Internet Marketing -- What EXACTLY is a Web Hosting Service?
A Web Hosting Service is a place that has one or many computers that store your web site and make it available to the Internet. Your web site is housed on a "web server" which is basically a specialized computer.
Web hosting services typically have many more services than a simple ISP (Internet Service Provider). You can get email through them, some provide you with shopping carts, web authoring software, statistics, automatic backups and tons of other things that are web site related.
The problem with web hosting services is that in many cases they go through a continual porpoise cycle i.e., they provide really good service so all their customers brag about them and they get a good rating in an Internet magazine. Then they get a rush of new web sites to host and everything slows down because they don't have enough computer space and tech support to handle the surge in business. Then your web site slows down and you can never get anyone on the tech support phone. Six months later they start to improve and add new equipment and hire more people and everything is fine again until the next rush.
I've been through several of these cycles and sometimes it's just not pretty. I get mad, they get mad, but unless you are willing to spring for the money to be hosted on a "dedicated server" (yours is the only web site on the computer) you've got to live with what they give you. It's just too difficult to move to a different host every time you have a little trouble. And where would you move to? The next host could be just coming off of the high (good service) part of their cycle and in a few months your web site will be no better off than it was at the old hosting company.