When we create a web page it is important to take into account some aspects related to the server or hosting that we are going to use. It is essential for the website to load fast and for users to have no problems navigating. Logically there are differential characteristics between some options and others. In this article we are going to talk about what is the bandwidth of a hosting and why it is not the same as available space.
What is bandwidth in hosting
We can also name the bandwidth as data transfer . Keep in mind that a web page is made up of many elements. We refer for example to the text of the articles, the images that we upload, the videos, the possible complements that it has …
All these elements have to be downloaded by visitors when they enter the page. When accessing an article, for example, the existing images, all the text, any add-ons that we have incorporated or any other element are downloaded. All this is downloaded from the hosting where we have the site hosted and received on your device.
Logically this requires a transfer. This is exactly what is known as bandwidth. It is normally measured in a maximum monthly amount that we have available. In this way, the more visits we have, the more bandwidth we will consume. A site that receives 1,000 visits a month is not the same as another that receives millions. This is key to knowing how much monthly transfer our site needs.
What influences transfer consumption
Here we must include different aspects. We can always optimize our site so that the necessary bandwidth is not so high. In addition, this will also favor the positioning of the website in Google and avoid problems when loading.
An example of what we mentioned is images . Each photograph that we upload to an article, to a section of the page, will affect that transfer. The more photos we have, the more bandwidth we will need since visitors will require more data.
Now, these images can be optimized so that they do not occupy too much. It is not the same to upload an article with unedited photographs, uploaded with the original size, than in the case that we have optimized those images for the web and that they occupy much less.
But the data we use when uploading content via FTP will also influence. The more use we make of this tool and the more large files we upload, the more bandwidth we will consume. Even using email from the web can consume transfer.
However, the main thing, what can make the real difference, is the number of visitors . The more users our site has, the more bandwidth we will need. This is where we have to be careful when choosing.
Hosting bandwidth is not the same as available space
Many users can confuse these two terms. Keep in mind that the bandwidth of a hosting is not the same as the available space . They are different parameters, although both are important and if we exceed it we may have a problem.
We have seen what the bandwidth of a server is. This is the total data transfer that can take place during a month, generally. It is measured in GB and normally the basic plans have 10-15 GB, while the superior ones can go to much more. The need will not always be the same, since one month our site may have many more visits than another period.
Instead the available space is the memory that we can use in that hosting to host content. For example we can have a contracted server where we have 2 GB of data to store our website. This includes all the content we upload: images for articles, videos, the text itself …
As we can see, in the case of available space, we can control it more. It’s about everything we do when installing add-ons, uploading content, etc. Regardless of the number of visitors, this occupied space will remain unchanged.
In short, there are differences between the bandwidth of a hosting and the available space. It is important that we take these two parameters into account when hiring a web server that adapts to what we need.
