As is common knowledge, the World Wide Web is a compilation of websites.  But where are these websites stored?  

That is where web hosting comes into play.  Web hosting, basically, refers to the server where websites reside, or are hosted

In simple words, web hosting is just a way of providing server space for those who want to have a website online.  Web hosting is significant because it allows those who do not have a domain, but would like to have their own space on the World Wide Web, to do so.  

All around the world, computers, called web hosts, hold these websites. These web hosts are where your websites are stored as part of what is known as the Internet.  Once that is done, the web hosts merely have to upload the pages to a shared web server.  The Internet Service Provider (ISP) maintains these web servers in order to make quick connection to the Internet possible.  Sometimes ISPs give a small amount of server space for web hosting for personal websites, whereas at other times, ISPs might charge a fee for hosting, depending on the nature and complexity of the website.  

It goes without saying that, because you are spending money for your server space, it is important to choose a good web host.  Most importantly, when choosing a web host you should make sure that the web host you are going to be with is a reliable one.  It will not help your site if due to the problems of the server your website it often unavailable or down for maintenance.  A poor web host would become a big problem especially for a business website, which could lose potential customers and revenue if the site is difficult to access.  

A poor web host would also result in other problems on the website.  For instance, features such as E-mail and FTP might not work as they should, making users think that your website is no longer active.

Having said that, not all web hosts are suitable for all sites.  There is no one right answer when choosing a web host.  It is very important that you know what your site needs and choose your web host accordingly.