What is WebSpace In Web Hosting?
In web hosting when we talk about webspace, generally we are referring to the amount of disk space/storage the web hosting provider allocates you. Over the years people have used the term when they are talking about web hosting accounts too. Although not as commonly used, it can mean different things to different people.
When researching web hosting services. You will notice that web hosting providers will either allocate you a set amount of web space or as with many shared hosting providers will market their services with unlimited webspace.
Unlimited webspace is never physically achievable, some providers may impose an inode limit (the number of individual files). Others may impose none at all – knowing that most sites will never reach a ridiculously high webspace usage.
What is Webspace Used For?
Everything related to your web hosting account will use your web space allocation. For example, if you upload a file or image, receive an email or install a program these all will start using your allocation. Even site backups stored on the server can be included. Some providers may also include databases in your usage, whilst others may set a separate limit for this.
Much like your home computer or device you can free up web space by deleting unused files and emails.
How Is Webspace Measured?
Files and data will all have a size. Within your web hosting account these are generally measured in bytes, KB, MB or GB. Small files are displayed in bytes, larger files will be in MB or GB. If you store lots of large files you will need a larger amount of web space.
How Can I View The Amount of Webspace I’m Using?
Shared web hosting providers will provide you with a web hosting control panel such as cPanel. Within these control panels, you can view the amount of disk space you are currently using. For example, in cPanel, this is where you can see your webspace usage.
As you can see from the images, you can see your web space usage at the current time. With web hosting providers that provide hard limits on webapace you can also see your current usage percnetage too.
What If I Reach or Go Over My Web Space Limit?
With most web hosting providers, you will receive notifications that you are approaching your web space quota. This will be an indication that it is time to remove some files or upgrade to a larger plan.
If you choose to ignore these notifications then with most shared hosting services your account will be suspended or incur additional fees for extra disk space that you are using. Unlimited web hosting providers will typically inform you if you are using too many resources too. This is less common these days due to the low cost of disk space.
How Much Webspace Do I Need?
Most shared hosting providers offer a generous amount of web storage for your site. However, if you want to determine how much web space you will need, add together the size of all the files you know you want to host on your website. This should provide you with a good idea of the minimum amount of space that you’ll need.
You will also need to count additional pages that you will add over the years. For example, the average pages size is just over 2Mb. If you were to add two pages a week you would be adding the equivalent of 104Mb a year. Your site may be different especially if you are posting a lot of images or larger files.
How do I get More Storage?
The simplest way to get more storage for your website is to upgrade your hosting package. If you are reaching your current usage limit, larger plans will generally offer more generous allocations. If this is not an option due to costs, switching to another hosting provider could be another option in this instance.
If you are hosting a large number of downloadable files such as PDFs, Zip files etc. Consider hosting them off-site such as Google Drive.