Perhaps one of the biggest challenges when setting up a website is deciding what type of website hosting plan to use. There are a lot of website hosting choices, and they vary widely in price, so you’ll want to make sure you’re making the right decision.
However, choosing the best web hosting plan is not just about cost. For example, an e-commerce website will have different needs than a blog. Choosing the right plan for you is essential, so you can set your website up for success from the start.
In this article, we’ll explain the different types of web hosting types you can choose from, and discuss their pros and cons. So let’s get started!
What is website hosting?
First, you should know what we mean by website hosting. Every website you’ve ever visited resides on a server. Servers are computers, like the ones you’re used to, but with dedicated capabilities for displaying online content and handling web traffic.
When you sign up for web hosting services, you are essentially renting server space or in some cases the entire server from a hosting company. With this space and a limited amount of resources, you can create and maintain a website that anyone can visit.
In fact, you should use the type of hosting plan that suits your specific needs and budget. For example, you can choose an expensive hosting plan thinking it is the best, but it is usually a waste of money unless you have a website that receives huge amounts of traffic every day.
If you’ve never signed up for hosting before, you may be surprised at the variety of website hosting services available. That’s why over the next few sections, we’ll introduce you to each individual type of hosting plan. We’ll talk about which one might be best suited for your site, as well as how much you can expect to spend on hosting solutions.
1- Shared Website Hosting
Shared hosting plans are the most popular option for website owners. In this type of plan, one server is shared among multiple users. This means that one computer (shared server) will host several or even hundreds of websites.
Although you will share resources with other users, you cannot access their files, private information or any other data. The upside to shared plans is that they tend to be cheap, as hosting providers can split server maintenance costs between multiple users.
The quality of the shared hosting service you get depends largely on the host. In general, shared hosting plans are very limited, but they are great for websites that get decent amounts of traffic.
If you’re looking to purchase hosting for a new website, shared plans are probably your best option. The world of website hosting is very competitive nowadays, especially when talking about shared hosting. You can find shared plans for less than $3 per month.
• Advantages of shared hosting plans
It’s easy to find cheap hosting plans for less than $5 per month.
Depending on your service provider, you can get excellent performance for small and medium-sized sites.
• Disadvantages of shared hosting
Shared plans often don’t perform well for high-traffic websites.
To get the best rates from a hosting company, you often have to sign up for a multi-year contract.
Overall, shared hosting should be your preferred option if this is your first time creating a website. With the right host, you’ll get all the tools you need to get your project started, and you’ll have plenty of room to expand over time.
2- Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting
VPS are a step above-shared plans when it comes to performance and customizability. The way a virtual private server works is that a single physical server will have multiple partitions roughly partitioned. Each container, or partition (VPS), acts as a complete system dedicated only to your site. So you get better dedicated resources, and in some cases, you get access to the configuration of that server.
VPS provides a higher degree of isolation between users that can improve performance and security, even though you are still sharing the same physical server. Additionally, depending on your hosting provider, you may be able to configure your VPS from scratch, so you get exactly the resources you need.
To give you an idea, a single-core VPS with 1GB of RAM can be enough to run a simple WordPress website. However, determining how much resources you need for each site can be complicated, which may make a VPS a less attractive option if you’re new to website hosting.
Prices can vary a lot for VPS hosting. Just like with shared hosting, you can find VPS hosting starting at around $5 per month. However, if you plan to use a VPS, we recommend you budget at least $10-20 per month for hosting.
• Pros of VPS hosting plans
Medium price, where you can choose suitable hosting for approximately $10 per month.
You get fully customized resources for your website.
Depending on your host, you may be able to configure your VPS according to your specific needs.
• Disadvantages of VPS hosting plans
Calculating the amount of resources you need can be difficult.
Configuring a VPS server often requires some technical knowledge from the user.
Overall, if you want complete control over your server without spending a lot of dollars on a dedicated plan, consider using a VPS. The high level of customization offered with these plans also makes them an attractive option.
3- Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is where things get more complicated. When people talk about “the cloud,” they are usually referring to distributed VPS. The way the cloud works is that instead of storing a virtual server on a single computer, it is hosted on an entire network of virtual servers.
This network of computers is what we call the “cloud.” The advantage of this approach is that by using the network, you can easily scale your server’s resources as needed. Plus, with cloud hosting, downtime is rarely an issue, nor is data loss thanks to redundancy built into the system. All of this may sound great, but cloud hosting isn’t always beginner-friendly.
Cloud hosting can be very cheap or incredibly expensive, depending on your server configuration. Cloud hosting is the type that a lot of huge Internet-based companies, like Netflix, use to run their operations. However, for a regular website, you probably don’t need it.
• Advantages of cloud hosting
Provides a high degree of scalability.
You can customize your server as you see fit.
Withstands heavy visits and traffic.
• Disadvantages of cloud hosting
Payment structures for cloud hosting can be a bit complicated, and they are sometimes expensive.
It is not suitable for users who do not have experience in server configuration.
Overall, if you want to modify your server configuration, want a high degree of scalability, and expect high site traffic, cloud hosting is a very convenient option and worth considering.
4- Dedicated Hosting
So far, we’ve only talked about hosting plans where you share servers with other users, and that’s because servers are expensive. But if you want to have a private server yourself, you will need to pay a lot for it.
With a dedicated server, you’ll get exclusive access to one server (or sometimes more than one). This means that you will have full control over their configuration, and the website hosting provider will simply provide them to you.
Dedicated servers are basically the best option when it comes to website hosting. At this level, you can expect to pay at least $100 per month. This is the type of hosting that only makes sense for large businesses and established websites that need access to powerful hardware.
• Advantages of dedicated hosting
You get an entire server to yourself.
In most cases, you can configure your server to your liking.
Withstands high performance and heavy traffic.
• Disadvantages of dedicated hosting
A very expensive option, especially for small and medium sites.
In general, dedicated hosting is the preferred choice for websites that require the best when it comes to performance and have the budget to do so.
Now, have you realized what is the appropriate hosting for your website? Let me simplify it for you. If this is your first time building a website, shared hosting is usually the best option, and it’s a good idea to start with it. On the other hand, if you are a more experienced user and need complete control over your configuration, a VPS can be a more convenient option. If you want to get higher and faster performance and your site has high traffic, we recommend cloud hosting. In the end, if you want the best performance for your site and to withstand high traffic pressure without considering the cost, then dedicated hosting is your ideal choice.
