So you have decided to create a website, you need a website and find a provider that can provide you with server space. There are so many , designed to support different types of sites, so it can get overwhelming. But you do not have to worry, because in this article we will talk about the two most popular types of web hosting that can meet your needs: shared hosting or hosting with .
In short, the shared hosting it is the cheaper option of the two, where you share a server together with other websites. You receive a certain amount of resources, but you can maintain a small website without spending too much. The VPS-hostingon the other hand, gives you more freedom and performance, but is a bit more expensive.
We’ll cover the basics of each, what kind of features they offer, and their pros and cons. Let us begin.
What is shared hosting?
Think of shared hosting as living in an apartment where you have to share places like a pool, a backyard, or a parking lot. In this case, your site will share the same resources, such as CPUs, disc space Y memory with other users who are on the same shared hosting server.
Shared hosting is the cheapest option of all. Unfortunately, your site may have limited bandwidth and will slow down when there is heavy traffic to websites using the same server.
You can enjoy the pool when it’s not crowded, but you still need to anticipate when everyone is in and things get crowded – shared hosting is much like this.
When to choose shared hosting?
- You are creating a blog or a personal site
- You want to make a small to medium sized business website
- you have a small budget
- You don’t know much about web development.
pros
- Most beginner friendly hosting solution
- Provides a standardized configuration
- Requires less technical experience
- The least expensive of all accommodation options
cons
- You often have less bandwidth and less storage than those of a VPS
- It is error prone when there is a lot of traffic.
- You have limited access to the backend
- Does not grant you root access
What is VPS?
With , you will still share a physical server, but each user gets a specific set of resources, which means that other websites on the same server will not affect you, unlike shared hosting. VPS hosting provides a dedicated virtual partition for each user, ensuring that resources are always available to you. Of course, VPS is priced higher than shared hosting.
If we are going to use the same analogy as before, then a VPS partition is like having a penthouse or a condo: there are many apartments like this in the building, but you will have everything you need and you won’t have to share with anyone else.
When to choose a Virtual Server?
- You have a company and plan to expand it in the future
- You have a larger budget and want to invest in your site
- You expect a lot of traffic to your website in the future
pros
- VPS hosting gives you root access to your server
- More memory and bandwidth, easily scalable
- Not affected by traffic from other sites
- Much more stable and faster than shared hosting
cons
- It has a slightly higher price
- You need technical expertise to manage it well
Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting: A Comparison
Since knowing the general definitions isn’t enough, we’ll provide some comparisons between the two types of hosting to help you decide which one works best for you.
Security and performance
Security is essential, regardless of the type of website you own. Both types of hosting are relatively safe and stable methods of hosting your site, but there are some differences.
With shared hosting, your site can be affected when there is an error on another site. Also, if other sites consume too much shared bandwidth, your website may slow down. This is especially important if your site has high traffic.
You can avoid this problem by using VPS as partitioned servers make sure that each website works accordingly. However, if you don’t have the technical knowledge of how to take care of your virtual private server, you should consider other options. When poorly managed, it can lead to many other problems.
Control
If you are looking for more advanced options for your site, VPS hosting is more suitable than a shared hosting plan. It gives you root access to the server, so you can install your own operating system and software to optimize site performance and security. For easy setup, check out the , which comes with an easy-to-use control panel.
In contrast, using a shared hosting plan limits you to only standardized server configurations. This might be more convenient for people who don’t want to interfere with server administration tasks on their own.
server administration
If you choose to host your site with shared hosting, you will need little to no technical maintenance. Shared hosting providers will set up the shared server, install and update any necessary software such as o hPanel, and monitor the servers to prevent downtime and effectively take care of the backend.
On the other hand, VPS hosting is a bit more complicated when it comes to managing resources. You need somewhat more advanced knowledge to administer and manage it. Fortunately, VPS hosting allows you to customize and configure applications and software to increase the performance of your website, offers root access, and allows you to tailor the back-end to your needs.
Scalability
VPS hosting is much easier to scale compared to shared hosting. While shared hosting is a good option for a short-term plan or a small online website, you’ll have more issues with overall performance if your site hits a high number of traffic.
VPS hosting allows you to scale quickly and easily, and if you can predict the growth of your site, VPS hosting could be a great investment for your future.
Prices
Shared hosting wins hands down in this category. However, the prices of VPS web hosting justify its biggest advantage. Here is a pricing table for shared hosting plans.
For comparison, these are ‘s VPS hosting plans:
While VPS hosting costs a bit more than shared hosting plans, they offer more storage space and much more bandwidth in comparison.
When to upgrade your hosting plan?
If you are already using shared hosting and enjoying it, you may be wondering when is the best time to upgrade to a VPS hosting plan. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Do I want more options and freedom to manage my server?
- Will I get a substantial increase in traffic in the future?
- Am I thinking of hosting more than one website one day?
Regardless of your choice, there are great benefits to shared and VPS hosting options, you just have to weigh them up.
What other types of web hosting are there?
In addition to shared and VPS hosting, there are a couple of other common options: dedicated hosting and cloud hosting.
With dedicated hosting services, your website will be stored on a single dedicated physical server for your personal use only. You don’t have to share it with anyone else and you can freely customize it according to your tastes. However, it is the most expensive option of all.
The is a type of web hosting that uses multiple servers to balance traffic and increase uptime. It is inspired by cloud computing technologies that allow a large number of machines to function as a single system.
Instead of having your site hosted on one server, it is stored in multiple locations. If one server goes down, for example, another one will help keep everything running and you won’t have any downtime.
conclusion
Your hosting plan is largely based on what you expect from your website. VPS hosting provides you with advantages that shared hosting cannot offer. However, both hosting options have their own benefits.
Before choosing a web hosting plan for your site, consider what kind of features interest you the most. Here is a brief summary:
- Security and performance. With shared hosting, you are basically sharing space with other users on the server. VPS hosting is much more stable and secure, but requires additional technical knowledge.
- Server administration. Shared hosting is much more suitable for beginners than VPS hosting, but it lacks freedom of customization.
- Scalability. VPS hosting is much more future-proof than shared hosting.
- Prices. Both plans have different prices with different benefits, but shared hosting plans are less expensive than having a virtual private server.
In the end, the choice comes down to whether you’re just starting out and don’t need the extra features that other types of hosting have to offer. Regardless of your choice, we hope you found this guide useful.
Deyi is a digital marketing enthusiast, with a background in web design, content creation, copywriting, and SEO. She is part of ‘s SEO & Localization team. In her free time, she likes to develop projects, read a book or watch a good movie.
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