Learn · Deployment & hosting
Match the host to your site's type and traffic, then weigh reliability (uptime), speed, support quality, security features, and price, in roughly that order. A simple site fits cheap shared hosting or a free platform tier. A busy store or app needs cloud or a VPS. Don't choose on price alone.
Reliability and support matter more than saving a few dollars a month. A cheap host with frequent downtime or slow, unhelpful support costs you far more in lost visitors and headaches than the savings are worth.
Also check that you can leave. Confirm the host lets you export your site and data and doesn't lock you into proprietary systems, so you can move later if you outgrow them. Flexibility to switch is worth protecting.
Updated July 2026
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The main types are shared (many sites on one server, cheapest), VPS (a guaranteed slice of a server, more power), dedicated (a whole server to yourself, most control and cost), and cloud or serverless (flexible capacity that scales with demand). Which you need depends on traffic, budget, and control.
Yes, in almost all cases. You can move a site to a new host by transferring the files and database and pointing your domain's DNS at the new server. It takes some care to avoid downtime, but it's a standard task. The main thing that makes it hard is being locked into a proprietary platform.
Uptime is the percentage of time your site is available and working. It's often quoted as a number of nines: 99.9% uptime allows roughly 8 to 9 hours of downtime a year, while 99.99% allows under an hour. Reputable hosts target 99.9% or better, and many back it with a service guarantee.