Whether you have an established offline business that needs an online presence, or you are planning to start an online venture, choosing the right type of hosting is vital for success. Not every company is prepared to pay for a dedicated hosting, so they turn to shared hosting or VPS instead. What is the difference between the two, and how do you decide which one to use?
VPS and Shared Hosting: Definitions
In the world of web hosting, there are three options available: shared hosting, VPS hosting, and a dedicated server. It is great, of course, if you can afford to buy a server all for yourself. For this, however, you need to be sure of your long-run strategy. For a first foray in making and promoting a website, choosing between a VRS and shared hosting is what most novices do.
- Shared hosting means that you buy a small share of a large server, together with many other companies. You will hardly ever know how many sites exist on the same server. The more there are, the longer is the server response time, and the more slowly do your own webpage loads.
- Fact: according to research, visitors expect a website to load in 2 seconds; a 3-second wait is already «too long». Naturally, if you run an e-shop, and it takes ages to load, you are losing customers because of longer page loading.
- VPS – Virtual Private Server – is better in this regard because there are not so many sites sharing the server with you. It is assumed that you also get better customer service simply because you pay more for the server.
- Note: a price is an important factor in making a decision about hosting.
As tempting as it may be to save, bear in mind the cumulative cost of having a «wrong» type of server and paying extra for maintenance and problem-solving. Arguably, the web hosting provider is one thing expert do not recommend to save on.
Key Features for Comparison
What other factors set VPS apart from shared hosting? Below we go through each of them in detail.
Effectiveness
As mentioned above, a VPS is used by less websites, so the server is not overloaded with requests, and visitors can easily access your site. Such hosting also offers more resources and processing power, and if you are running a webstore or a serious blog that you use for revenue, you will certainly prefer to pay for the hosting that ensures uninterrupted work. The top performance of VPS hosting plan also shows in higher speed of page loading.
If, however, yours is a small website that does not need much resource, then shared hosting is a cost-effective solution.
Stability
When assessing how reliable and stable the server is, think of its uptime and downtime. When a server is down, your website will not load. Downtimes occur to both on shared servers and VPS, but whereas with VPS this may be a nuisance, with shared hosting it can grow into a serious issue. If you run a business website, an e-store, or a portfolio blog, every downtime is a loss in revenue and networking opportunities.
Security
Hackers prefer to attack shared servers: there are more sites to bring down. Besides, these hosting plans are popular with less experienced people who fall behind on various updates for their sites which, in turn, may compromise the entire server.
VPS practically eliminates this risk: its robust security features are managed by experienced professionals. Again, the price factor plays a role, and these private servers are better looked after simply because they cost more.
Fact: if your website uses a lot of data or processes payment information, opt for VPS.
The above does not mean to say that shared servers are not maintained by professional staff. In fact, shared servers are always managed by technicians – it is VPS that can be managed or unmanaged. In the latter case, it means that you have the human resources to maintain the technical side. If you wish, however, you can purchased a managed VPS plan that includes a 24/7 technical support. Your technical team may be busy with other tasks, while server maintenance will be carried by hosting provider.
Another aspect regarding security are the certificates hosting providers use. Encryption is usually included in the price of VPS whereas with shared hosting you might have to pay extra.
Price
This factor is bound to play a big role. If you are running a small website that does not require much effort and resource, choose a shared hosting plan which is always cheaper than VPS. To decide what package to have, examine both plans carefully and try to find the golden middle between the price tag and the service you will have for it.
At this stage, too, study prospective hosting providers, read reviews, and compare server uptimes, features, and extras. For more information on the price, discounts, and offers, visit VPS.Coupons.
Scalability and Customization
There are two ways to develop your site:
- by adding various extensions and making it «heavier», and
- by attracting more visitors.
Scalability of the server ensures your site does not break down when you start attracting twice as many visitors. Obviously, this is possible with VPS with fewer websites rather than with a shared server that is used by many. As for customization, whatever add-ons you make, they need to be integrated and work smoothly, and again, VPS has more capacity here.
Remember: 3 seconds is too long for a webpage loading!
When assessing the hosting plans, look for the following three categories that will influence your website’s performance:
- RAM (Random-access memory);
- storage;
- bandwidth.
In short, the bigger is their value, the more efficient is your site.
Conclusion
As you plan to delve into the online world, think strategically. A wrong type of server will result in the lack of resources that may be vital for your work. The economy is not always the best option for such foundational things as hosting. So, enlist your prerogatives and make the choice that you are likely to be happy with for a long time.
