Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting: Which One is Best for You?

web hosting vs vps

Shared hosting or VPS hosting – which hosting should you choose for your website?

 

One of our readers asked me to tell you which hosting option should you use for your online project. Almost every novice webmaster asks this question when, at last, decides to create and place a website on the Internet. And if you are sure that a simple constructor will not be able to implement your ideas, then this article is for you.

Let’s understand

Those who are already aware of exactly how Shared hosting differs from VPS hosting,  can go straight to the next section. For the rest, we have prepared a simple and understandable analogy: imagine that the server is the “home” for your site. And the type of hosting determines how this house will look. In the case of shared hosting, you will receive a room in a hostel – that is, other clients will share resources with you. And at any moment someone can move out, but they can also add someone else.

Let’s say you decided to buy a piano, but at the same time repaint the walls and get an iguana. In the dorm, you will most likely not be allowed to do this. With hosting, it’s about the same story: if you want to configure the server yourself and choose software, then it makes sense to think about a VPS. Returning to housing – when you decide not to depend on anyone at all: from neighbors, utilities and an ever-busy parking lot, you move into a separate country house or townhouse. In hosting, here you can draw an analogy with a dedicated server (Dedicated server). We will not dwell on dedicated servers in this article, as they are usually used only in very large-scale projects.

So,Shared hosting implies that many websites share a physical server, where each user shares resources (processor power, channel, and others) – just like neighbors in a hostel with a combined kitchen, hallway and bathroom. VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. It also implies the division of resources into several people, but it already gives almost all the capabilities of a physical server – as in the case of an apartment in an apartment building, where you are isolated from others, but still share utility resources with neighbors.

Now that everything has fallen into place, it’s time to decide whether a “dorm room” is suitable for your site or whether you should think about buying an “apartment”.

Shared hosting: cheap and cheerful?

To make everything fair, let’s highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each type of hosting. The advantages of shared tariffs include, first of all, low cost. For example, in Bluehost, prices for shared hosting start at $2.99 per month (at the Host-Lite tariff when paid for 3 years). Also, such a hosting requires practically no maintenance, since the provider takes over this task – here you definitely will not need administration skills.

But let’s also consider the disadvantages: shared hosting has a low degree of resource isolation, as well as a number of restrictions on the pre-installed software. Therefore, before making a choice, make sure that:

– your web project is not too large and does not require a lot of resources;

– the appropriate software is installed on the shared hosting;

– you do not need flexible server configuration and root access.

It should be understood that shared hosting is no worse than VPS. It’s just aimed at those who do not want to deal with server administration and prefer to use ready-made customized software. If this approach meets the requirements of your web project, then you should definitely think about shared hosting.

 

VPS: Is it worth aiming higher?

The main advantage of a VPS is its large resources, as well as the ability to customize and install specific software.

All this makes VPS a more flexible solution. But at the same time, all responsibility for setting up and securing the server falls on your shoulders. Therefore, it is better to think about VPS for companies that have a qualified system administrator on their staff. In his capable hands, VPS can be a much more productive and secure solution.

The disadvantages of VPS include the cost: it can significantly exceed the price of shared hosting. Although some configurations are comparable in cost to shared-tariffs: in Digitalocean the most “budgetary” VPS costs $5/per month. Another possible difficulty is the availability of additional functions and more complex management that requires administrative skills. But here you have to proceed from whether the end justifies your means. Remember that VPS performance helps to avoid website crashes and prevent business downtime, financial and reputation losses, and its security is ensured by timely software updates and network activity analysis.

So, VPS hosting will definitely suit you if:

– the maximum allowable load on shared hosting is no longer enough for your site.

– it is important for you to administrator the server yourself.

– your budget fully justifies the cost of a VPS.

 

Still don’t know what to choose VPS or Shared Hosting

There are times when it is impossible to determine what type of hosting is suitable for a project. If you still couldn’t choose your option, start with shared hosting. It usually provides everything needed for small sites and companies. If at some point you realize that there are not enough resources, you can always switch to a more powerful tariff.

Medium and large businesses should definitely consider the option with VPS hosting or managed WordPress hosting if it is important for you to control resources and configure the server yourself.

Write in the comments what kind of hosting you would choose for your site. And don’t forget to ask questions – perhaps your comment will also serve as the basis for a new article.

And if you have already decided on hosting, it’s time to choose a coca-cola. 🙂

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