Do you need to host your website on the internet but are confused by different types of web hosting? You have landed on the right page at the right time. Before finalizing cheap web hosting services you need to consider a lot of factors that have a direct impact on your website or online business. In this article, you will learn about the basics of web hosting, different kinds of web hosting, the advantages and disadvantages of each type, and a chart of VPS vs Shared server vs dedicated server to select the appropriate one that will efficiently meet your business requirements.
Table of Contents
Basics of Web Hosting
Consider a real-life example to understand web hosting concepts. If a person wants to build his house, he will need a piece of land at any place where it will stand. The same concept is used when you want to build your online business or website, you need space where it will be stored or hosted.
Web hosting is the name of getting a piece of space where your website will be hosted. Unlike the houses, you can change web hosting providers by transferring your domains at any time.
The concept of web hosting is based on two main components, a domain name and a hosting provider. Every house has a complete address where it is located. In the case of website hosting, every website has a unique virtual address which is known as a domain name.
Whenever a user wants to visit your website using a web browser on his machine, he will type your domain name. Now, the DNS server will identify and point to a specific IP Address to locate the server where is your data stored. The dedicated hosts (servers) provided by your dedicated hosting company load the requested data for your users. If you are a startup business and can’t afford the dedicated web hosting solution, you can get shared hosting services to host your website on the internet. We will also talk about shared web hosting and dedicated servers in this article. As you can see the concept of how a user accesses the website files in the picture given below:
How Many Types of Web Hosting Exist?
A dedicated hosting provider or any other company offering the host’s services will provide you with different solutions with the price variation. This article is specially written to explore all of the quality web hosting services for you to make the most important decision to select the best one that is suitable for your online business.
Although there are many ways to distinguish the services hosting services are mainly categorized on the base of technology. We will talk about the three most common hosting types: shared, VPS, and Dedicated hosting solutions. As you can see in the picture, dedicated server solutions are like a house that is completely yours. Shared vs VPS is like an apartment and a townhome where you own your portion, not a complete house.
Shared Server – Beginners’ Choice
Most startup businesses choose affordable shared hosting because they don’t have many visitors on their website at this moment and their website is located on a server having many other websites. It is a simple answer to what is shared hosting. Now another question arises how many websites are located on the same server? There is no limit, it depends on your hosting provider and the setup. The shared server vs dedicated server concept can be accomplished with this example:
shared and dedicated hosting: your website and other websites are hosted on a single server are known as shared, and your website on a single server utilizing all the resources is the example of dedicated server website hosting. As you can see in the picture given below:
Advantages:
Cost
It is The biggest advantage of this special option that you share the total cost of your server with many people. This solution is more lucrative because there are usually more than 2400 accounts on each server where many people have no traffic and don’t consume the resources of the machine.
If are running a small website developed using WordPress, Joomla, or any other Content Management System (CMS) with daily visitors of hundreds or thousands. If your daily visitors are more than a specific number, it is highly recommended to use the dedicated or VPS. Another main advantage of using shared services is that the server is almost configured you can concentrate on your website completely. If you have limited funds, or just starting the business it is perfect for you to start your online business journey.
Ease of Use
There is no need for any technical person or knowledge of databases and server-side languages. Hosting providers take care of the server’s security, monitoring, and other necessary tasks. It is very simple, you can install CMS (WordPress, etc.) or a forum with a single click through channel auto-installer or using Softaculous.
Adequate Bandwidth and Disk Space
These two factors play a vital role in the performance of the website. If the bandwidth or disk space is low from the required level then your visitors may face a bad experience. In a Shared server, there is enough space and bandwidth for your online business or personal website to add resources.
Adaptability
It is easy to adapt, there are no configuration, upgrades, maintenance, and server management headaches. You will experience a solid performance for smaller and low-traffic websites. Always try to get the services of a well-reputed Windows or Linux shared hosting provider for a good customer experience.
Disadvantages:
Shared Resources
As the business grows and the number of visitors is increased the shared resources do not fulfill the online business requirements. Nowadays, speed matters the most, and slow speed can lead to a bad experience for your customers. So, it is the best option for you to choose shared hosting and upgrade your hosting plan as your website traffic increases.
Server and Bandwidth
Server resources and bandwidth is the main difference between shared and dedicated servers. Users will get fewer resources in a shared technique. There is a chance of limited resources because hundreds of businesses are hosted on a single server with different requirements. Bandwidth and all resources utilized in managed dedicated web hosting are fully dedicated to your website. You can shift to a dedicated solution if you have any problems with the shared server or increase the traffic of your website.
Security
You can’t install your preferred software like anti-virus protection or any others on your server because of the shared property. You can only make the changes in your blog websites or email accounts. It is not a big problem, if you need customization at any stage you can buy a dedicated to fulfilling your business needs and requirements.
Shortage of Root Access
There are limited rights for admin access which might affect your specific tasks.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) – Next Level Shared Server
The concept behind the Virtual Private Server hosting is similar to the shared but there are fewer resources and space. You will get a virtualized machine with access to additional resources as your site traffic increases at notice to your service provider. In the VPS, the user will also share a single server but he will get a Managed virtual server and be able to perform his tasks. As we talk about the real-life example earlier, you will buy a separate house but you are still in the same building. As compared to the apartment, you may get a car parking space in your house.
Virtual private server vs dedicated server: VPS is a complete server machine but it is virtualized whereas the dedicated server is a complete physical server. The main benefit of your Virtual host is to upgrade the resources when you require them at the lowest prices.
VPS Advantages:
Costs Savings
These servers are more affordable because you increase the resources and pay for what you need. You are getting the life of a complete house which is located in a TownHouse with costs lesser than a house outside of the TownHouse.
Fully Customizable Control
On-demand hardware upgrades with the freedom to choose the software and Operating systems on your virtualized host. It is the big benefit of VPS that there is no fear of affecting the other from your actions.
Root Access
You have a complete virtual machine with root access that will allow you to change configurations and desired software installations for the interface of your control panel.
Free Weekly Backup
In VPS solutions, there is a free data backup every week to deliver you exceptional quality services with peace of mind. It is an inexpensive way to enjoy control of the resources with multiple domain hosting.
More Control to Configure Your Server
With the help of virtualization software, you have more control to configure your server as you want to meet your business requirements.
Disadvantages:
Expensive than Shared
It is understood, that if you are using a virtual machine with admin access having a customizable feature then definitely you will pay more than shared. It is also less expensive as compared to a dedicated server web hosting.
Limited Assets
You can’t access the full assets of the physical server on which your virtual machine is running. So, you have limited access to assets. Don’t worry you can increase the assets as you want for a virtual host.
Required Technical Knowledge
You can also buy a fully managed server but if you are using unmanaged VPS, you must have the technical knowledge to configure the server.
Shared Physical Server
As you know, VPS is a virtual machine with shared hardware of the physical web server. There may be many other websites using the same hardware as the server. so, you may not be able to use RAM or other resources at maximum performance.
Dedicated Server – No # 1 Choice of Big Business Brands
Dedicated server definition: Every website is stored on a single physical server that is fully dedicated (all resources) for your website. Your server is yours, nobody can share your server because you have full rights to all resources of the dedicated server hosting services. Consider the real-life example, it is like you own a house where you are the only one who is the resident with his family. You can paint your house, build more rooms, and park your car where you want. You must pay a handsome amount to enjoy the luxury house. If you want to know about the prices of these dedicated and fast hosts, you can visit the dedicated server hosting plans.
Also Read: Dedicated Servers Are So Famous, But Why?
Advantages:
Good Performance and Reliability
If you are unable to fulfill your business requirements, you can increase the resources to get more performance. It is the simple philosophy; you will get what you pay. It is reliable for every big business brand to become more active with 99.9% uptime. Get affordable dedicated hosting from a range of services to get the highest performance.
Speed and Accessibility
It is fast. You get 100% access to all resources of your reliable dedicated server hosting. You have maximum speed and accessibility to run more sophisticated websites. It is also a perfect choice for web apps to provide a custom and stable environment.
Security
There are many options available to secure a dedicated server with the IP address blocking feature, DDoS protection, and other server-level security. It is easy to install custom software and RAID configurations on a physical machine.
Technical Assistance
You pay a good amount for your services, so the hosting provider makes sure the quality of the support is 24/7/365.
Best Option
It is the best option for running websites with massive daily traffic, ERP applications, game servers, or hosting companies. You can also get dedicated hosting packages to run big businesses without the fear of bad performance and speed up your website.
Freedom
Managed Hosting Dedicated Server is reserved for a single website or organization to deliver freedom and flexibility. There are no dependencies or other parties that can utilize your resources, you are the only one who can change the configurations or other custom settings.
Full Control
It is a physical server with the hardware required and recommended by IT experts to serve thousands of users per day. Moreover, you have full control without worrying about bad neighbors. What is dedicated server hosting? It is the name of getting full control of a physical server connected to the internet and providing services to host your applications or websites.
Disadvantage:
Expensive
It is an expensive solution for small businesses. If you are getting huge traffic and business daily then it is the best option to boost your business efficiently. Many hosting provider companies deliver cheap dedicated hosting for businesses that want a physical machine to serve their users.
VPS vs Shared Server vs Dedicated Server – Key Differences
| Parameters | Dedicated | VPS | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Suitable for | SaaS, large-scale applications like ERP, Gaming, etc. | Applications and websites with many users | Websites |
| Real-Life Example | A house | An apartment | TownHome |
| Costs | High | Normal | Low |
| Managed by | Mostly End-user staff | End-user staff or hosting provider | Hosting provider |
| Security | Very high | High | Average |
| Performance | Very high | Average | Low |
| Storage Space | Usually in Terabytes | Less than dedicated Servers (Upgradable) | Limited |
| Bandwidth | Very high | Average | Low |
| Scalability | Very high | Average | Limited |
| Note | Ultimate performance with complete control for the ultimate price. | Better performance and bandwidth but limited as compared to Dedicated. |
The best option for every business Startup. |
Fully Managed Dedicated Server Hosting
If you have the complete technical knowledge you can manage your server and save the cost. It is an ideal and efficient way to reduce the costs on your in-house IT Experts and dedicatedly focus on your business with a high level of assured security.
Unlimited Bandwidth
It is not a good approach to get unlimited bandwidth without an in-depth understanding of your visitors. Most people pay a huge amount and get unlimited bandwidth but their usage is only a few TBs. it can be a bad strategy. If you want to become proactive, buy a limited bandwidth check its usage regularly, and increase the bandwidth when you required.
Application Hosting
Application hosting is also known as “software as a service”. It makes your applications available remotely using the internet. It can reduce the cost with an amazing feature of instant deployment and is easy to maintain. There is no need to synchronize your data with multiple devices, and easy to access globally without software licensing costs. But you have to connect to the internet whenever you need to access your services. Dedicated Server is a perfect hosting solution for large-scale applications like ERP, Gaming, etc.
Hammad Mohsin
The most basic and cheapest of the hosting tiers.
these plans allow you to rent space on a shared hosting server. Which also hosts many other websites on the same server alongside your website.
Arjun Suravaram
As we all know, big organizations go for both vps and dedicated server.