July 26, 2019

The different types of web hosting explained

When looking at your hosting solution for your business, you’ll find that there are three types of web hosting available: shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server. However, it’s beneficial to know the advantages and pitfalls accompany each option. Moreover, it’s the website owner’s prerogative to choose the hosting solution that best suits his or her objectives. For the sake of optimization, here are the different types of web hosting explained. You can also find more information at Green Geeks Web Hosting.

Shared Hosting

Overall, shared hosting stands as the most inexpensive choice. Logistically, a website owner pays a shared hosting provider in exchange for space on a server. As the name suggests, the provider will manage the space on the server to accommodate multiple “tenants” as it were. While you are sharing the server with others, the relatively low price of shared hosting stacks up well against the two more private options.

A shared web hosting requires less technical expertise to operate than the other two choices. Rather than spend time and resources managing the hardware and software, a company’s team can focus its energy working within the provider’s interface. Moreover, the website designers will use a cPanel or equivalent controls to run the site administratively.

Of course, any company executive can refute the claim that shared hosting is the best investment by taking several factors into account. For example, since multiple organizations share the same hardware, it’s paramount for any website owner to consider the increased risk of a security breach. A person looking to criminally hack into a server will likely look to a shared web hosting provider because of a higher possibility of finding a flaw in the configuration to exploit.

Since a shared hosting provider will not give administrative authority over the hardware, a company remains at the mercy of the shared service provider to first prevent security mishaps and later mitigate any security problems. Therefore, it’s important to choose a reliable provider. For an eCommerce site, it’s especially important to stay mindful of encrypted files. If a website owner chooses to use a shared web hosting, it’s in his or her best interest to invest in a shared service prioritizes security.

Any business utilizing shared hosting leans heavily on the provider to deliver on the site’s uptime. If the site goes down, the company relies entirely on the web hosting provider to troubleshoot. If the site goes down because the service provider proves unreliable, viewers will not see the content. Additionally, the SEO will suffer because Google’s algorithm will pick up on the fact that the site is down. Eventually, your ranking will slip.

VPS hosting

A VPS acts as a kind of artificial Server using software known as a hypervisor. Although virtual private server hosting does not provide a company with an entire dedicated server, the provider allocates a private space on a server. Most of the security software is automated, which means increased security checks.

VPS hosting is highly scalable, which is an advantage and a necessity for websites undergoing a surge in traffic. Ultimately, it’s an upgrade in overall quality from shared hosting. However, the return on investment depends on whether a company’s team has the resources to effectively manage this type of web hosting. If not, it’s more feasible to stick with shared hosting to maintain good quality.

It may prove less expensive to use unmanaged rather than managed VPS hosting. If you have a team capable of managing a site with root access, an unmanaged service is a sound choice. However, don’t be hesitant to go with managed service even if it may cost a bit more. It saves you money in the long run.

Dedicated hosting

Arguably, this is the best option for a well-established company that is planning to generate a lot of traffic. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive of the web hosting options, and the team running the site will need to have sufficient skill to properly manage the software and hardware. The difference between dedicated hosting and the other web hosting types lies mainly in the added responsibility of overseeing the entire server. The website owner will pay to operate exclusively with an entire server. However, the benefit is that a dedicated server will generally result in increased resources, customization, and security.

It also goes without saying that, with the increased cost of Dedicated Servers (and even VPS relative to Shared Hosting) you should be expecting a significant improvement in service from the hosting providers when using these options. As with any domain, you get what you pay for.

 

About the author 

Anu Balam


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