For anyone without digital know-how or little website experience, “cloud hosting” is simply tech jargon.
As more entrepreneurs move into the digital space, we thought it was time to break it down and explain what it is and why it matters in plain terms.
Whether it’s blogging, e-commerce, or app development, cloud hosting is a real game-changer.
It offers a scalable solution perfect for small businesses and bigger goals alike, so let’s explore how to start making the most of it.
So, What Is Cloud Hosting?
Traditionally, businesses operating digitally have rented server space from a physical server provider in one location.
These days, 44% of traditional small businesses, 66% of small tech companies, and 74% of enterprises are using cloud infrastructure, which is essentially server space distributed across a global network.
To get to grips with what cloud hosting is, it’s best to compare how it differs from traditional web hosting.
The Differences Between Traditional & Cloud Hosting
There are three types of traditional hosting: shared, VPS, and dedicated, but all tie your website to a physical server. If there is an issue with the server, then your site fails along with it.
Cloud hosting stores data across multiple servers that are networked together to create a cloud environment. This infrastructural shift reduces the likelihood of downtime because your data and processes are distributed.
As there is no physical server, cloud servers allow flexible scaling, you can scale resources up as needed.
How Does Cloud Hosting Work?
Cloud hosting creates a virtual server—known as an ‘instance’—on top of physical hardware.
These instances can exist across multiple servers at once, meaning if there is a problem in one physical location, the operations are taken over by another.
This makes your hosting far more reliable and prevents loss from downtime.
Why Cloud Hosting Matters
When operating digitally and renting servers traditionally, you need an idea of traffic to pick a host that can handle your needs. If your hosting is insufficient, then your site performance can suffer.
Cloud hosting mechanics provide tangible benefits that can help improve and expand things.
Friction-Free Scalability & Reliable Performance
The resources given to your site are automatically adjusted with cloud hosting. That means, regardless of the number of visitors your site has, the performance remains reliable.
Traffic spikes won’t cause any issues because the cloud environment adjusts accordingly to handle things. This equals faster load times and reduced downtime.
Economically Accessible
Cloud hosting might sound fancy, but it is not as expensive as you might think.
Most providers offer pay-as-you-go pricing models, so there is no need to commit to a set amount of server resources.
Instead, you get charged on a consumption basis, meaning you pay according to site traffic.
Security Advice
Cloud hosting typically operates with strong security protocols in place, operating in compliance with security and data protection laws. They include strong firewalls and DDoS protection.
They also usually have their own encryption and provide support, but you still need to secure your access and application.
To keep things secure from both ends, many users leverage VPN service providers to ensure privacy between local devices, remote networks, and cloud servers.
Getting Started With Cloud Hosting
Some of what we have explained may still sound like gibberish, but fear not. You don’t have to understand cloud hosting mechanics at an expert level to start reaping the rewards.
It is fairly easy to launch your first-ever cloud-hosted project. So, before we wrap up, let’s walk through some advice regarding the steps you need to take.
Choosing A Provider
The first step is to simply choose a provider, but as with anything, not all are equal. So it is best to opt for a reputable platform.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), DigitalOcean, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure are all well-known, popular cloud hosting services.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, then a managed service such as those provided by Cloudways or Linode might be better for your needs.
They allow you to focus more on your project while they handle server maintenance.
Cloud Server Set Up
Once you have chosen your provider, you need to choose between Linux and Windows server types and set your region and cloud server size to launch a virtual machine (VM).
You can think of the VM (sometimes called a “droplet”) as a remote computer. After launching, you then install a web server such as Apache or Nginx.
Don’t worry if it still sounds complex—most platforms guide you step-by-step.
Cloud Hosting Management
Once you have set up and launched your first cloud-hosted project, there is still the important matter of management.
You will want to monitor your performance continually and make sure it is all running smoothly. Check the following metrics to keep track of performance and uptime:
- CPU usage;
- Memory;
- Disk space.
Many platforms will display this information to you on dashboards, you can also use tools such as Grafana or New Relic and set alerts for quick reaction should anything go wrong.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a reliable and flexible way to host websites or apps, then cloud hosting is not as complex as it seems, and just about everyone is turning to it.
It is cost-effective and provides an accessible way to scale up with little overhaul.
Hopefully, this guide has helped explain cloud hosting in clear, beginner-friendly steps.