Hosting

Hosting describes the provision of server, storage and network capacity for websites, applications or services. Providers deliver hardware, power, connectivity and usually management interfaces. Customers focus on their application instead of running their own data centre. Hosting models range from shared hosting for simple websites to dedicated servers for complex applications.

Hosting models

Shared hosting splits a server across many customers, cheap but limited in performance. Virtual servers offer guaranteed resources and more flexibility at moderate cost. Dedicated servers are exclusive to one customer and suit high load or special requirements. Managed hosting also handles administration, cloud hosting enables elastic scaling.

Selection criteria

Important criteria are data centre location, availability, backup concept, attack protection, support quality and data protection. For GDPR sensitive data, an EU host is usually the simpler choice. Performance values like response time and throughput become tangible under real load. Contracts should clearly define availability, data export and termination, so a provider change stays possible when needed.

Context in marketing and operations

In day to day marketing, hosting mainly affects landing pages and websites. Fast response times improve user experience, SEO and conversion. For sending platforms like JD Mail, dedicated hosting infrastructure is the right foundation, because the requirements for IP reputation, scaling and availability go beyond what classic shared hosting can deliver.