What is a Web Server / Web Server Host?

A web server is a software program dedicated to receiving requests for web pages, and then sending those web pages. Obviously, the web server software is running on a computer that is permanently connected to the Internet.

If a web server is dedicated to just one web site, it is know as a "dedicated server". Companies like Amazon and Ebay run their web sites on dedicated servers. Web servers that have many web sites running on them are called "virtual servers". If you hire a company to "host" your web site (Web Server Host), you will usually be sharing a web server with hundreds of other web sites.

Typically, dedicated hosting is an expensive proposition, and the large majority of small and even medium sized companies opt for a virtual hosting account. This web site, for example, is on a virtual hosting account.