The Hosts File
The hosts file maps names to IP addresses on one device, before DNS is asked. Learn how it overrides DNS, why it helps preview sites and what its limits are.
Clear answers to common hosting questions, written by our editors.
The hosts file maps names to IP addresses on one device, before DNS is asked. Learn how it overrides DNS, why it helps preview sites and what its limits are.
By Maarten Soetens
HTTP/3 runs over QUIC on UDP instead of TCP. Learn how it speeds up connections, avoids stalled streams and helps on mobile or lossy networks.
By Maarten Soetens
Golang, or Go, is a compiled language from Google with built-in concurrency and single-file deployment. Learn why it suits APIs and infrastructure tools.
By Maarten Soetens
Defensive domain registration means buying misspellings and other variants of your name to stop others using them. Learn when it helps and its limits.
By Maarten Soetens
Load average is the Linux figure showing how busy a server is over 1, 5 and 15 minutes. Learn how to compare it with the CPU core count and read the trend.
By Maarten Soetens
API testing checks that an API returns correct responses and handles errors well. Learn the main test types, tools such as Postman and mock servers.
By Maarten Soetens
Debian Linux is a free, community-run distribution known for stability. Learn how its Stable, Testing and Unstable branches work and why servers use it.
By Maarten Soetens
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) measures how quickly a page responds to clicks, taps and key presses. Learn its three parts and why it replaced FID.
By Maarten Soetens
Web fonts page speed explained: how file size, FOIT and FOUT, font-display, subsetting and self-hosting affect load time and visible layout shift.
By Maarten Soetens
AIOps applies AI to IT operations, detecting anomalies, predicting failures and cutting alert noise in server monitoring. Learn how it works in hosting.
By Maarten Soetens
Domain vs hosting explained: a domain is your site's address, while hosting stores its files. Learn how the two differ and why a site needs both.
By Maarten Soetens
A load balancer spreads incoming traffic across several servers. Learn how it works, what health checks and sticky sessions do, and where TLS termination fits.
By Maarten Soetens