In web hosting, latency refers to the time it takes for a request to be sent from the user’s device to the server and for the server to respond to the request. Latency can be a significant factor in the performance of a website, as it determines how quickly the page will load for the user. High latency can lead to slow page load times, which can negatively impact the user experience and result in higher bounce rates (i.e., when users leave a website quickly after arriving).
There are several factors that can contribute to latency in web hosting, including the distance between the user and the server, the speed of the user’s internet connection, and the performance of the server itself. To reduce latency, web hosting providers may use techniques such as server optimization, content delivery networks (CDNs), and load balancing to distribute requests across multiple servers.