Building a successful online IT project nowadays is much easier than twenty years ago. You can choose between multiple experienced hosting providers and hundreds of site-building applications; they all have their own benefits, cheap VPS is a reality in today’s IT world.
But before you jump into your new online IT venture, there is one more item you need to think about, which hosting service offers me the best service based on my needs? The hosting service that will supply enough resources for your website at a cheap monthly rate?
There are many alternatives — shared services, dedicated solutions, WordPress hosting, and cloud servers…to name a few hosting options.
In the last couple of years, one type of hosting has been showing tremendous growth, and that is VPS hosting. We are talking about a sub-niche that is valued at over $6 billion; VPS Hosting is used by millions of online websites around the globe.
What is VPS Hosting?
Virtual private servers are the next IT solution when you outgrow your shared hosting account. They represent online virtual instances of a physical server, where each customer gets a dedicated share of the server resources in a dedicated isolated environment. This means you are getting a specific amount of resources such as CPU, RAM, disk space, and bandwidth for your specific needs.
Companies supply VPS servers through an IT process called virtualization. This allows the hosting companies to split a machine into several virtual independent instances, each with its own operating system and dedicated IT environment.
Generally, there are two types of VPS instances:
- Managed VPS — you get limited IT administrative access to the main server, and your hosting provider takes care of all the online technical details ideal for startups and users who don’t have IT skills.
- Unmanaged VPS — you get full root IT access, free to install and run whatever OS or software you want to run. The hosting partner is responsible for the initial setup only and does not provide any technical support. Suitable for experienced web developers and enterprises with experienced in-house server administration teams.
The IT VPS architecture solves a lot of the problems coming with shared hosting accounts. To get practical experience, you may try some free VPS trials.
VPS Hosting Advantages
So what makes online virtual private servers unique? And, — how to know when you need VPS hosting?
- Scalability — Online VPS solutions are a perfect choice for a growing business. Once your company’s website becomes more popular and starts welcoming hundreds and thousands of visitors, your shared server resources will take the strain. The online virtual platform allows your company to add and remove dedicated resources as you want and ensure fantastic speeds and constant availability for your IT infrastructure.
- Full Online Control — All VPS servers are ideal when you need to customize your website. The shared hosted environment limits you in your website administrative access as you can change the settings for all the websites on the same server. As you own your instance on the VPS, you can make many customisations and ensure the optimal server configuration regardless if your website is WordPress, Joomla, or eCommerce Magento-based.
- Heightened Security — Virtual servers are perfect for mission-critical enterprise websites. A shared server is only as secure as all other neighbouring accounts/websites on the same server. You can apply all the extra security measures and still get hacked through a vulnerability you have no control, as you don’t control other companies’ websites. The VPS puts your website in a virtual cage, making the website safe from outside hacker attacks.
VPS Hosting Disadvantages
Along with all the VPS advantages, there are a few negatives to consider if you want to move to a VPS server.
- Technical Experience is needed — Even if you pay extra and opt-in for a managed VPS account, it never hurts to know a few things about virtual server management.
- But having Experience with virtual servers will give you the confidence on how to manage and improve your online project. You can manage resource allocation, security measures, and software performance with the help of a VPS.
- More Expensive than a shared experience — Compared to the shared hosting service, VPS solutions do cost more, You have much fewer companies on one server to split the cost, plus you get more in terms of web server resources. Virtual servers have been getting more affordable in recent years but shared virtual hosts are still more preferred for most websites or web projects.
Let’s answer the big question.
When Do You Need VPS Hosting for your website?
Based on the characteristics of the major hosting services, we can deduce the following:
- You need VPS hosting when your growing website starts growing quickly and needs more resource scalability. Virtual servers are perfect for eCommerce retail, corporate websites, and enterprise applications because of their dedicated server power and robust military-grade security.
- Shared hosting is perfect for personal and startup IT projects, ie websites that don’t need much in terms of online disk space, RAM, and bandwidth. The entry costs are perfect for companies starting on a really small budget.
- You should select a dedicated server if you want full control and have the technical IT knowledge to operate a cloud server on your own. Capabilities are up to you, but you cannot count on any support from the web host.
And now comes the best part…As the article states IT evolution allows VPS services to become more flexible; this service is replacing substandard and less secure shared hosting. So, the next time you pick your new web hosting service, have a look at VPS as pricing could be a lot more cost effective than you think. OVHcloud should definitely be on your shortlist.