First we probably need to define web hosting. While all of us utilizing the Internet would be loath to admit that we don't know a view of the basics about the Internet, the reality is that when we get down to the basics of actually building our first website we may be stomped over how to publish our beautiful website on the Internet so that the whole world can now see it.
The truth is that there are many different avenues that we can explore when making plans to publish our first website. It would probably be counterproductive to explore all of them in a short article. If we assume that someone putting up one of their first websites is looking to minimize their expenses then the first place we can save money is with buying a minimal web hosting service.
On the other hand if you have a serious written business plan along with deep pockets and a wonderful unique idea then it would make sense for you to purchase the services of highly specialized equipment. For the rest of us, real-life means smaller budgets and so we are less interested in bells and whistles and more so in, hey, let's just get the job done cheaply. By the way, this attitude probably does not extend to taking advantage of free website hosting opportunities.
If we do just a minimal amount of considering what we are looking for here, we realize that we need someone who has a specialized computer running server software that has a connection to the Internet which allows your website to be seen by people around the world. You expect to find someone who, for a small amount paid monthly, will let you place your files on their server so that the entire world can see your website.
As someone just starting out with one of your first websites, or perhaps your first website, you are looking for inexpensive web hosting and it most likely will do an excellent job for you. The one exception to the previous statement is that you probably do not want to get so cheap that you take free Web hosting if you want to be taken seriously on the Internet. Most of the companies offering free websites are not people doing so out of the goodness of their hearts so they expect to be paid somehow. Their payment is probably in the form of advertisements being run on all of your pages. If you are planning to run a serious business oriented website then at least pay a few dollars each month for your hosting so that you can control what advertising, if any, runs on your website.
Thankfully, it is very likely that an inexpensive plan really is all that you need. If you are just looking to break through into the other side of the Internet it is highly likely that most of the low cost hosting companies will have all of the features that you need. Web hosting is a cutthroat business now and you can pretty much count on the fact that 99% of the hosting companies are going to have exactly what you need to get started on the Internet.
if you are new to Internet marketing and the concept of making money off of the enormous amount of human traffic on the Internet you might even consider killing two birds with one stone by searching for package opportunities where for a small fee of $25-$50 per month you not only get your web hosting but you also have the opportunity to pick the brains of many other people who do have more experience in this field.