Choosing a suitable hosting plan for your website is one of the most critical issues you must address in the beginning stages of setting up your site.
The server space is where you will build your house – your website. Today there are plenty of options for hosting services, so at first glance, the choice might not seem straightforward.
However, once you understand the main hosting categories and evaluate your real needs, you can choose the right type.
This article will take shared hosting and VPS hosting into consideration. You will see what they offer and what the essential advantages and disadvantages of each are. Then, you can make an informed choice about what’s best for you.
What Is Shared Hosting Like?
If we compare hosting your website to housing, then shared hosting is like sharing a house with many other people. You all use the same living space and facilities, and there are certain limitations of the resources in terms of bathrooms, parking spaces, TVs, etc. When you are back from work, you might want to enjoy a swim in the pool, but many other housemates have the same idea. This can definitely affect your experience.
With shared hosting, users have access to the same server resources, disk space, CPU, and memory. This can affect the speed and performance of all the sites that are hosted on that server.
This brings us to the cons of shared hosting. It goes without saying such cohabitation comes with certain disadvantages. You get limited bandwidth that can sometimes slow down your site.
In periods of high traffic on other sites sharing the same space, your site might not be as fast in terms of speed and performance.
You also have some limitations regarding the backend control and the root access of your website.
What are the advantages of shared hosting?
If you start feeling a bit claustrophobic, don`t. Shared hosting works very well for anyone who is building a new website and doesn`t have a tremendous amount of traffic coming to it.
This option is budget friendly and convenient for all newbies. You can get an upgrade with a better option when needed, like if your traffic volume gets bigger and you get more experienced in operating the site.
Shared hosting is the perfect playground to experiment with if you are dipping your toes in the digital world or starting a blog or a small personal site. You can learn how it works almost for free. The monthly fee is very small.
Finally, shared hosting providers offer more assistance in setup and backend management, so you do not need to be a big tech pro to start your site.
VPS is a bit like living in a luxury condo, where each inhabitant gets their own facilities to use according to the resources purchased. The other inhabitants cannot use your bathroom or private pool, for example.
What is VPS?
With VPS, you get your dedicated portion of a server that is only for you and no one else.
What are the advantages of VPS Hosting?
This option is excellent if you have a well-developed business and massive traffic to your website.
You have money to invest in your website and a way to make it pay the bills.
With VPS hosting, you have complete control over your server resources. You have root access and all the developer perks that come with actually owning a server.
You get larger bandwidth and memory that are entirely yours, and that can be scaled and expanded quickly.
The biggest pro is that VPS-hosted sites are not affected by the traffic coming to the other sites, unlike shared hosting.
It is fast, stable, and reliable. VPS is an option for people who have clear goals, a direction, and a business plan.
What are the disadvantages of VPS?
The most significant disadvantage is the slightly bigger price tag. If you want to manage your site yourself, you need to gain some expertise and technical knowledge, which makes it an unsuitable option for beginners.
Final say
If you are just starting with your business and your site, you might want to consider shared hosting. With a pre-configured package, you can start quickly with little investment.
If you opt for a VPS, on the other hand, it indicates that you are in a more mature phase of your business and you already have some technical knowledge and resources to invest for better results. Evaluate your options and choose according to your business development and expertise.
