What type of service does web hosting provide?

Web hosting provides storage for websites, allowing individuals and organizations to make their web content accessible on the Internet. This service is fundamental to establishing an online presence, as web hosting companies allocate space on their servers where website files, such as HTML documents, images, videos, and other media, are stored. When users type a website's domain name into their browser, the browser retrieves the stored website files from the hosting server, allowing the content to be displayed.

The other options refer to different aspects of web development rather than hosting. Creating web content involves the actual generation of textual and visual material that will be presented on the website, while software for searching the web pertains to search engines that index and retrieve information across the Internet. Additionally, the design of web pages involves creating the layout and visual aesthetics of a website, which is distinct from the storage function that web hosting provides. Thus, the correct answer emphasizes the core function of web hosting as the repository of website data.