By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
These skills will help you confidently launch and maintain professional websites, making your work valuable in the digital world.
Hosting a website application is a critical phase for ICT technicians responsible for delivering reliable and accessible online services. In Kenya’s dynamic digital economy, organizations rely heavily on their web presence to engage customers, provide information, and conduct transactions. Effective hosting involves not just making the site live but ensuring continuous performance, security, and usability through rigorous monitoring. This chapter covers the hosting platform, server environment setup, uploading the application files and configuring the web server so the hosted application runs securely and reliably.
A website application only becomes available to its users once it is placed on a server that is permanently connected to the internet. A hosting platform is the combination of server hardware, operating system, web server software, database server, storage, bandwidth and support that a hosting provider rents out, or that an organisation runs itself, to keep a website online 24 hours a day. Choosing and preparing the right platform decides how fast, secure and reliable the finished application will be. Example: a dairy cooperative in Ol Kalou that has built an online milk delivery tracker rents a virtual private server from a local data centre so that farmers can check their deliveries at any hour.
Website hosting is the service of storing a website's files, databases and other resources on a server and making them reachable over the internet through a domain name. When a visitor types the address, the domain name system (DNS) translates it into the server's IP address, the browser sends a request to that server, and the web server software returns the pages.
Hosting services differ in how server resources are shared, how much control the customer has and how much they cost. The right type depends on the size of the application, the expected traffic and the skills of the team.
Many websites share one server and its CPU, memory and storage. It is the cheapest option and is managed through a control panel, so it suits small business and school websites, but heavy traffic on one site can slow the others and the customer cannot change server settings.
One physical server is divided by virtualisation into several virtual servers, each with its own guaranteed resources, operating system and root access. It suits growing web applications that need custom software, at a moderate cost, but the customer must manage and secure the server.
A whole physical server is rented to one customer, giving full control and maximum performance. It suits high-traffic or sensitive systems such as banking portals, but it is expensive and needs skilled administrators.
The site runs on a network of virtual servers in a provider's data centres, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. Resources can be increased or reduced on demand and the customer pays for what is used, which suits applications with changing traffic.
The provider handles server set-up, updates, security, monitoring and backups, leaving the customer to manage the application. Managed WordPress hosting is a common example.
| Type | Control | Cost | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared | Low | Lowest | Small, low-traffic sites |
| VPS | High (root) | Moderate | Growing web applications |
| Dedicated | Full | High | High traffic, sensitive data |
| Cloud | High | Pay as you use | Changing or unpredictable traffic |
| Managed | Low to moderate | Moderate to high | Teams without server administrators |
Choosing a host is a business and technical decision: a cheap host that is often down or insecure costs more in lost users than it saves.
Hosting a website application follows an ordered process from choosing a domain to confirming that the live site works.
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Create a free accountThis chapter covered how a finished website application is placed on a server and made available to its users. It began with the hosting platform: what website hosting is, the main types of hosting services (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud and managed), the factors to weigh when selecting a host, and the hosting process from registering a domain name to launching the site. Server environment setup followed, covering the configuration of a hosting account through control panels such as cPanel and Plesk, the installation of the Apache and nginx web servers, and the creation of MySQL and PostgreSQL databases with users that have only the rights they need. The chapter then explained the methods of uploading application files (the control panel file manager, FTP and SFTP clients, and Git) and how the uploaded files are connected to the server through the document root, the configuration file, the imported database and correct permissions. Finally, it dealt with server configuration: virtual hosts, directory structures and permissions, management of server files, SSL/TLS certificates, firewall and access control, automatic backups and monitoring tools. Together these steps take an application from the developer's computer to a secure, reliable live website.
Type: Individual
| Tools & Equipment | Materials |
|---|---|
| Computer with Windows 10 or above | Sample website files (HTML and JavaScript) |
| Web browser (Google Chrome or Firefox) | Google account for Google Analytics |
| Text editor or IDE | Internet access |
| S/N | Item | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer with Windows 10 or above | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 2 | Internet access | Sufficient for all Candidates |
| 3 | Web browser (Google Chrome or Firefox) | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 4 | Text editor or IDE (e.g. Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text) | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 5 | Sample website files (HTML and JavaScript) | 1 set per Candidate |
| 6 | Google account for Google Analytics | 1 per Candidate |
| Items to be Evaluated | Marks Available | Marks Obtained | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| TASK 1: Set up Google Analytics account and property | |||
| Candidate logs into Google account successfully (Award 2 marks for successful login or 0) | 2 | ||
| Candidate creates Google Analytics account with correct naming (Award 3 marks for correct account creation or 0) | 3 | ||
| Candidate sets up a new property with correct website URL (Award 3 marks for accurate property setup or 0) | 3 | ||
| Candidate obtains the correct Google Analytics tracking ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX) (Award 2 marks for correct tracking ID or 0) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 10 | ||
| TASK 2: Integrate Google Analytics tracking code into sample website | |||
| Candidate opens sample website homepage index.html in text editor (Award 2 marks for opening correct file or 0) | 2 | ||
| Candidate inserts Google Analytics global site tag (gtag.js) script in the <head> section (Award 5 marks for correct script insertion or 0) | 5 | ||
| Candidate saves changes correctly and uploads files if necessary (Award 2 marks for saving/uploading or 0) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 9 | ||
| TASK 3: Verify Google Analytics tracking functionality | |||
| Candidate opens website in browser and verifies real-time data in Google Analytics dashboard (Award 4 marks for verification or 0) | 4 | ||
| Candidate documents screenshots of Google Analytics real-time report showing website visit (Award 3 marks for screenshots or 0) | 3 | ||
| Candidate explains basic metrics captured (e.g. users, sessions) (Award 4 marks for explanation or 0) | 4 | ||
| Sub-Total | 11 | ||
| PRODUCT CHECKLIST | |||
| Google Analytics tracking code correctly implemented in index.html with valid tracking ID (Award 5 marks for correct implementation or 0) | 5 | ||
| Website data appears in Google Analytics real-time dashboard within 24-48 hours (Award 5 marks for data appearance or 0) | 5 | ||
| Sub-Total | 10 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 40 | ||
Type: Individual
| Tools & Equipment | Materials |
|---|---|
| Working computer with Windows 10 or above | Internet access |
| Web browser (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) | Access to Google Analytics or similar website monitoring tool |
| Spreadsheet software (Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc) |
| S/N | Item | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Working computer with Windows 10 or above | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 2 | Internet access | Sufficient for all Candidates |
| 3 | Web browser (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 4 | Access to Google Analytics or similar website monitoring tool | 1 Account per Candidate |
| 5 | Spreadsheet software (Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc) | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| Items to be Evaluated | Marks Available | Marks Obtained | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| TASK 1: Data Retrieval and Preparation | |||
| Logged into Google Analytics or equivalent monitoring tool correctly (Award 3 marks for successful login, 0 if failed) | 3 | ||
| Selected correct date range of 30 days for data extraction (Award 2 marks for accurate date selection, 0 if incorrect) | 2 | ||
| Exported traffic and performance data (sessions, bounce rate, avg session duration, page load time) (Award 3 marks for exporting all required metrics, 0 if incomplete) | 3 | ||
| Imported data correctly into spreadsheet software (Award 2 marks for correct import without data loss, 0 if errors) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 10 | ||
| TASK 2: Data Analysis and Interpretation | |||
| Calculated key statistics such as average sessions per day and bounce rate percentage (Award 4 marks for accurate calculations, 0 if incorrect) | 4 | ||
| Created charts or graphs illustrating traffic trends and performance metrics (Award 4 marks for clear and correct visualizations, 0 if missing or incorrect) | 4 | ||
| Interpreted data with relevant observations on user behavior and site performance (Award 5 marks for insightful and relevant commentary, 0 if missing or irrelevant) | 5 | ||
| Sub-Total | 13 | ||
| PRODUCT CHECKLIST | |||
| Final report containing accurate data tables, charts, and analysis with clear presentation (Award 7 marks for completeness, clarity, and accuracy of the report, 0 if incomplete or inaccurate) | 7 | ||
| Sub-Total | 7 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 30 | ||
At the start of this chapter we promised you would be able to:
Tick each one you can genuinely do.
So, are you there yet?
You're competent when you can confidently do 50% or more of what this chapter promised.
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