What is a Server and What Does it Do?

 Your computer might be your workstation, but there’s another thing that’s just as essential to running your business: your server. But what is a server, and what does it do? What if you need help choosing the right one? We’ve got you covered with this guide to everything you need to know about servers.

What is a Server?

A server is simply a computer (or multiple computers) that has all of your website files on it. Once you have your server up and running, anyone with an internet connection can access your website through its IP address or domain name. What does that mean in terms of SEO, security, usability and other things you should know? We’ll get to that! First, let’s dive into some basic knowledge about servers. ​

What are Servers Used For?: Servers are pretty much always used for websites (although they’re not limited to just web pages!). You can run everything from email hosting to video streaming through one single machine—known as a server—that will make sure you have excellent uptime throughout your entire online experience.

A server basically works as a middleman. It's what allows you to access data or information stored on your computer via another device, like your phone or computer. That's why when you connect to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other site on your phone (and sometimes even in your browser), you're accessing that site through a server.

If a website doesn't have its own server and relies on third-party servers instead, it can be vulnerable to hacking by third parties; not all servers are created equal! So while there isn't really such thing as the best server, some do better jobs than others in terms of security and uptime—essentially how available they are at any given time.

How Is It Different From A Computer

Servers are not computers at all. They’re more like mini-computers that run the software, store data, and process information. Their power is measured in horsepower (one horsepower equals about 746 watts). Most home PCs don’t need more than one or two horsepower to operate. Servers often require from several hundred to many thousands of horsepower each.

That’s because their primary function isn’t to display pretty graphics on your monitor; instead, they deal with information—large amounts of it coming from multiple sources at once.

What Can Servers Do For Me?

A server can do many things for you, but one of its primary functions is to be your web host. For example, if you were to start up a website that publishes information about short hairstyles, your web host would provide space on their servers for you to store all of your content. These servers (they're actually computers) are specially designed to store websites—when someone visits your site, they connect with one of these servers in order to download the information from it.

The process is automated so that users never have to see or interact with these computers directly; they simply browse until they find what they want and leave. But how does everything get stored on these servers? That's where another piece of technology comes into play: data centers.

Where Are Servers Used?

Choosing a hosting plan for your business can be tricky, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for. With so many options available, how can you make sure that your hosting provider will meet your needs? The first step is to determine what kind of hosting service would best suit your business needs. You have a lot of choices when it comes to web hosts and choosing one can be difficult without knowing what they offer or how they work. Here are some tips on choosing the right host for your business.

Most businesses use dedicated servers but there are other options that may be more cost effective such as shared or virtual private servers (VPS). If you have specific requirements regarding server speed or resources, then a dedicated server might be right for you.

Why Would I Need One?

A server is essentially hardware that allows you to host your own web applications. Think of it as an extra workhorse for your business. If you want to offer web apps to clients, but don’t want to pay for an entire dedicated server, hosting them on a virtual private server (VPS) can be an excellent option.

Most customers opt for VPS because they can still reap some of the benefits of having their own physical machine without paying as much in fees. The great thing about getting a VPS from most providers is that setup and maintenance are relatively easy, and you have access to everything you need from their dashboard (including domain management). All in all, setting up a VPS gives you more flexibility at competitive prices.

Owning your own server can give you ultimate control over your website’s speed, security, functionality, etc. However, with so many different types of servers available on today’s market (dedicated vs VPS vs shared vs cloud), there are many factors to consider before you can choose which is best for you. A dedicated server, for example, gives you ultimate flexibility—that is, you have full access to everything about your server—and costs more money than its counterparts.

The main benefit of a VPS (or virtual private server) over other types of servers is that their pricing tends to be lower because they share resources across multiple customers.

Choosing the Right Plan for My Business

The first step to choosing a hosting plan for your business is understanding what kind of business you run, how you want to brand yourself, and what features your website needs. For example, if you’re running an e-commerce site that caters to customers all over the globe, then reliability will be one of your biggest concerns; in that case, purchasing a plan with multiple data centers around the world would probably be in your best interest.

 But if you’re running an informational site that gets very little traffic, then you can save money by sticking with one data center—you may not even need any plans beyond our Standard offering.

What to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Service

Whether you’re starting an online business, maintaining an existing one, or if you just have a basic personal website that needs hosting, you’ll need to find a reliable web hosting service. One of the most important choices you can make for your site is selecting its host.

 Your web host will be responsible for powering your website, allowing people around the world to view it, but also creating security measures to protect all of your data. Before choosing a web host—and making sure they are ready to meet your needs—it’s important to consider some key things first.