Web Hosting is the service which allows multiple organizations and users to host their website on the internet. It is of numerous types. If we look in detail, there are 8 kinds of hosting possible. They are:
- Shared Hosting
- Reseller Hosting
- Cloud Based Hosting
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
- Colocation Hosting
- Self Service Hosting, and
- Managed WordPress Hosting
But if we talk about the most popular ones, then there are 3 among these that are widely known and used. They are Shared Hosting, VPS server Hosting and Dedicated Hosting. Refer to this web hosting guide, if you want an in depth information about all hosting types.
If you have just started your business or are thinking of making a website for your business, then you would definitely have to think of hosting as well. Since there is such a huge variety of hosting services available, which one should you pick then? Finding the correct web hosting for your website is sometimes the trickiest part. Each type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, which you need to take into account.
In order to help you cross the above hurdle, we will talk about the 3 major hosting types here. And then taking the note of pros and cons of each, you will easily be able to decide on the perfect hosting choice for your own business or website.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is a service where one server is divided between different users. Multiple users are given 1 slice each of the hosting server. There is not a fixed number as to how many users will be sharing the server. Sometimes, it can be 100s of them, or sometimes it can even be 1000s. It all depends on how you want to set up and who is your provider.
The major advantage of shared hosting server is you get this at a very low price. It is the cheapest option where you share the cost with multiple other users. And hence it is the best option when you have limited amount of funds. Besides this, you also get full technical support from the provider. He also takes care of the maintenance of your server and other aspects. And so, hardly a few steps of configuration are required from your side to set up a website fully.
The drawbacks here are the limited resources and performance impact from other users. Sharing server with so many people bring many disadvantages for your business. Since multiple users are sharing the resources, you get a very small portion of it if it is being unused. But if some website is using high amount of resources, your functioning can disrupt. And this is called Bad Neighbour Effect.
VPS Hosting
Here you will be given some slices of 1 server, which will act as a separate server altogether. Virtual Private Server is the stepping stone from Shared Server. It lies somewhere between shared and dedicated hosting. While the server is shared, it gives you a feeling of a completely isolated virtual machine.
VPS Server is more stable and secure as compared to the Shared Hosting. Moreover, the resources are evenly split, so the website will not be able to use any of them in excess, and thus saving other websites their performance. This in turn easily avoids the bad neighbour problem. You can also customize your applications on your server according to your needs, and would be having almost full control of it.
The costs are however higher than shared. Hence it won’t work when you have a restricted budget. Another drawback is the control, and hence responsibility. If you are a novice or do not know much about it, then you are definitely in a problem unless you hire a technical expert to manage your hosting.
Dedicated Hosting
As the name implies, here you get a complete server to yourself. You rent a complete server from the hosting company, thereby getting full control and responsibility.
The major benefit is that you get all the resources to yourself. You do not have to worry about other users and hence there would not be a possibility of security breach. No other website can impact your performance, nor take up your resources, thereby eliminating all possible bad neighbour issues. You can customize it totally according to your wish, hence getting full flexibility.
But, you need to have expertise in all technical aspects to set up this server successfully. You are also putting a lot at risk here. If your hardware fails, your site completely crashes down.
