Web hosting
Web hosting is the service of storing a website's files on a server connected to the internet so visitors can reach them.
In full
Web hosting provides the infrastructure a website runs on. Shared hosting places many sites on one server and is cheapest. Virtual private servers allocate dedicated resources within a shared machine. Dedicated servers provide an entire machine. Managed hosting adds maintenance and support for a specific platform. Static or edge hosting serves pre-built files from a distributed network, which for many modern sites is both the fastest and the cheapest option. The right choice depends on how the site is built: a database-driven application and a statically generated site have genuinely different requirements.
Why it matters
Hosting determines speed, uptime, and how much routine maintenance a site demands. It should also always be in an account the business itself controls.