Web Hosting
One of the first steps in creating a Web site is to determine your hosting solution — that is, where the electronic bits of your site will live. There are four common options (in non-standard terminology): virtual hosting, dedicated hosting, remote hosting, and local hosting.
Virtual Hosting
This is by far the most common hosting solution for small and/or non-corporate Web sites. A virtual host is a remotely located Web server that serves multiple sites, all of which share hard disk space, computer memory and processor time with the other virtually hosted sites.
This site is virtually hosted by Dreamhost.
Dedicated Hosting
Another common hosting solution is dedicated hosting. This option makes sense for sites that have high memory and processor demands, such as database-intensive sites, or sites that demand longer up-times, such as merchant Web sites. A dedicated host is a Web server that is provided exclusively for your site by a third-party hosting company. While you do not own the server, you do have an exclusive lease on it.
Remote Hosting
Remote hosting is very similar to dedicated hosting, except that you own the machine. All the hosting company provides is electricity and a connection to the Internet. (Some companies will also manually reboot your machine if something goes wrong; others require you to visit the hosting facility.) You have complete control over every hardware and software aspect of your Web server.
Local Hosting
This is the most common form of corporate hosting, which involves physically storing your Web server on your premises and using your own electricity and Internet connection utilities. This can also be a solution for hosting small personal Web sites, but many ISPs do not allow Web servers on a non-commercial service.