Web hosting allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to make their websites or apps visible on the internet. Whether they're using a dedicated server, or sharing resources, every website is hosted on a server. The only way for a website to be visible on the internet is if it's hosted by a web hosting service provider, also known as a web host. In order to find a website, you type the domain name (or URL) into your browser. Your computer will then connect to the server where the website is hosted, and the webpage is delivered onto your screen.

DreamHost offers several different types of hosting plans that work for all website hosting needs.

Shared Hosting:

Shared hosting is the most affordable option, but it does have its limitations. Shared hosting customers share the server's resources with other customers. If another website on the same server is receiving large amounts of traffic, or using a lot of the server's limited resources, it's possible that your site may run slower as a result.

While DreamHost works hard to make sure all sites on a shared server never disrupt other sites, this is always a possibility due to the nature of the product. That's why we recommend that you look at our more powerful options if you're expecting to experience high traffic levels on your site.

What can I host on shared hosting?

Shared hosting is perfect for blogs, portfolios, personal/business sites, and database-driven sites.

Learn more about shared hosting

WordPress Hosting (DreamPress)

DreamPress is DreamHost's managed WordPress hosting. It's a scalable service that allows users to manage their WordPress sites worry-free via automatic updates, caching, daily backups, and a content delivery network (CDN).

Learn more about DreamPress

VPS

DreamHost's Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a premium solution that runs faster than our shared hosting. It's available as an add-on to an existing DreamHost plan, but also as a standalone service.

DreamHost's VPSs use Linux-VServer to create a "virtual machine" that protects a user's resources from others on the same physical machine. This allows for a more powerful solution.

Shared vs. VPS Hosting

On a shared server, resources are shared by other users. On a VPS, these resources are more isolated which improves performance and helps to maintain stability. You also have the ability to control how much RAM your server uses.

What can I host on a VPS?

A virtual private server is ideal for websites that require more resources than a shared server can provide, but may not need the full power of a dedicated server. VPS is ideal for businesses, ecommerce websites, designers, and developers that need unhindered performance.

Learn more about VPS

Dedicated

A dedicated server is a server that only contains your files on it. You also get full root access: a major benefit if you're looking to customize your server to fit your specific needs. Please note that DreamHost support cannot assist if any errors occur as a result of a customization.

Another benefit of a dedicated server is that your MySQL server is on the same server, allowing for faster access. With all other hosting plans your MySQL database is on a separate database server.

What can I host on a Dedicated server?

Dedicated servers are fully-managed, business class servers. They are perfect for resource-heavy apps and giant websites.

Learn more about dedicated hosting

Cloud

DreamHost offers two different cloud hosting products.

Object Storage

DreamObjects is a cost-effective cloud storage service, which you can use to host static data for your websites, store backups, or develop the next big thing. You can access DreamObjects in your panel using the built-in interface, programmatically via standard APIs, or with a growing library of applications. DreamObjects is compatible with the Amazon S3 API.

Learn more about compatible applications with DreamObjects

Learn more about DreamObjects here

Cloud Computing

DreamCompute is a highly scalable cloud computing service built to power:

• Web and mobile applications
• Digital media and e-commerce websites
• Big data
• Testing and development environments

All instances can be managed through the DreamCompute's dashboard built off of OpenStack's Horizon.

Buying a domain name with DreamHost is simple and comes with features that a lot of other hosts don't offer. Use our domain search tool to buy your desired domain name; we'll let you know if someone else has already purchased it, and will serve up alternative versions that are available.

After buying your domain name with DreamHost, you'll also receive:

• + Free WHOIS Privacy Protection (which keeps your website registration details private)
• + auto-renewals (so you don't have to worry about a lapse in ownership)
• + unlimited subdomains (like blog.yoursite.com, or mexico.yoursite.com, for example)
• + domain setting controls at your fingertips (like MX records, CNAME, etc.)

If you want to move your web hosting to DreamHost, the first step is to create a DreamHost account – you can do that from any of our product pages (Shared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated, DreamPress) During the signup process, select the option to add your current domain to your new account – don't worry, this does NOT affect your current live website!

Next, you'll need to backup your website files and upload them to DreamHost. You can learn more about this.

Once you've migrated your website to DreamHost's servers, you'll need to check the site to confirm that it looks and functions just as intended. If everything looks great, you'll need to point your DNS to DreamHost so people know where to find you! If this sounds complicated, don't worry. We have some documentation.

Have some questions before you get started? No worries. Get in touch with us and we'll be happy to help.

Definitely. We have some awesome WordPress guides that can help answer most of your questions. If you get stuck, we are always here to help as well.

Yes! DreamHost offers professional email @yourdomain, with 25GB storage, mobile and desktop sync, ad-free webmail — as well as spam, virus, and phishing filters. Promote your site with every message you send! Learn more about email.

Of course! Visit our support page and select 'Sales'. Or, if you're on our site between 8-4 PM PST, you can chat with us from any of our product pages (Shared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated, DreamPress).