Searching for a good hosting provider for getting a server space for your website? But do you know that there are many types of hosting services available that support different types of websites? Yes, you heard that right. So now, merely finding the best hosting provider will not help. You will have to search for the type of hosting suitable for your website type. Among the many types of hosting services, there are two most popular types of web hosting services that will match your needs. These are VPS hosting and shared hosting. We will also see VPS vs Shared web hosting in detail.
Let us discuss these two types of hosting services and see what they have to offer.
What Is Meant By Shared Hosting?
We can understand shared hosting with the help of the following example. Shared hosting is just like living in an apartment where you have to share the parking, pool, backyard, etc. similarly in shared hosting, the same resources such as memory and disc space will be shared by your website with many other websites that are using the same shared hosting server. As a common server is shared by many websites, this hosting option is the cheapest among all. It has a few drawbacks that might affect your site negatively. Your website will have limited bandwidth and will get slow when other websites that are there on the same shared server, will have a lot of traffic.
When Should You Opt For Shared Hosting?
You can choose shared hosting when you are building a blogging website or a personal website. Shared hosting is a good choice to make if you have a small or average-sized company website to be built. For those who do not know much about web development and have a small budget, they can opt for shared hosting.
What Is Meant By VPS Hosting?
In VPS hosting, though you share one physical server, you get a separate set of specified resources for your website. This implies that the working of other websites on the same server will not affect the performance of your website. VPS hosting provides a virtual partition for every user and makes sure that you have enough resources. With the kind of facilities it provides, VPS is a bit costly as compared to shared hosting. Applying the same analogy that we used before, VPS is just like a penthouse. There may be many others like it in the same building but you do not have to share anything.
Share:When Should You Opt For VPS Hosting?
If your business is experiencing growth and you are planning to expand it in near future then VPS hosting will be a good choice since it is designed to adapt to the needs of the ever-increasing business. You can also opt for VPS hosting if you have a larger budget, expecting a high amount of traffic coming to your website in the future.
The Difference Between VPS vs Shared Web Hosting
So far we have made a general discussion about VPS and shared web hosting. But only the generalized discussion is not enough to know about the difference between them. We need to compare several other aspects to know which one is better for your website type. Let us compare the following points about VPS vs shared web hosting.
Administration Of Server
When you choose shared web hosting for your website, you will hardly need to do any technical maintenance work. The shared server will be set up by the shared web hosting providers. They install all the required software such as cPanel or hPanel. Frequent monitoring of the servers is done for avoiding downtime and also for ensuring that the back-end works effectively.
When you take VPS hosting, managing the resources is quite complicated. For administering and managing it, one needs to have advanced knowledge about it. The plus point with VPS is that it allows you to customize the software and apps to increase the performance of your website. You have the root access thus allowing you to configure the back end as per your requirements. If you’re looking for an easy and affordable way to manage your VPS hosting, consider a cheap VPS with cPanel, which provides a user-friendly interface for managing your server and simplifies many of the administrative tasks.
Control
As VPS hosting gives you root access to the backend and the server, you can install the different OS and software to increase the security of your website and to optimize the performance. In short, if you are looking for advanced options for your website, VPS hosting is suitable as compared to the shared one.
On the contrary, when you go for shared hosting, you are limited to conventional standardized server setups. However, this kind of hosting service is good for those who don’t want to deal with tedious server management tasks.
In short, VPS empowers you with the ability to have dedicated hosting using having your own set of services and configurable disc space. You can undertake any action right away from your control panel without the need to contact technical support. While shared hosting gives you limited access.
Performance and Security
Security is the most important aspect of any type of website. When you see both these hosting services, though they may appear secure and stable enough, there are some relative differences.
Shared hosting may cause your website to get affected when the other website shared on the same server faces an error. Also, if there is a huge amount of traffic flow on the other websites that will result in consuming more shared space then your website may get slow. The scenario deteriorates further if your website sees a large number of visitors.
With VPS, you do not have such kind of problem coming in. This is because the servers are already partitioned to make sure that each website works well. But as discussed earlier, managing VPS (Virtual Private Server) needs some good technical skills. So if you lack those skills, you can always consider the shared hosting option because if you are unable to manage VPS, it can bring in a lot of other problems.
VPS hosting results in faster performance as compared to shared hosting simply because the visitors of your site do not have to queue up with the visitors of other sites while trying to access your website. Also, VPS Web hosting offers more processing power that boosts your website’s speed.
Share:Scalability
Scalability refers to the ability or capacity of a hosting account to accommodate your website’s growth. This basically refers to storage and server capabilities. However, there are other aspects also that relate to scalability. This is often the decisive factor when you have to choose between VPS vs Shared web hosting. We can try to understand this with the help of an example. Let us suppose that you have an average of 10000 visitors on your website per month. For this, a shared hosting service will provide you with that kind of support. But as you expand over time, your shared hosting plan may not be able to keep up with the growing requirements as the servers are limited in their ability.
On the other hand, VPS hosting has unlimited potential and is much easier to scale up. With VPS hosting, you can quickly scale up and if you are good at predicting the growth of your website then VPS is the best option to choose. Shared hosting can be a fine choice for a short-term plan or for a small website but you might be in trouble if your website sees high traffic coming in.
Cost
As we know that shared hosting plans are shared by multiple websites so you can expect its cost to be low. The cost for VPS hosting is more as it tends to provide more resources, more flexibility, and freedom and is of course more reliable. So it is obvious to be costlier. However, you can find the sweet spot between the features you are in need of and the price you are willing to pay. VPS hosting plans do justify the higher prices they have as they also give greater advantages compared to the shared hosting plans.
If you are looking only from the economical perspective then Shared hosting is the most economical choice you have. As VPS web hosting plans offer more number of features with improved website performance and customization options, they are obviously the best choices for ever-growing businesses.
Both the hosting plans have their own benefits. However, while choosing among the two, you have to self analyze to make the picture clear. You can easily assess your needs by asking a few questions to yourself such as:
- Is there a need for me to have more options and managing freedom for my server?
- Will my website get enough traffic in the future?
- Will I be needing to host more than one website in the future?
In the end, the choice depends on your requirements.
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Share:Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the differences between VPS and shared web hosting is crucial for making an informed decision based on your website’s needs. Shared hosting offers affordability and simplicity, while VPS hosting provides greater control and performance. Our WP Theme Bundle complements both hosting options, allowing you to optimize your website’s design and functionality. Ultimately, your choice should align with your website’s size, traffic, and specific requirements. Make the decision that best serves your online presence and business goals.
