5 Hot Web Hosting Trends

The web continues to evolve on a daily basis, and as the needs of businesses, organizations and end users have changed, the services offered by web hosts have had to keep pace. Web hosting is simple to understand in concept, but finding an innovative, trusted partner in the space can be a challenge, even for those using a good hosting directory that compares a number of hosting providers. Almost everyone who owns a site has heard horror stories of web hosts who overpromised and underdelivered, or worse yet provided little to no service for the money they charged.

In addition, web hosting options can be confusing, with terms and acronyms like FTP, domain parking, ASP hosting, colocation, SSL, and VPS hosting. Due to a proliferation of providers and an increase in the types of services they offer, a few trends have emerged in recent years. Anyone shopping for a web hosting provider should take the time to get familiar with the services available and narrow down their search to focus on the services they truly need. With that in mind, it's worth considering these and other trends that are bringing more flexibility and accountability to the web hosting industry.

1. Hosting Directory Research
With thousands of web hosts advertising on the Internet, it's impossible for anyone to research every company before making a decision. This is why more and more people are turning to web hosting directory sites, which offer comparisons and rankings of host providers worldwide. The best of these directories provide more detailed information on specific types of hosting, such as dedicated server hosting, ASP hosting, and hosting services by geographic region.

While there are hundreds of directory sites, the top ten to twenty are by far the most heavily trafficked and most trusted directories. Using these directories is pretty simple even for novices or technophobes who need to learn much more about web hosting services before choosing a provider. In particular, Top 10, Top 25 or Top 100 lists have become a popular way for users of these directories to compare and assess web hosts.

2. CMS Hosting
A couple of open-source content management systems (CMS) have appeared on the scene in recent years and have become popular for novice and sophisticated developers alike. Joomla and Drupal are making web development much easier than in years past by providing a cleaner programming interface along with countless modules and themes that can be easily added in and customized.

Many web hosting providers are set up to accommodate the installation of these content management systems on their servers, but keep in mind that many hosts still have little to no experience in providing technical support should a business using Drupal or Joomla run into problems. Be cautious of any hosting provider that claims to be an "expert" in these CMS software programs - read the fine print to determine exactly what types of services and support they provide, and how much experience they really have.

3. Dedicated Server Hosting
A dedicated server is what the name implies - a server that is dedicated to a single customer's use. Many small to medium-sized businesses choose dedicated server hosting so that they can avoid the initial fixed cost investment of purchasing and configuring a server. Instead, these businesses pay a fee to "rent" a whole server on a contract basis.

These contracts for dedicated hosting can take the form of managed or unmanaged hosting. Unmanaged essentially means that besides having access to the physical equipment and software - the server, operating system and Internet connection - a business is on its own when it comes to day-to-day management. Managed plans provide much more ongoing support. A business choosing managed dedicated server hosting has very little involvement in the technical side of site hosting and can therefore spend more energy focusing on design, content and features of the site itself.

4. "Green" Hosting
There are several ways in which some hosting providers are "going green." One simpler option is for the host to purchase green energy to run their servers and data center. Examples of cleaner energy include wind power and solar. A host may buy cleaner energy from an electric utility directly or in rare cases set up its own "off the grid" energy generation technology.

Another way a host might lessen its impact on the environment is through the purchase of carbon offsets. This means that any carbon emissions produced by the host's activities are neutralized by decreased emissions in another business or sector. The resulting "net zero" carbon footprint is certainly better for the environment, but of course the cost is passed along to the people who buy hosting services. The choice to "go green" depends on how much an individual customer values this aspect of a hosting provider's business.

5. Cloud Hosting
More sites have moved toward cloud computing and cloud hosting in recent years to take advantage of the added flexibility and potential cost savings that this type of computing offers. In a cloud environment, functions such as running software, accessing data and making computations are decentralized across a computer network, such that the end user does not know the physical location of the machine performing the service.

Cloud hosting offers the advantage of added reliability, since a site is not dependent on a single piece of computing hardware and will not be affected by a localized power outage or natural disaster. Also, it opens up the possibility for utility billing, i.e., only paying for the resources used rather than a flat monthly fee. On the downside, the lack of data centralization can be a problem for users who need to keep certain data, such as financial or health information, private and secure.

Site owners looking for more information on the latest trends in web hosting are well advised to use one of the top hosting directory sites for the latest news and company comparisons. In the coming months and years, it is almost certain that new hosting concepts and practices will develop, and the leaders in the web hosting field will be the first to capitalize on these new trends.