What is bandwidth?
In short
- Bandwidth is the total data transferred as people view or download your hosted files.
- A big file opened by many people uses more bandwidth than a small file opened by a few.
- Some hosts cap visitors or bandwidth, which cuts a link off just as it gets popular.
Bandwidth is the volume of data that moves when people open your files. Every view or download sends the file across the network, and the total of those transfers is your bandwidth use. A one-page PDF opened a handful of times barely registers. A video opened thousands of times adds up fast, because each play streams the bytes again.
Some hosts punish success here. They set a visitor cap or a bandwidth limit, and a widely shared link hits the ceiling and stops serving, often right when it is doing its job. NudgeHost has no visitor caps on any plan, so a link that takes off keeps working for everyone who clicks it. Serving stays cheap because a CDN spreads the load across many servers instead of one.
Large media deserves some thought. A video you share as an MP4 link uses far more bandwidth per view than a document does, and an efficient format keeps each view light. Hosting starts free, and the Pro plan's bigger file limit suits large files without adding the visitor caps that make a viral share backfire.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does NudgeHost cap how many people can open my link?
No. No plan has a visitor cap, so a link that gets shared widely keeps working for everyone who clicks it.
What uses the most bandwidth?
Large media opened many times. A video streams its bytes on every play, so it uses far more than a small document viewed now and then.
How do I keep bandwidth use down?
Use efficient formats and compress large files before uploading. A smaller file sends less data on every view.
Put it into practice.
Drop a file and get a shareable link in seconds. Free, no card needed.