hosting plan and you never surpass the service’s limits or experience any website performance problems, you should probably stick with it.

Even if you don’t use cloud web hosting, you can improve the efficiency of your website by using caching plugins, image optimization, and a CDN.

Without having to update your plan, just doing these three things will greatly improve your results.

If your site isn’t getting anything more than 100,000+ visitors per month, you probably don’t need to change your plan.

However, if your site receives less than this amount of traffic but has significant traffic fluctuations, you should think about it.

For example, if you’re planning a large sales campaign and anticipate a 5x increase in website traffic during the promo period, you’ll need a hosting plan that can manage it without your website going down.

Cloud Hosting Service Models

Since they use cloud infrastructure to provide their services, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS are all linked to cloud hosting:

1. IaaS

This term applies to the modern business model for hosting companies known as “infrastructure as a service.”

The procedure entails using cloud architecture to provide virtual machines and computing power.

People can buy only the services they want rather than having to employ physical infrastructure.

2. PaaS

This acronym stands for “platform as a service.”

These solutions are typically used as a foundation for developers to build upon.

PaaS solutions are common in the developing world because they reduce time to market and provide more flexibility.

3. SaaS

This acronym stands for “software as a service.”

It’s the word for when a company uses the cloud to provide a digital interface to its customers, usually through a web browser or a smartphone app.

A perfect example of a SaaS service is Google Docs.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is cloud computing less expensive than a dedicated server?

Dedicated servers typically cost more than cloud servers when just signing up. Cloud servers, on the other hand, appear to lose this advantage as a business grows and needs more capital.

Both solutions have features that can boost their costs.

In essence, at the very beginning, dedicated hosting is more expensive than cloud hosting but as your business grows, you’ll require more resources, which will add up to the cost of hosting in the cloud.

It does mean that while dedicated hosting seems cheaper than cloud hosting at the entry point, in the long run, the reverse will be the case.

2. What is the cost of cloud hosting?

According to SherWeb, the average monthly cost of a cloud server is $313.90, compared to $1,476.31 for a dedicated on-premises server.

The technology refresh rate, scaling requirements, and the indirect cost of system administration personnel were all factored into this calculation.

3. What is the best cloud server?

The ideal solution for growing websites is cloud web hosting. If your shared plan no longer meets your website’s requirements, you should consider moving to a cloud solution.

So, which cloud hosting company is the best? It all depends on what you’re after.

The following are the best cloud hosting services:

  • SiteGround – The best cloud hosting for scalability
  • A2 Hosting – The world’s fastest cloud web hosting provider
  • HostGator – The best cheap cloud web hosting provider
  • DreamHost – The best cloud hosting for developers
  • Hostinger – Best value for money
  • InMotion – Small business cloud hosting at its best
  • Nexcess – The best cloud hosting provider for e-commerce websites

4. What are the advantages of using a cloud server?

Cloud hosting ensures optimal network availability and eliminates single points of failure.

Since it is a system of interconnected servers, if one server is unable to handle the request, another server from the pool of available servers will automatically take over the workload of the failed server.

5. Is it true that cloud computing saves money?

In reality, according to a recent Rackspace survey of 1,300 businesses, 88 percent of cloud users reported cost savings and 56 percent reported increased income.

Here are a few great ways cloud computing will help you save money. Cloud computing has the benefit of lowering hardware costs.

  • There is no need to purchase any new equipment
  • Stable uptime means that you are always in business
  • Pay just for what you require
  • Low rates with no major software changes

6. Is it possible to hack clouds?

Weak password protection can offer cybercriminals all-access passes to your private data, as hackers illustrated with the celebrity iCloud breach.

However, it is missing data, not hacked data, which is the most concerning aspect of Cloud storage.

7. Which one is the most cost-effective cloud provider?

Google Cloud.

When no SSD is needed, Google Cloud is usually the cheapest option. Due to the fact that Google Cloud includes less than half the memory of AWS and Azure, it is more expensive per GB RAM for a high CPU.

Pricing for Google Cloud Platform starts at $0.01. A free version is available. A free trial of Google Cloud Platform is also available.

8. Are cloud servers faster?

Yes.

Cloud servers have a better value for your money by providing a quicker service.

For the same price as a physical server, you’ll get more speed and a quicker operation. A website hosted in the cloud will load quicker. Cloud servers have scalability.

9. Is there a server in the cloud?

No.

But a cloud server is a centralized, shared server resource that is hosted and distributed over a network (typically the Internet) and accessed by multiple users on demand.

Cloud servers can provide all of the computing capacity, storage, and software that a conventional physical server can.

10. How is data processed in the cloud?

Instead of being stored on your own personal computer (such as your laptop’s hard drive or your phone), cloud-based data is stored somewhere else (usually on servers operated by large corporations) and made available to you through the internet.

11. Is Google Drive a cloud storage service?

Yes.

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service that lets you save documents online and access them from any device, smartphone, or tablet.

You can safely upload and edit files online using Drive on your computer or mobile device.

12. Is anybody able to see my cloud?

You transfer your files, programs, and processes to third-party domains in cloud computing, which you can then access remotely. As a result, whoever you entrust your data to will be able to see it, and that is a fact you must recognize. The handling and security of your data are the responsibility of your hosting company.

13. Who is the owner of the cloud?

Nobody.

The cloud is nothing more than a series of servers situated in vast, acre-sized facilities and operated by some of the world’s most powerful companies.

This simply means that our information is stored on computers to which we do not have access. Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple have all put significant resources into building safe havens for our personal information.

14. Is it possible for me to switch hosting providers?

Yes.

It’s similar to moving house online: you sign up with a new provider, move your digital belongings to your new home, and then cancel your old provider’s contract.

This can seem complicated, but it’s really very easy. Some services, such as HostGator, can also handle the transfer for you.

15. How do you tell the difference between shared and cloud hosting?

Several websites share the same server in shared hosting.

Multiple sites share the resources of multiple servers by using cloud computing. Cloud storage is less susceptible to outages because it is not tied to a single venue.

If one server goes down, another will step in and pick up the slack.

Conclusion

Here comes the end of this article.

By now, you must have known what cloud hosting is, and how it can benefit you and your business.

Due to the benefits that cloud computing provides, we suggest that you use it.

If you’ve exceeded the resources available with your current hosting plan, or if your website is experiencing significant traffic spikes, cloud hosting is the answer to such a situation.

Cloud hosting makes it easier, whether it’s in terms of uptime, management convenience, or offsite server resources to handle peak loads.

Most cloud hosting providers, in reality, are built with non-technical users in mind, with an interactive control panel that makes designing and maintaining your website simpler than ever before.

While Shared Hosting can meet the needs of a web beginner, cloud hosting allows you to enjoy many of the benefits of premium web hosting, such as dedicated servers, without any of the drawbacks.

WebHost Bros is an online resource that provides you with relevant information on the best web host for your next digital project. Here is our list of the best hosting.