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Are you confused between shared and VPS hosting to host your website?
Choosing the right type of hosting for your website is important. Sometimes, you might need to change your hosting type if it’s not working out for your website’s needs.
In this article, I have talked about the difference between shared and VPS hosting in detail. Stick around till the end to find out which one is the right choice for your website.
Let’s see the differences and try to help you select the best one according to your requirements.
Overview of Shared Hosting Vs. VPS Hosting
Shared hosting is like sharing server resources with many other websites. It’s affordable, and you get enough bandwidth and performance, but the web host manages the technical stuff and security for you. It’s a good basic option for hosting your site.
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting gives you more control. It’s like having your dedicated virtual server. Although you share the physical server with others, you have dedicated resources, so other websites won’t slow yours down.
VPS hosting usually costs more than shared hosting but offers more freedom and is still reasonably priced.
There are benefits to both hosting solutions. Let’s examine that in more detail.
Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting – 10 Key Differences
1. Scalability
Scalability is about adjusting resources to meet your website’s needs. In shared hosting, you can’t increase resources beyond what’s allocated to you in your plan. But VPS hosting is different; it offers a lot more flexibility to adjust resources like storage and server capacity.
For example, if your site gets 20,000 visitors a month, shared hosting can manage that. But as your site grows, shared hosting might struggle with the increased demand. VPS hosting, however, can easily adapt to these changes, like needing more bandwidth during busy times for an online store.
2. Performance
The performance of your website is closely linked to the type of web hosting you choose, and it’s a key factor in whether your hosting is successful. Several web hosting providers including HawkHost offers a range of web hosting solutions to its global audience. In case you are interested in choosing HawkHost hosting plans, make sure to check out this hawkhost discount code for a 40% off one-time discount.
When comparing shared and VPS hosting, VPS generally offers better performance for medium-sized or larger websites because of its scalability. It provides stronger network resources and processing power, which can improve website performance and increase visitor conversions.
For smaller websites, shared hosting is usually enough. It’s all about matching the hosting type to your website’s size and needs.
3. Security
Shared hosting can be riskier for security because it has many websites on the same server, increasing the chances of security issues. If one site on a shared server is hacked or doesn’t update its security, it could affect other sites too. However, the actual risk depends greatly on how well the hosting company protects its servers.
VPS hosting usually offers stronger security and is good for websites that handle lots of customer data or payments. It has solid security measures managed by professionals.
When looking for hosting, it’s important to check for security features like firewalls, regular security updates, and monitoring services. Both shared, and VPS hosting should offer these basic security measures to protect your site.
4. Uptime
A website’s uptime is about how often the server is working and online. Uptime is shown as a percentage, and anything over 99.9% is great. Uptime is crucial because it means your website is available for visitors anytime. This is very important for all types of websites, especially for business and e-commerce sites.
Both shared and VPS hosting can have server problems, but uptime mostly depends on how good the hosting provider’s hardware, software, and support are.
In shared hosting, lots of websites might strain the server. VPS hosting has its own environment, so it’s less likely to be affected by other users, making your site more consistently available.
5. Cost
Shared hosting is the cheapest option for web hosting. VPS hosting costs more because it gives you more resources and is generally more reliable.
You have to balance what you can afford to pay and what you need for your website. Shared hosting is good for saving money. VPS hosting, while more expensive, offers better features like improved performance and more customization options.
Decide what’s important for your website by considering how much you’re willing to spend and the features you need. This will help you choose between shared and VPS hosting.
6. Managed Hosting
Hosting services can be either managed or unmanaged, and this applies to VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting as well.
With unmanaged VPS hosting, you are responsible for installing and maintaining the software yourself. This can be a good choice if you have the technical skills and time to manage your server.
Managed hosting, whether shared servers or VPS, means the hosting provider takes care of everything for you. They manage the technical parts, which is great if you don’t want to handle these tasks yourself.
7. Customization
On a Virtual Private Server (VPS), you have more freedom to install and set up software to make your website faster. This level of control isn’t usually available with shared hosting. However, even though you can do a lot with software on a VPS, it’s important to be careful.
If you’re not sure what you’re doing, you could accidentally delete important data or mess up applications. So, while a VPS gives you more control, it also requires you to be cautious with the changes you make.
8. Dedicated Resources
On a VPS (Virtual Private Server), all the resources like disk space, CPU, and RAM are just for your website, similar to a dedicated server. This means you can handle more visitors and run more apps.
In shared hosting, you share resources with others and don’t get a dedicated IP address. VPS also lets you choose your operating system, which you can’t do with shared hosting. So, VPS offers more power and flexibility compared to shared hosting.
9. Extensive Technical Assistance
All shared hosting plans are managed, which means you get 24/7 help with any technical issues. VPS hosting can be either managed or unmanaged.
If you choose a managed VPS plan, you also get 24/7 technical support. But with unmanaged VPS, you generally have to handle any issues by yourself.
10. Multiple Domain Hosting
Shared hosting can work even if you have a lot of websites. But if you have a lot of websites, this can result in stretching the limited resources too thin, which makes each website less reliable.
VPS hosting, with its much larger resources, handles multiple websites better without affecting performance. Even though some providers offer unlimited shared website hosting, VPS is a better choice for its scalability and dedicated IP, especially if you’re managing multiple websites.
Final Verdict:
Thus, choosing the right server type for your website is a tough choice to make. You need to consider your requirements and needs.
If you need more storage space or the ability to grow your site, or if you’re looking for a more affordable hosting option, you’ll choose accordingly.
In addition, it is always good to keep your website’s needs in mind and choose a hosting type and provider that matches your website’s needs in every way. Happy Blogging!
You may also like: How To Choose A Reliable Web Hosting Company To Grow Your Online Business
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