So, are you finally planning to launch a website for your small business? It’s a smart move in the right direction because it’s one of the best ways to grow your brand’s online presence and reach a wide audience.
Right after purchasing your desired domain name, you’ll need to find a web hosting plan that suits your needs. However, it can be a challenging process as there are more than 330,000 web hosting companies across the globe, offering all types of plans.
But there’s nothing to worry about because this guide compares the two most commonly used hosting types for small businesses. So, read on to learn everything you need to know about VPS hosting and shared hosting to choose the right option for your needs.
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS stands for virtual private server and it’s a type of web hosting where you share one physical server with other parties but get a specified set of resources. It means that the other websites on the same server won’t use the resources that are allocated for your site.
Example:
Let’s suppose you own a business called “X”, and you purchase a VPS hosting plan from a local provider. The physical server that hosts your website has a total of 64GB RAM, 32 CPU cores, and 2TB of storage. But as per your plan, your hosting provider allocates 32GB RAM, 16 CPU cores, and 1TB of storage for your site.
There’s another company “Y” that also uses the same server for its website using the rest of the resources. If Company Y’s website is large and requires more resources than allocated, it won’t be able to use the RAM, CPU cores, or storage specified for your website.
What is Shared Hosting?
Just like VPS hosting, shared hosting also uses a single server to host multiple websites. However, all the parties share the same server resources, such as RAM, CPU, and storage. In this hosting, no party has dedicated resources, and if one website consumes more, it can affect the performance of others.
Difference Between VPS Hosting and Shared Hosting
The primary difference between VPS hosting and shared hosting can be easily understood through a real-world analogy.
VPS hosting is like renting a room in a shared apartment where you have a dedicated space for privacy. Whereas, shared hosting is like living in a hostel, where everyone shares the same facilities, and one person can impact others.
But this is not the only difference between the two types of hosting. Let’s discuss how VPS hosting and shared hosting differ from each other in more detail.
Performance
Even if you have a small website, its performance can greatly affect your business. Recent statistics show that 40% of online users don’t stay on a website that takes over 3 seconds to load. So, it’s safe to say that a slow website can deprive your business of 4 out of every 10 potential customers.
While it’s usually the design that affects website speed, your web hosting type can also impact its performance.
If you’re using a shared hosting plan, the other website on the same server can affect your website’s loading time, as they’re also sharing the same resources. On the other hand, you have dedicated resources for your website with VPS hosting, which is why it typically offers better performance.
Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, shared hosting is a better option because hosting providers take care of all server management tasks for these plans. It includes everything from setting up the server and installing/upgrading software to managing control panels and constant monitoring to avoid downtime.
In the case of VPS hosting, you’ll need technical knowledge to manage the server yourself because it’s usually unmanaged. It provides you with root access for server administration to install software, configure settings, and manage user accounts.
Quick Note: You can also get managed VPS hosting, where the hosting provider handles server management tasks.
Scalability
Shared hosting doesn’t provide you with dedicated resources, which also means that you’ll have limited control over your site’s performance as it grows. In most cases, you’ll need to switch your plan or look for a different hosting provider to handle increased website traffic.
Whereas, you can easily scale up VPS hosting by adding more resources to your plan. Therefore, if you anticipate growth in your website traffic, VPS hosting is a much better option.
Pricing
Shared hosting is typically less expensive, making it a better choice for businesses on a tight budget. But if budget is not one of your main concerns and you want web hosting that’s easy to scale and offers better performance, you can opt for VPS hosting.
If you think VPS hosting is the right option for your website, you can check this Cybernews guide on cheap VPS hosting to make an informed decision.
Final Words
As you can see, neither VPS hosting nor shared hosting is inherently better than the other. The right choice depends on your unique requirements such as website size, budget, and future scalability needs.
If you’re starting out a new business and need to launch a small website, you can go for shared hosting. But if you own an established business and your website will need more resources to run efficiently, VPS hosting could be the right choice.
