What Is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is a service that stores your website's files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, databases) on servers connected to the internet, making your site accessible to visitors via a domain name. When a user visits your URL, their browser sends a request to your host's server, which responds with your web page files. Choosing the right hosting type affects your site's speed, reliability, cost, and scalability.
Types of web hosting
Shared hosting: multiple sites share one server — cheapest ($2–$10/month), slower, least control. VPS (Virtual Private Server): a dedicated portion of a server — better performance, root access, more control ($5–$50/month). Dedicated server: entire physical server for one site — maximum performance, highest cost. Cloud hosting (AWS, GCP, DigitalOcean): scalable, pay-per-use resources. Static hosting (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages): optimised for static HTML/JS sites — often free tier available, edge-distributed globally.
Static hosting for HTML sites
HTML files generated by Canvas Builder can be hosted on any web server, but static hosting platforms like Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages are the fastest and often free option. These platforms distribute files to edge servers globally, making your pages load quickly from anywhere. No server setup, no maintenance — just drag your HTML files and deploy.
Hosting and page speed
Server location matters for TTFB (Time to First Byte) — a server in London responding to US visitors will be slower than a US-based CDN. Use a CDN to distribute static assets globally. Look for hosts offering HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, SSD storage, and integrated CDN. Cheap shared hosting often produces poor Core Web Vitals scores due to slow server response times.
Web Hosting & Canvas Builder
HTML pages generated by Canvas Builder can be deployed to any web host — from static hosting platforms (Vercel, Netlify, free) to agency shared hosting, client VPS environments, or WordPress-adjacent deployments.
Try Canvas Builder →