When it comes to website hosting, hiring a virtual private server (VPS) is the logical step after a shared hosting plan. As your site grows, at some point shared hosting will no longer be enough and you will need more resources. Your objective, therefore, is to know how to correctly identify when to choose a VPS server.
In this article we will talk about the differences between shared hosting and VPS servers. Then we’ll help you determine the right time to move to a VPS plan and show you how to get started in just three steps:
- Choose the right type of VPS server for your needs.
- Learn to connect to a VPS using the .
- Use the command line to manage a VPS.
Our goal is to help you choose a VPS server at the right time for your website. So let’s get down to business!
The differences between shared hosting and VPS
For a website to work, it needs a server that the public can access. A server is a computer like any other, but special software (and sometimes custom hardware) has been configured for it.
When people refer to multiple websites that are stored on the same server. This method allows providers to offer lower costs, so shared plans are often the cheapest on the market. However, there are some drawbacks to this type of hosting.
To understand them, think of your website like a computer program. For it to work, it requires resources, such as RAM and CPU. The more people using that program at the same time, the more resources are needed in total.
However, any computer (or server) only has a limited amount of resources available to it. This means that with shared hosting, you may experience bottlenecks that slow down your site. In practice, this usually only happens under two circumstances:
- When your hosting provider installs too many websites on the same server.
- When your website is getting too much traffic.
If you have chosen a reliable hosting provider, the first scenario should not be a problem. However, when your website starts to become more popular, performance issues may become unavoidable, as what a shared plan can offer is limited. That means it’s time to upgrade to a better hosting plan.
In other words, you’ll need to switch to a . The term Virtual Private Server (VPS) may sound intimidating, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. With a VPS, you still share the same physical server with other users. However, each site receives a virtual partition of that server, along with a set amount of resources.
Here are the main ways a VPS server differs from shared hosting:
- VPS are highly compartmentalized. Although you are sharing a physical server, each VPS is essentially its own environment, not interfering with the other partitions.
- You don’t have to share resources. Each VPS receives a certain amount of resources, so you won’t encounter bottlenecks due to spikes in traffic elsewhere.
- VPSs tend to be highly scalable. Depending on the provider, you may be able to increase the resources of your VPS when you need it (ie you will receive more RAM or CPU power if your site continues to grow).
- You get full control over your server. With a VPS, you can customize your server settings, either on your own or with the help of your hosting provider.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the last point. Shared hosting plans generally don’t give you much control over server settings. Instead, they set everything up for you and let you interact with the server through a hosting control panel, like in the example below:
These control panels usually have many options. However, they may fall short if you’re someone with server administration experience (or if you’re interested in learning how to set up your own server). In that case, choosing a VPS server will be in your best interest as you will have more control over the settings.
Ultimately, choosing a VPS server is about getting more resources and functionality, so you can run your website more effectively. Now let’s talk about the best time to make that change.
When to make the leap from shared hosting to VPS
As we have mentioned, the main consideration when choosing a VPS server is performance. That is, if you have a website that is receiving too much traffic or you want to create a website, at some point shared hosting will not be able to keep up.
How quickly you’ll get to that point will depend on the hardware your hosting provider offers, the server configuration, and the plan you’re using. After all, most providers offer, even for shared hosting:
Since no two providers offer the same experience, it can be difficult to know when to go for a VPS. However, if your website meets some (or all) of the following criteria, you’re probably ready to take the plunge:
- You are receiving at least 100-200 visits a day.
- There is a sustained increase in the .
- Your website load times are increasing and/or you are starting to see downtime.
Keep in mind that 100-200 visits is just a general rule of thumb. If you have a strong enough shared plan, you might be able to handle thousands of visits a month. It’s also worth noting that there are many factors that can affect your site’s performance, beyond the type of hosting plan you’re using.
This is why we recommend being proactive in , so that it is always fast. But if your website starts to get more traffic and it’s still slow even after you’ve tried every trick you know to optimize it, then it’s time to choose a VPS server.
Fortunately, nowadays it is quite easy to find VPS plans at very reasonable prices. Just to give you an idea, shared hosting plans usually start at around $5 a month. When it comes to VPS, you can often find plans from $10-15 a month or less, depending on how many resources you need:
VPS plans generally come with a price increase when compared to shared hosting. However, paying a few extra bucks for all the performance and features you get can be a pretty good deal.
Things start to get very expensive when you have to go beyond a VPS and move to a dedicated server. But that kind of power is something most websites don’t need, unless you get thousands of hits a day.
How to get started with a VPS server (in just 3 steps)
If you’ve already decided you want to make the switch, there are a couple of things you need to know before you get started with VPS hosting. Essentially, you’ll need to learn how to connect to your VPS and issue commands, which we’ll cover after showing you how to choose a plan.
Step 1: Choose the right type of VPS for your needs
When you start looking for VPS hosting, you will notice that most providers classify their plans according to the resources offered by each server. Here’s a quick example comparing:
The differences lie in the numbers. Just like when you buy a new computer, the hardware you should get will depend on your needs.
To get started, let’s compare the first two plans you can see in the image above, to demonstrate how much of a difference 1GB of RAM and twice the CPU power can make:
- Option 1: With the 1 GB server, you could run a simple WordPress website with moderate traffic, and it should deliver excellent performance. However, if you want to set up multiple applications or a control panel, 1 GB of RAM will not be enough.
- Option 2: With 2 GB of RAM, you have enough resources to eg. You could also run several modest websites from the same server without any problem.
As a general rule of thumb, we recommend going for a VPS with at least 2 GB of RAM and a 4.8 GHz CPU, especially if you have a high-traffic website. The more modest VPS plans are generally a good option only if you want to avoid shared hosting for a new site because you’d like to manage your own server.
Speaking of server administration, the idea can be intimidating, but it’s actually something that anyone can do. All it takes is knowing the basics and being willing to do a little research.
Step 2: Learn how to connect to your VPS using SSH
Managing a VPS is a completely different matter than using shared hosting. With the latter, you’ll typically have access to a control panel, where you’ll do most of your “administration” work.
On the other hand, VPSs usually come without control panels (although you can choose to use the ), so you can interact with the server directly. To do that, you’ll have to use the command line, which we’ll get to in a moment. First, you’ll need to connect to your server, for which you’ll need a .
An SSH client is an application that allows you to connect directly to the server. If you’re using a Unix-based system, you can do this directly from the command line, without the need for a dedicated client. That means you can jump to the next step.
However, for those using Windows, you’ll need software like , which is our favorite SSH client. It is also free, so you can download and install it on your computer without any problem. Once putty is ready, run the client and you will see a window like this:
To connect to the server, you will need to know its IP address. The only other two settings you need to worry about are the port you will use and the type of connection you want to establish. By default, PuTTY uses port number 22, which is the preferred option for SSH connections.
As for the IP address of the server, you should have access to that information in . Enter that address and press the button Open to establish a connection.
If the address is correct, a command line window will appear asking for your login information:
With a new server, you will probably need to use the account root and the password, which you should also be able to locate within your hosting control panel.
Once you successfully login to the server, you can start issuing commands to it. That’s where the real fun begins.
Step 3: Use the command line to manage your VPS
The main reason some people find the command line obnoxious is that it doesn’t provide a graphical interface. Everything you do works with text commands, so at the very least, you’ll have to memorize some of the basics if you want to accomplish anything.
However, with the command line, there’s nothing stopping you from simply Googling everything you need…
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