Introduction

Choosing the right hosting opportunity for your website is a really difficult process. Like, you not only need to pick the right business but also the right service for your specific needs. You need to estimate the number of visitors that your site will have or the resources your site will burn. And there are some other specific parts that distinguish different hosting options from each other.

In this article, we will present to you the three most popular hosting types: shared hosting, virtual private servers, and dedicated web server hosting. Here, we not only mention the way they differ from each other but we give a glance of how you can look at which fits your needs the best. 

What are the differences between these hosting types?

Even though all of these are hosting options, they all have some unique characteristics. In this part of the article, we will discover its unique concepts and working mechanisms. 

1. Shared Hosting

Shared hosting has a very expressive name on it. In this case, more websites share one web server. They use the same memory bandwidth and CPU. Let’s put this into another perspective. 

Imagine that you are a young pupil with three siblings, and you get £5 pocket money each. You want to buy a package of snacks for £15 which would make all of you satisfied. The problem is: You cannot pay that much one by one unless you put your money together. 

Shared hosting works in a similar principle: put more websites under one roof, and if they all want the same goals, it will be beneficial for all of them. But we will see later – if one of the siblings eats all the snacks on his own – it can be a nightmare.

2. Virtual Private Server (VPS)

The whole concept of a virtual private server is the following: what if there is only one server for a couple of websites (like in shared hosting), but they all have independent resources (memory, CPU, and bandwidth)? 

In this case, your website’s performance is less affected by the other sites that are also on the same server. In layman’s terms, it is like when you are a part of a residents’ community, in a big apartment building. You all have different apartments, with different rental options, but in some areas, you still need to work together.

3. Dedicated web server hosting

As the name also stands for itself, dedicated web server hosting is one of the coziest hosting options. You can control all of your resources, and you don’t need to share anything. It is like having a completely private house in the middle of nowhere: your neighbors can’t spoil anything.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Hosting Type

Now that we have some information about the different hosting types, we shall meet with the factors that are all important in the decision-making process.

1. Website traffic and performance needs

It is very important to understand what capabilities your site needs. The higher your site’s traffic is, the more performance you need. 

2. Customization and control

Do you want to use Cpanel’s Hosting interface for your website? CPanel makes it easier to manage your server, offering a user-friendly way to control various aspects of your hosting environment. Many web hosting providers offer cPanel as an option, while others may use different control panels.

Of course, you can, but the more personal preference you want to add to your list, it lessens your chance to find a web server that meets your requirements and is used by many businesses at once. In this case, you rather choose a dedicated option.

3. Price

And here is the most important factor. What is your budget for web server hosting? How much are these features worth to you? As you will see later on, the prices vary across hosting types, and the more customizability and individual freedom you want to get, the more expensive the end product will get.

When to choose them?

In this part of the article, we will describe each web server hosting option’s potential target buyers.

1. When to choose shared hosting?

Almost every expert refers to shared hosting as the most beginner-friendly option, and they are right! If your site is not resource-heavy and does not have more than 20,000 visitors per month, you will mostly be satisfied with this hosting option. Of course, it also depends on your other “resident partners,” but if they only use their fair share of the resources, it will be a beneficial deal.

2. When to choose the VPS?

Sometimes you reach a stepping stone in your life. When you feel like you have outgrown something and it is time to change. For web server hosting you may want a more secure site, or fasten your slow-loading website. 

Yes, a slow-loading website can completely erase your website’s recent success, and start a downfall. A VPS can be a moderate solution to these issues. Their fair price and a little bit more personal freedom make it a very popular choice across E-Commerce sites and across other high-traffic industries’ sites.

3. When to choose a dedicated web server hosting?

A dedicated web server is an expensive option but becomes a very obvious choice across the biggest firms. Why? Because it lets you do everything by yourself. Do you want to scale your business even further? Well, you need to grab new applications, and software for your website, but it is cheaper than completely changing your whole hosting option. 

To demonstrate your portfolio you can calculate the number of visitors each month. Also, you know that they won’t complete transactions online, therefore you don’t need a high-end protection program. On the other hand, an E-commerce store can’t predict the future number of visitors, as a marketing campaign can really multiply those numbers. There are many research studies about website abandonment. One states that at least 60% of buyers switch sites because of a slow-loading page, or because of other elements of poor website performance. 

An unsatisfied buyer usually leads to more. The user rating systems and the real power of word of mouth are all responsible for that. That’s why big firms rather use way more resources than they need, to prepare for the busy times. If your website can attract really big attention from time to time, you really need to think about switching to a dedicated web server.

Conclusion

In this article, we met with the complex world of web servers, with the most popular options, and the factors you must think of before making the decision. We also stated each hosting option’s strengths and weaknesses and made suggestions of what types of companies we should recommend each. 

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