It’s impossible to say that one package is the most suitable for everyone. Everybody has different requirements and there are hundreds of hosting packages available. This makes it difficult to know where to start when looking to buy web hosting. This article will explain the pros and cons of hosting packages so that you can make an informed decision about the type of web hosting you need.
Shared Hosting
On shared hosting plans, servers are shared between many customers to spread the cost and keep prices low. If another website on your server uses a lot of resources, it can cause your website to slow down.
Shared hosting plans are best for websites which don’t receive many visitors. If you’re not expecting thousands of visitors per day and just starting out with a new website, a shared plan would be best. Shared plans are also the cheapest option and prices start from only a few dollars per month.
Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Instead of sharing the resources with many other customers at the same time, a VPS plan gives you a dedicated share of the resources available on a server. For example, if a server has 8GB of RAM and the hosting provider allows 8 accounts per server, everyone on that server may be allocated 1GB of RAM. You cannot exceed this amount and you won’t impact other people also using the same server.
If your website is getting a lot of traffic or contains a lot of heavy media files, then you should consider opting for a VPS. VPS plans start from around $10 per month and can go up to a few hundred dollars per month depending on your hardware and bandwidth requirements. One advantage of this type of hosting is that you can upscale and buy more resources when required. If you find that your website has outgrown your 1GB RAM allowance, you can easily upgrade to 2 or 3 GB.
Dedicated Server
If you find that a VPS plan isn’t meeting the demands of your website, you should consider upgrading to a dedicated server. With a dedicated server plan, you get the whole server to yourself. Dedicated servers are the most expensive option and can cost many hundreds of dollars per month. If you have a large website which uses a lot of resources and gets many thousands of visitors per day, then you should consider using a dedicated server.
Most people starting out should go for a good shared hosting plan. If your website only gets a few hundred visitors per day, then shared hosting might be the best option for you. However, you need to research the various shared hosting plans available as some will be more suitable for your requirements than others. For example, some plans are optimized for WordPress and others for Joomla.
If you find that you are often reaching the maximum amount of resources allowed on your shared hosting plan, you’ll need to upgrade your plan. The next logical step would be a VPS service. As your website continues to grow, you can upgrade your VPS. If you have upgraded your VPS as far as it can go, then you will need to consider a dedicated hosting plan. There are other advanced options available but they are unmanaged and designed for professionals who can install their own software and configure servers themselves. Most people will need a managed solution such as a shared, VPS, or dedicated package.
