Shared hosting versus VPS hosting: which package should I choose?
The best web hosting for your website is determined by what you want to achieve. When I set up my first hosting solution, I believed that purchasing a VPS and uploading WordPress to it was the cheapest option. I was wrong. Looking back now, I should have gotten one of the cheapest shared plans and that would have been sufficient for my very basic site with low quality images and not much content. You don’t really need much for a website that actually just provides an address and proves that you exist with very specific search terms.
If I tried that approach now with any of the sites I host, I would fail miserably. The amount of storage space is simply not enough and a significant amount more needs to be loaded onto a page and the power isn’t there.
Choosing a VPS or shared hosting is the balance between how much you need and how much you want to pay. It stands to reason that if you only need to use a small portion of something, it will be cheaper to share a larger thing with others and if you buy in bulk you will have some savings there.
Overview of shared and VPS hosting
Shared hosting is a type of hosting plan that can house thousands of websites on one server. It is known as the most affordable web hosting option on the market. Shared hosting is similar to living in an apartment: you get your own space and you pay for the maintenance of the common areas and the elevator.
When you rent an apartment, you agree to share the pool, parking, gym and much more. When you purchase a shared hosting plan, you agree to share bandwidth and storage space with all other tenants of the server.
This also means that you are directly affected by the actions of other tenants on your server. If a neighbor in an apartment moves in or out, he or she may have to move a lot of furniture up and down the stairs or constantly use the elevator, causing some inconvenience to your guests when visiting your apartment.
VPS hosting is a hosting service that houses websites in special sections on the server. It’s a lot like owning an apartment. There are still several facilities that are shared, but you are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the accommodation, so it is a little more expensive, but you never have to worry about your neighbors blocking the stairs.
What are the benefits of shared hosting?
Shared hosting is perfect for websites that don’t require many resources and have minimal traffic. Because resources are shared across all websites, smaller websites that are less demanding can run efficiently. Moreover, with shared hosting you often get a lot of freebies that you don’t get with a VPS, such as a free domain name for a year.
All maintenance and updates for your server are performed automatically by your hosting company. This gives you more time to focus on your website content or further develop your website with a drag-and-drop website builder.
Getting started with shared hosting is a simple process and allows you to get your website live as quickly as possible and of course…the price is a huge advantage.
What are the benefits of VPS hosting?
Like shared hosting, VPS hosting has its own benefits. Because your website resides on its own dedicated section of the server, you can manage resources, install software, and truly configure your VPS to meet your website’s requirements.
Another advantage of VPS hosting is having root access. This allows for greater configuration and ease of VPS management and updates. The ability to fully customize your VPS also ensures better server security. You can manage all security features for your VPS.
For websites that are growing, VPS hosting brings a whole new level of power and resources to the hosting world. This means that when your website is hit by a large increase in traffic, there will be no downtime, so you can focus on your visitors.
A major benefit of VPS hosting is higher performance with greater bandwidth and resources. This allows your website to load super fast and your viewers experience optimal performance.
What are the disadvantages of shared hosting?
Security is a concern with shared hosting. Because your website is on a server with potentially thousands of other websites, there is no way to confirm that all security updates and maintenance tasks have been completed on each individual website. This can lead to a security risk, as it is not possible to manage every CMS or the security of every website on the same server. Although it is unlikely that you will be infected by another user, it is still a possibility/
It is not possible to perform server adjustments on shared hosting due to the impact this could have on other customer websites. This forces you to use the default server configuration.
What are the disadvantages of VPS hosting?
Getting your website on VPS hosting may require some technical skill. Resource management and overall maintenance can be quite complex during installation. This is where you need a hosting provider that can help you right away. Most hosting companies have 24/7 support, but outside business hours calls are usually sent overseas. If you think you need a service provider that understands the nuances of working in America, then you should definitely take a closer look at 24/7 US support. You can mitigate this somewhat by getting managed VPS hosting, but the initial setup will still take more time. However, this is unavoidable because if your site is more complex, you are naturally going to use a VPS.
Shared vs VPS hosting in a nutshell
The main points of difference between the two can be summarized as follows:
1. Resources: In shared hosting, as the name suggests, the server’s resources are shared between all the clients hosted on that particular server. On the other hand, a VPS, although technically part of a server, gives the impression of a dedicated server thanks to its design. The advantage of VPS in terms of resources is that you can access a greater number of resources for your own private use compared to shared hosting. This provides more flexibility to scale your website.
2. Performance: A natural consequence of the above is that access to a greater number of resources will lead to better performance. While shared hosting providers use the latest hardware and software techniques such as SSDs and CDNs to ensure performance, you generally get even better results with VPS. That’s because with VPS hosting, your website’s performance is not affected by the pull of its resources by your neighbors, as is the case with shared hosting.
3. Security: Again, sharing resources also has a detrimental effect on security. While shared hosts take adequate measures to ensure uptime, a neighbor’s security breaches theoretically compromise your integrity as well. However, with VPS hosting you can take the security of your website into your own hands and take all necessary steps to thwart attacks.
Which hosting type should I choose?
The answer to this crucial question is based on the needs and goals of your website.
We recommend using shared hosting if:
- You want to launch your website quickly. If you want to focus on getting your website live without worrying about server configuration, shared hosting is the best option.
- You have a limited or limited budget. Since shared hosting is known to be the least expensive, it can be a great hosting package to start with.
- Your website does not require any custom configurations. If you need something that’s a little against the norm, you should use a VPS to give you the freedom to customize.
We recommend you use VPS hosting if:
- Your website has a lot of traffic. VPS hosting offers high performance through more resources and customization and can handle high traffic.
- You want more freedom, performance and speed. VPS hosting brings power and resources to your website and gives you the freedom to develop and build your website the way you want.
- You want to install custom software and have full root access. With VPS hosting you can completely customize your VPS the way you want. With full root access you can install any custom software.
Conclusion
Shared hosting is usually the best option for small websites to get started. It is also the most affordable.
Whether you are an experienced website developer or a local startup entrepreneur, VPS hosting should definitely be considered. When choosing a hosting package for a larger website, VPS hosting is excellent at offering reliability, speed and customization.
The main deciding factors between shared hosting and VPS hosting are the requirements of the website, your technical knowledge and your budget.