A simple explanation of where websites exist
Files or pages of websites physically exist on a Web Server which is basically a big computer linked to the Internet.
The Internet describes the collection of computers and servers linked around the world. If you imagine the links between all these computers randomly joining up it might look like a very complicated spiders web or fishing net - There for we get descriptive terms like the World Wide Web, or the Net.
As servers on the internet are accessible from any other computers on the internet around the world it can be fairly unimportant precisely where the server exists - Although if you want reliable servers for serving mainly irish clients it is best to use dedicated servers in the Republic of Ireland.
When you view a website on your computer it loads the files or pages and each image, layout colours etc into your computer. So temporarily the web pages you are viewing physically reside as files on your computer. So where is the website now? Some people like to describe that websites exist in a virtual place called cyberspace.
You might find it helpful to think of it this way. A web server is a place where the latest version of a website is constantly broadcasted. When you log on or click the refresh button you are asking your computer to go and fetch the latest version of that website and display it now. Tip: To force refresh a website page hit the F5 key whilst holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
So what is Web Hosting?
The service of storing a website on a server is known as hosting.
A very large website may reside on a number of servers located in many different geographic places. IBM is a good example; its Web site consists of thousands of files spread out over many servers in world-wide locations. In fact this secure arrangement of 'not putting all your eggs in one basket' is precisely how the internet began as a military tactic to keep information flowing if one place has a failure.
Faithful.ie uses fully managed dedicated servers for hosting websites - Why use a Dedicated Server?