When you start setting up your website, choosing the most suitable hosting plan is one of the most crucial aspects you will address. The website is built in the server space, which is where you are making your home, figuratively speaking. There are many different hosting services today, so it might not be an easy choice at first glance.
You can choose the best type once you understand the main hosting categories and your needs.
This article will look at VPS hosting and shared hosting. It will explain what each type is and its pluses and minuses. Then, you can make an informed decision.
Shared Hosting is Like Sharing an Apartment
If hos and housing were the same thing, shared hosting would be the equivalent of sharing a house or apartment with many other people. Everyone uses the same space, which comes with distinct limitations of resources. You can only spend so much time in the bathroom before someone else demands to use it. There is a fixed number of parking spaces. The limitations can impact the hosting user’s experience.
Users of shared hosting have access to the same disk space, memory, CPU, etc. This has an impact on the performance and speed of all the sites that are hosted on the server.
Downsides of shared hosting
Your site might slow down due to the limited bandwidth. If traffic to another site on the server spikes, it will happen at the expense of your website’s speed. There are also limitations in terms of root access and backend control of your website.
Pluses of shared hosting
This type of hosting works very well for new websites that don’t have a lot of traffic. It is a convenient and budget-friendly hosting option. Once you acquire more experience in how the website works or you start getting more traffic, you can upgrade to a better hosting option.
Those who are starting a small personal site or a blog will find shared hosting an ideal playground to experiment in. With such low fees, users can learn how to manage their sites almost for free.
In addition: shared hosting companies provide more assistance in setting up a website and backend management, so you don’t need a lot of tech experience.
VPS Hosting is Like Living in a Condo
VPS web hosting is a bit like living in a condo, where everyone uses a separate set of facilities depending on what resources they have purchased. The other condo owners cannot use your private pool or your bathroom without your permission.
Virtual Private Server hosting gives you a dedicated portion of a server.
Downsides of VPS hosting
It’s a lot more expensive than shared hosting. You’ll be responsible for managing your site if you opt for unmanaged VPS hosting, which is a bit cheaper. This goes with some expertise and technical knowledge, making it an unfeasible option for newbies.
Pluses of VPS hosting
If you have relatively high traffic and an established business, this option is excellent. People who choose VPS hosting get full control over their server resources. While you don’t actually own a server, you have root access and many other tech perks. The larger memory and bandwidth are all yours, and you can scale and grow those very fast.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of VPS hosting is that the sites are not impacted by the traffic coming to the other sites.
Most VPS hosting providers ensure stable, fast, and reliable services. VPS is a great option for people who have a business plan, a direction, and clear goals.
Final Thoughts
Shared hosting is probably the better option if you are just starting out with your website. You can start quickly with a very low upfront payment and a pre-configured package. If you have some resources and technical skills to invest, VPS would be preferable. Assess the options and make a decision according to your expertise and extent to which your website has been developed.