Whether a small business or a million-dollar organization, getting the right web hosting has become vital not only to thrive in the online space but also to stay strong amidst the highly competitive business world.
But the question is, what’s the right web hosting for your business? Choosing the right web hosting can be a daunting decision to make considering that different factors are at play. From pricing to security among others. Another thing is there are different types of web hosting with each having its cons and pros. Hence, as a seasoned website builder, we have done the hard work for you. This article looks into the three major types of hosting services including their advantages and disadvantages to help you make informed decisions. Here is the answer to what you are looking for.
Before diving in, let’s look at the meaning of the different types of hosting services:
- Shared hosting
- Virtual private server (VPS) hosting
- Dedicated hosting.
What is Shared Hosting?
As the name suggests, shared hosting is a type of hosting service where many websites share a single physical server and its resources among each other. These plans accord you a space on a shared hosting server to host website files and there can be hundreds of websites sharing the website with yours. Because the server space is being shared, this makes it the most basic, the most common, and the cheapest type of hosting solution among others.
How does shared hosting work?
Here is a brief illustration to give you a better understanding. A server can be considered an apartment that has different rooms that are rented out to different users. You have got your room but resources are being shared by others in the same apartment.
Hence, when you sign up with a shared hosting provider, your website space is being created on the server. You have got to share the computing power, CPU, network, storage, and any other resources. And this is not to worry, others don’t get to see files or whatever you get going on your website.
Pros of shared hosting
Economical: as earlier said, shared hosting is the most cost-effective type of hosting service out there due to the shared nature
Little to no technical expertise: if you aren’t tech-savvy or you don’t know much about managing a server, here is a good option for you. Leave your provider to handle maintenance and upgrade while you focus on the core areas of your business.
Cons of shared hosting
Breach in security: as the server is being shared by others, anything such as viruses, hacking activities, or spam affecting your neighbor also puts your website at risk.
Limited scalability: scalability is the ability to expand your resources such as bandwidth, storage space, custom software installation, and many more. This can however be limited to shared hosting and is most times restricted to the bandwidth and storage provided. Hence, if there’s a need for expansion or growth, you might have to opt for a new plan or server.
Lower performance: resources in shared hosting are shared according to business needs and prices and this means they are not evenly distributed. This means your website might find itself being robbed of resources by dozens to hundreds of websites. Hence, leading to low performance.
Choose shared hosting if:
- Your website is minimal with fewer resources requirement
- It’s a small business website
- Personal website
- you are a new blogger
- You want to minimize cost
What is VPS Hosting?
A virtual private server is a blend of both shared hosting and dedicated server. It depicts the experience of a dedicated server even though you are still within a shared space or server.
How does VPS hosting work?
Back to our housing analogy, while shared hosting is like renting a room in an apartment, VPS hosting can be described as renting an apartment in a townhouse. There are more rooms, more space, more expensive than shared hosting but less cheap than dedicated ones.
The virtual private server operates on its operating system and in this different websites are allocated their own dedicated virtual space within a server. Each user will have access to its resources in terms of disk space, storage, bandwidth, and many more. Therefore, the space is fully yours and you can customize it as you deem fit.
Pros of VPS hosting
Increased reliability: VPS is far reliable than shared hosting. There is less chance that your site will be impacted by other sites’ activities or security issues. This makes it a more secure and stable solution than shared hosting.
Improved performance: with more resources and bandwidth at your disposal, you get more in terms of performance. You are better armed when dealing with increased traffic and your site is set to load quickly.
Scalability: you can add features according to your business needs. This comes with less downtime and turn-around time.
More customization: since you have your dedicated space in a server, you can customize it according to your needs. Installation, removal, the addition of any software can be carried out according to requirements.
Cons of VPS hosting
Cost: with added perks comes the added expenses. VPS hosting can be considered more pricey than shared hosting.
Not as secure: to place VPS on a dedicated hosting pedestal, dedicated beats it to the game in terms of security. This is because, with VPS, you only have control over the part given to you not the entire server.
Choose VPS hosting if:
- You want more secure hosting with better SEO and higher performance at a cheaper cost than a dedicated server.
- Your business is growing than what shared hosting can handle.
- You are expecting a spike in traffic
- You want full control over your site including configuration, customization, and many more.
What is Dedicated Hosting?
This typically means that the entire server including the resources is dedicated to a single website or business. It offers immense power and plenteous capabilities to business owners.
How does dedicated hosting works?
Going on with the house description, the whole house belongs to only you and your full control over it. Whether it’s the resources that are in there or the opportunities, only you decide what you want to do with it. With a dedicated server, there is no limit to what can be carried out and it can be described as the backbone of all applications and sites out there.
Pros of dedicated hosting?
Full control: since you are not sharing with anyone, you have full control over thays been shared, accessed on stored on the website.
Highest security: it provides the highest form of security than any other hosting option. No data breaches, your hardware, and resources are private. No one opening the door without your permission. Risk is at the minimum level.
Highest performance and scalability: a dedicated server is the best when it comes to performance. In terms of speed, high traffic adaptability, and scalability, the dedicated server is up to par.
Cons of dedicated hosting
Expensive: this will be considered the most expensive hosting option. Everything from owning a server to management to upgrades comes with a high price tag.
Technical expertise: extensive technical knowledge is required to run the website and server on your own.
Choose dedicated hosting if:
- You run a business wherein visitors are required to drop confidential information and security tops your business needs. A good example is e-commerce.
- Your website is growing at a fast rate and you need a server that can handle the increased traffic.
- You want full control of your website without any interference.
Bottomline
The web hosting you choose can either make or mar your online success. Therefore, conduct due diligence and choose the right one for your needs.
