Web hosting services are performed by Web hosts or Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They provide the host servers, or computers, on whose hard drives your Web site's pages and graphics will reside. They also supply the bandwidth (data transfer line capacity) from the server to the Internet backbone, the network that connects the entire Internet together.

It requires a substantial expense, on the host's part, to supply sufficient bandwidth for the peak traffic periods. In addition, the host will often connect to the Internet backbone through multiple companies, to avoid interruption of service if a particular portion of the network it down. Your Web host will charge a monthly or annual fee based on the options selected by your company and the amount of bandwidth they had to provide to serve your site.