Website Builders.com

  • Home
  • Builder Reviews
        • Our team have carefully reviewed a selection of premium website building platform, making it easier for you to choose the right one.

          While most website builders are compatible for generic  website building, including online stores, blogs and generic websites, some are better than others depending on what your website type.

        • Website Builder Reviews

          GoDaddy

          IM Creator

          Jimdo

          Squarespace

          Voog

          Weebly

          Wix

          WordPress

        • Store Builder Reviews

          BigCommerce

          GoDaddy Store

          Shopify

          Weebly

          Wix

          Yola

        • Comparisons

          Wix vs. Weebly

          Shopify vs. BigCommerce

  • Start A Blog
  • How To Guides
        • With over 500 pages of detailed tutorials and guides, our guides cover a large chunk of online topics.

          Learn crafty tips and tricks to make your time online smooth. Our directory is useful for internet newbies, as well as aspiring website builders.

          Check out the full directory.

        • Building a Website

          How To Build a Website

          Name Your Website – Domain

          Picking a Web Hosting Service

          Content and User Experience

          More

        • Searching and Research

          Searching the Web

          Doing Research Online

          The World of Wiki

          Finding Videos Online

          More

        • E-mails – Basics and Advanced

          Getting Started

          Sending an E-mail Message

          Opening Attachments

          Sending Attachments

          More

        • Social Media & Communication

          Instant Messaging

          Online Networking

          Facebook

          LinkedIn

          More

        • Files, Downloads, Software & Installs

          File Formats and Extensions

          Install Plug-Ins

          How to Download Files

          Downloading Software

          More

        • Making Money Online

          Making Money with Facebook

          Affiliate Marketing

          Virtual Assistant

          Writing Articles

          More

        • Online Shopping

          10 Tips for Smart and Safe Shopping

          Smart Shopping

          Protecting Personal Information

          Looking for Discounts

          More

  • Website Builder Tools Your Business Can’t Do Without (+ Links To Useful Resources)
    • HTML Character Codes
    • Advertiser Tracking Cookies: There ARE Ways To Opt Out – Here’s How
    • Website Glossary
  • Our Blog
        • Recent Posts

          When you have awesome writers, it is easy to spread wisdom. Take a look at some of our recent posts on various internet and website related topics.

          Have any suggestions on topics? Don’t hold back, send us your ideas:

          [email protected]

        • 12 Simple Rules on How to Use E-mail Politely

          Live Chat Software: Is it Worth It? Facebook Says Yes.

          Algorithmic Warfare: Is it the Beginning or the End?

          How to Promote Your Pet Business Online

          DIY Marketing: 7 Steps for any Business Owner

        • 20 Ideas to Generate Your First Online Sale

          Complete Guide to Content Marketing

          8 Best Free Photo Editors for Product Photosraphy

          Press Kits: DIY to Free Media Hype

          Why Backlinks are Essential for SEO – How To Build Them

  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • How Did You Make This Site?
    • How the Website Is Funded
    • Our Team
You are here: Home / The Complete List Of How-To Tutorials For Internet Dummies / Private: How To Build a Website / Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

Disclosure: Your support helps keep the site running! We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page. Learn more

Cloud computing is a new way of using your computer where most things are done remotely — your local computer works more like a terminal. The key difference between cloud computing and regular computing is that your software applications run on networked servers instead of your local machine. All your local machine is used for is input and output. Input is taken from the keyboard and mouse and sent to the server program. The server program then processes that input and sends your local computer the information about what to display on your monitor. All the computing that goes on behind the scenes is done by the server computers running the application.

This is a whole new way of working. You no longer have to buy applications and install them on your computer. You just run cloud based applications using your web browser. This has many advantages. For one thing, you don’t need to get the application running. For another, you are always using the latest version of the application — there’s no upgrading. All you need is an internet connection and a fairly simply computer — or even just a phone.

Another way to think of it is like the electricity that runs into your home or office. To use it, you just plug into an outlet, whether you want to run a copy machine, a TV set, or an espresso maker. Like electricity, which is metered, with cloud computing you just pay for the services you use. But many services are free.

Contents

  • 1 How It Works
  • 2 Advantages
    • 2.1 1. Lower cost computing
    • 2.2 2. Reduced software cost — no more updates
    • 2.3 3. Unlimited storage
    • 2.4 4. Technology is handled behind the scenes
    • 2.5 5. Worldwide access
    • 2.6 6. Easier collaboration
    • 2.7 7. Device independent
  • 3 Disadvantages
    • 3.1 1. Requires an Internet connection
    • 3.2 2. Slow speed
    • 3.3 3. Limited features
    • 3.4 4. Security
    • 3.5 5. Lost data
  • 4 Conclusion

How It Works

You may already be using cloud computing without even knowing it. Do you have a web-based e-mail service like Yahoo! Mail or gMail? The software to compose, send, receive and store all your messages is in the cloud. As a customer, you have reliable access to your email 24/7 and never have to update the software. It’s all done for you. Most people don’t really care where everything is physically located as long as it works.

Here’s another example: Millions of people use Microsoft Word to create documents. An alternative is Google Docs, which gives you some, but not all, of the same features as Word. Google Docs is hosted in the cloud. You access the word processing program through your web browser, just like you would a traditional webpage. Once you’ve created your document, you can do all the normal things you are used to with a word processor: print, save, edit, and so on. You can also e-mail the document’s location so that others can read it, or even edit it — if you give them permission. Instead of the document residing on your hard drive or your company’s network, it’s stored in the cloud.

Many businesses are moving to cloud computing because it frees the IT department from having to install, maintain, and upgrade software on all the company computers. It can also save money on software, because access to applications is priced by the amount of time it is used.

Advantages

Cloud computing has a lot to recommend it:

1. Lower cost computing

Because the software is online, you don’t need as powerful a computer to run the application. Your local computer only has to deal with input from you, and displaying the output sent from the cloud.

2. Reduced software cost — no more updates

There’s no need to buy and update software. Use the most up-to-date applications, and pay as you go.

3. Unlimited storage

All your data is stored online, so you don’t have to worry about the capacity of your hard drive. If you exceed the amount of space allotted to you, it is a simple matter to buy more without any other changes to your system.

4. Technology is handled behind the scenes

There’s no need to deal with technical support to troubleshoot software problems.

5. Worldwide access

You can access the applications and your files from anywhere.

6. Easier collaboration

Having everything online fosters collaboration. For example, it is easy to share documents because they don’t need to be sent back and forth; everyone involved is editing the same copies.

7. Device independent

Whether you use a PC, Mac, or smartphone, applications will run just the same — allowing you to use and share files.

Disadvantages

Of course, there are drawbacks too:

1. Requires an Internet connection

Cloud computing is dependent on having a reliable connection — almost certainly a broadband connection. Because cloud computing can be data intensive, dial-up connections don’t work well.

2. Slow speed

Even with a broadband connection, computing can be slow when servers are heavily trafficked.

3. Limited features

Online applications may lack some of the features that similar desktop applications offer.

4. Security

Many people question the security of data stored in the cloud. How secure is your data? Who has access to it? If you have sensitive information, you may not want it floating around the internet — even with extensive security measures like encryption.

5. Lost data

Although storing your data files online means you never have to backup your hard drive, online data can be lost.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that cloud computing is here to stay. Whether you want to dump your desktop apps and head into the sky really depends on your needs. But for many common applications like word processing and spreadsheets, working in the cloud offers a good (and often free) alternative to the tyranny of the traditional desktop.

Latest Posts

Hosting

Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated]

Uncategorized

Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare)

E-mail Internet

E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail

Marketing social networking

Live Chat Software: Should You Invest In It? (It’s Easier Than You Think)

Computer Science

Never Heard Of Algorithmic Warfare? Then You’d Better Read This

Marketing

How To Successfully Promote Your Pet Business Online With Minimum Effort

Most Popular Reviews

  • Website Builder Reviews
  • Wix
  • Weebly
  • Squarespace
  • GoDaddy Website Builder
  • Shopify

Recent Posts

  • Black Friday 2023: Website Builder & Web Hosting Deals For Webmasters [Updated] November 5, 2019
  • Why WebsiteBuilders.com Got Hacked (Yes, You Can Blame Social Warfare) March 23, 2019
  • E-Mail Etiquette: 12 Basic Rules For Politely Using E-Mail November 15, 2017

About WebsiteBuilders.com

Everything you need to know about the WebsiteBuilders.com team.

About Us

Our Team

How The Website Is Funded

Privacy Policy

© 2017-2022 Website Builders.com | Sitemap