View source for Web hosting service

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A web hosting service is a type of [[Internet hosting service]] that allows individuals or organizations to make their own websites accessible via the [[Web|World Wide Web]].

Web hosting companies provide their clients with space on a [[web server]], together with Internet connectivity and a variable selection of other services. The web servers, which are owned (or leased) by the web hosting company, are typically installed in racks in a [[data center]].

==Website creation and management services==
A web hosting service offers specific services for website creation and management. These services are much more limited than those offered by a full-featured [[Internet hosting service]], where the user can do whatever they want with the web server that they rent.

Website creation and management services generally offer the ability to:
*Create a website directory in which to install the [[website software]]
*Direct a [[domaine name]] to the website directory
*Upload the website software to the website directory by [[FTP]]
*Create a [[website database]] to be used by the website software (in the case of a [[dynamic website]])
*Run executable files uploaded to the website directory

Additional services offered may include:
*E-mail hosting service
*[[DNS hosting service]]
*Statistical analysis of website activity (such as records of page visits)

==Software deployed by website hosting services==
In order to provide the services listed above, the web hosting service must deploy the necessary software on their [[server]]s. This generally includes a:
*Server [[operating system]], such as [[Linux]], [[Windows server]] or [[Unix]]
*[[Web server]] software, such as [[Apache]]
*[[Database management system]], such as [[MySQL]]
*Website [[scripting language]], such [[PHP]]

The typical deployment combines Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, also known as [[LAMP]] (after the first initials of these four software elements). 
The web hosting service normally updates the deployed software to the latest versions, but sometimes for practical reasons they stay with an older version of the software. The user should thus verify the compatibility between the software version provided by the web hosting service and the version required by the user's [[Content Management System]] (CMS).

The web hosting service may also deploy on their servers a wide range of additional programmes which are thus available for the users' websites.

==External links==
*Wikipedia article on web hosting services: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting

==See also==
*[[Web server]]
*[[How to make a website]]

[[Category:Web hosting]]
[[Category:Draft]]