Get free website hosting from Wix today →

Cloud hosting is a type of web hosting where your website isn’t stored on a single server but across a network of connected servers, called the “cloud.” This setup makes your site more reliable, secure and able to handle traffic spikes without going down.

While no system can guarantee 100% uptime, cloud hosting, especially multi-cloud setups, keeps your website running even if one server fails. In today’s interconnected world, businesses of all sizes depend on this kind of infrastructure to maintain performance and protect their online presence.

Wix hosting keeps your website running smoothly and securely from day one. With reliable performance, strong security and built-in tools for SEO, analytics and marketing, your site is ready to grow without limits. Plus 24/7 support means help is always just a click away.

Get free web hosting

TL;DR: what is cloud hosting?

In this guide, we explore cloud hosting, a way to store your website across a network of connected servers instead of a single server. Multi-cloud hosting goes further by using multiple servers and networks, so your site stays online even if one server fails.

For anyone learning how to develop a website, choosing a multi-cloud hosting solution ensures reliability without sacrificing performance. Providers like Wix offer fully-managed multi-cloud hosting, giving you peace of mind, 24/7 uptime and faster load times for your visitors.

Advantage	Why it matters
Scalability	Your website can grow or shrink instantly to handle traffic spikes. Cloud hosting adds servers automatically so your site keeps running smoothly.
Reliability	With multiple servers working together, cloud hosting keeps your site online almost all the time. If one server goes down, another takes over without interruptions.
Performance	Servers located around the world deliver content faster to visitors, giving them a smoother, more engaging experience.
Cost	You only pay for what you use. Cloud hosting adapts to your traffic, so costs stay in control, unlike flat monthly fees.
Security	Cloud hosting protects your site and data with firewalls, SSL and access controls, keeping your website safe from attacks.

Understanding your web hosting needs

When it comes to choosing the best web hosting option for you, you'll need to distinguish between the different types available. Each hosting type has features and benefits which may or may not fit your needs.

In the past, many first-time website creators opted for shared hosting, or when several sites are hosted on one server. This hosting option is cheap and works well for small sites, including personal websites, without large traffic numbers.

Then, once the site and business start to grow, many medium-sized businesses consider a different option, like VPS hosting, or a private, dedicated space and resources on a shared server. This option is less sensitive to traffic surges on the server, but it's often more expensive than shared hosting. VPS hosting doesn't work for enterprises or busy eCommerce sites, though, and it's still not as reliable as having your own dedicated web server.

Cloud hosting, on the other hand, has evolved to meet website demand of all sizes. This type of hosting or hosted service can manage sudden traffic surges, deliver 99.9% uptime (the most reliable hosting can get), has no single point of failure and scales with your website. And with some website creators—Wix included—it costs nothing. For a more in-depth look at cloud hosting vs. shared hosting, check out our guide.

What is cloud hosting?

Web hosting is the housing of your site on a physical server, plus the delivery of that site to a user's browser. Cloud hosting works the same way, except your site is hosted on a network of virtual servers, rather than a physical one.

It's part of a wider concept of cloud computing. Even if you don’t know cloud computing by name, it’s likely you integrate its content storage and delivery capabilities into your everyday life, from browsing on our smartphones and storing work files, to accessing our favorite apps.

Examples of public cloud based services and hosting providers include Microsoft Azure, IBM’s Blue Cloud, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud or EC2. You can learn how to host a site on any one of these public cloud platforms, although the reliability and web hosting costs can vary widely.

Cloud hosting has an edge over non-cloud web hosting. It’s usually considered to be more flexible. Storage and bandwidth for a site can be added, either in response to short term needs (an eCommerce website expecting sudden and increased traffic surges during Black Friday, for example) or in response to the long-term growth of a business.

How does cloud hosting work?

Cloud hosting stores your website across multiple virtual servers instead of a single physical machine. When someone visits your site, the network automatically directs traffic to the server with the most available resources, ensuring your website stays online even if one server experiences a problem.

Here’s how it works under the hood:

• Virtualization: A software layer called a hypervisor divides physical servers into multiple virtual machines (VMs).
  

• Resource pooling: These virtual servers draw from an underlying pool of CPU, RAM and storage across the network, allowing your site to scale as traffic increases.
  

• Redundancy: Because your site isn’t tied to a single piece of hardware, if one physical server fails, another in the network automatically picks up the load to prevent downtime.
  

• Load balancing: Traffic is distributed across multiple servers to maintain fast performance.
  

• Centralized management: You can monitor and update your site without worrying about individual servers.

Learn more: What is web hosting?

What is multi-cloud hosting?

Multi-cloud hosting improves upon cloud hosting to give enterprise-grade performance and reliability to everyone—no matter location or business size. With multi-cloud hosting, your hosting provider connects public cloud services, like Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS), with private and in-house servers to host a website. Plus, the provider will work to pre-empt outages and balance traffic loads between networks and servers.

The main reason for using multi-cloud hosting? Reliability. You can have the peace of mind that your site is always running without having to do anything on your end. Let’s use Wix’s multi-cloud hosting as an example here, a solution which uses Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Wix’s in-house servers:

Imagine the unthinkable happens and AWS is temporarily offline. All websites hosted on AWS would drop offline, too. But when using a multi-cloud service like Wix, another network like Google Cloud can step into the breach. In the unlikely (but not impossible) scenario that both AWS and Google Cloud are down, Wix's in-house servers would take on hosting duties for your website, so you carry on with your business.

Key features of multi-cloud hosting

• Multiple servers: public, private and internal

• Multiple globally-located content delivery networks (CDN)

• 24/7 management and maintenance from the service provider

• Unlimited bandwidth including online storage that scales with the users needs

• Up to 99.9% uptime

• Automated services via remote management

• Free or on an ‘as used’ basis

Advantages of multi-cloud hosting

In 2018, Amazon lost an estimated US $100 million after just an hour of downtime during its Prime Day Sales. In August 2020, server outages stirred Google, not only affecting the company itself, but decreasing productivity for the many businesses dependent on its ubiquitous tools. And in May 2021, another global outage temporarily brought down 10% of the internet— impacting eCommerce giants like Amazon and eBay.

In the years since, cloud hosting has evolved to address potentially damaging problems such as these. We live in an interconnected world where businesses of all sizes rely on a global web infrastructure that delivers reliability and advanced website security, as well as business continuity. And while 100% uptime is never guaranteed, multi-cloud hosting delivers something very close.

If you’re starting to create your website, you'll want to consider the benefits of multi-cloud hosting. Here the advantages of multi-cloud hosting for websites of all sizes:

01. Reliability plus scalability

Cloud hosting is reliable. While 100% uptime can never be a given, cloud hosting providers like Wix can deliver 99.99% uptime, giving you confidence in your business’s continuity.

Cloud hosting also includes automatic site backup. Even in a highly unlikely network outage, your site will automatically restore. Reliable web hosting not only keeps your site continually online, but it also helps maintain your brand reputation through traffic upsurges and server outages.

This also delivers scalability. Multi-cloud hosting relies on a network of internal, public and private clouds to manage and deliver data to websites. As your site's traffic and sales grow and your business needs change, multi-cloud hosting adapts to handle sudden traffic surges through load balancing.

'If your website can go down for a day or two from time to time, your hosting is terrible. Even mediocre hosting doesn't (or shouldn't) do that. (Also, downtime from hosters makes me appreciate well-run platforms like @Wix & co. even more)' ~ John Mueller, Google

02. Hands-off management

Multi-cloud hosting is a complicated solution that requires expert management. Connecting the multiple public and private clouds is incredibly expensive, too. Thankfully, using a multi-cloud hosting service gives you all the benefits of this technology without having to invest your own time or money. In the event of an online outage, or disaster, most multi-cloud hosting providers ensure automatic website backup and recovery. This limits the downtime your site experiences, and will get your business back online faster.

Tip: Hosting with Wix is a fully-managed hosting and multi-cloud service that demands nothing from you. At Wix, the aptly-named War Room works 24/7 to pre-empt potential server and network outages. This also includes additional support from Google and AWS cloud services.

03. Improved website performance

Users and search engines alike demand that your site works fast. A positive user experience depends content delivered in seconds—whether that is watching a video or buying a product. Cloud hosting uses geo-clustering, or servers placed as geographically close to the user as possible through a network of CDNs. The result? Higher page load speed and improved customer engagement.

Types of cloud hosting

There are several common types of cloud hosting to fit different needs:

• Public cloud: Your website shares resources with other users on a cloud managed by a third party. This is cost-effective and easy to set up for most businesses.
  

• Private cloud: Your website uses a cloud environment dedicated only to your organization, offering higher security and control over data and performance.
  

• Hybrid cloud: Combines public and private clouds, letting you keep sensitive data private while using the public cloud for scaling and less critical tasks.
  

• Managed cloud: The provider handles all technical maintenance, including security updates, patches and backups, so you can focus on growing your business instead of managing servers.
  

• Multi-cloud: Your website uses multiple cloud providers at once, spreading resources across networks like AWS, Google Cloud and private servers. This setup boosts reliability, performance and uptime, making it ideal for businesses that need enterprise-grade hosting.

What is cloud hosting FAQ

What is cloud hosting vs web hosting?

Cloud hosting and web hosting differ in infrastructure. Web hosting relies on a single server to host websites, sharing resources among users. In contrast, cloud hosting uses a network of interconnected virtual and physical servers, providing scalability and flexibility. Cloud hosting allows resources to be distributed dynamically, offering better reliability and performance.

What are some well known cloud hosting examples?

Well-known cloud hosting providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and IBM Cloud. These platforms offer a range of services, including computing power, storage and databases, enabling users to deploy and scale applications globally. Each provider has its own strengths and businesses often choose based on specific needs, preferences, and integration capabilities.