Today, I was working on a new website I’m building from which I’m going to sell blog hosting.

As part of that, I had to write an explanation of what this word ‘hosting’ that we geeks throw around so much actually means and I thought I’d share it with you today, seeing as it’s Tech Tuesday after all.

So what is hosting, what does it involve and why do you need it?

Imagine you wanted to open a store selling some kind of product, let’s say toothbrushes.

• First thing you need is a business plan.
• Then you need a name for your business.
• Next, you need to find somewhere to locate your store.
• When you’ve found the perfect location, you need to rent a building
• The building needs to be decorated to your taste
• Then you put your sign on the front and open for business
• To get customers coming through the door, you need to advertise.
• Finally, you need to keep everything fresh. New products, new displays, and constant restocking.

Your blog or website may not be set up to sell anything but having a one means you need to follow those same basic rules:

1. Have a plan. Why are you blogging, what will you blog about, how often will you blog?
2. Think up a name for your blog that fits with what you will be blogging about. This will then be the Domain Name you want to purchase.
3. Next, you need to find somewhere to locate your blog. That’s the Web Host.
4. You rent some web space from your chosen host with what’s called a Hosting Plan.
5. Once you’ve rented the space, you need to decide what blogging software to use. We recommend WordPress.
6. You install your blogging software into your web space and then you have to decorate it. If you’re not comfortable doing the decoration yourself, you can get a web designer to do it for you.
7. Once the design is all done, you need to start blogging. Writing new posts on a regular basis is important!
8. You can advertise your blog in a whole host of ways. Some of the most popular are: by leaving comments on other people’s blogs, joining twitter and facebook and telling all your friends about it.
9. Keep writing new posts to keep your blog fresh and interesting – and tinker with the design every so often to give it a fresh feel.

I hope this has helped you understand a little better what hosting is, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!