Do you want to start an online business? Or maybe you already have one? In either case choosing the best web hosting type can have a major impact on your website performance and, consequently, sales. Having a strong foundation to anything in nature is of the utmost importance and that also applies to your website. Regardless of whether it is a full-on e-commerce platform or just a place from where users can get information, it needs to have certain characteristics and features in order to attract users as well as be easy for them to operate and navigate. Because of this it is necessary to choose the right hosting type for your business as it will serve you as that foundation to allow you to build your website up.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a field related to providing access to your website and its resources from the Internet. In order for your site to go live and be available globally, it needs to first be hosted and subsequently indexed by search engines in order for it to become discoverable. The process of hosting your website involves transferring its content and files onto a web server that is connected to the Web. Afterwards, you would need to choose a domain name followed by the top-level domain (TLD) identifier, popular examples of which are ‘.net, .com, .io’ amongst others.
What are the types of hosting?
Getting your website live is important, however, choosing the appropriate type of web hosting is even more crucial from both a financial and practical standpoint. Nowadays, there are a plethora of options for you to choose from, all of which offer different features with their own advantages and drawbacks. You have most likely already heard terms like ‘shared hosting’, ‘dedicated servers’ and ‘virtual private servers’ floating around due to their prevalence and relevance. As already mentioned they all vary in price due to the features they provide with shared hosting being the cheapest and dedicated servers being the most expensive.
Moreover, shared hosting also provides you with the least amount of accessibility and customization to your server as you have to share your resources with other websites located on the same server. This resource sharing can have a severely detrimental impact on server performance due to the fact that increases in traffic for one website can effectively slow down other websites located on the same server. As for dedicated servers, quite the opposite applies – you are capable of managing every aspect of your server along with having your own unique resources without having the obligation to share them with others. This is why the price disparity between these two types is quite substantial. There is one web hosting type, however, that is a game-changer and it is the virtual private server.
What is a VPS?
A virtual private server, most commonly abbreviated – VPS, is a web hosting type that utilizes virtualization technology. This involves establishing a separate virtual machine that allocates independent resources to a given website on a server, while the server is also hosting other websites. Essentially, it is like buying a flat in an apartment block – you live in the same building with other people but you have your own home with your personal rooms and furniture that you do not need to share with the other residents of your building. Because of this, a VPS is said to combine the best of both worlds in terms of price, functionality and features as it is not as expensive as a dedicated server while also providing the user with many more capabilities in relation to shared hosting.
What features does a VPS have?
A VPS has many advantages and is quite the bargain considering its price. Firstly, you get the ability to manage everything – from system resources such as the CPU, RAM and SSD to website content. Additionally, you can also download and install custom server applications and software that can help you to better manage your server due to the fact that you are provided with full administrative controls, meaning that you gain complete root access, which allows you to alter and edit both the content and the website files on the server.
Previously, some people did not particularly like virtual private servers because of the prior technical knowledge that is somewhat required to be able to understand and manage your server on all levels. However, nowadays, many web hosting providers offer permanent 24/7 support that can help you set up the server, manage it correctly and resolve any potential issues that might come up. Additionally, some web hosting companies like VPSBG also allow you to pay for your VPS server using Bitcoin and Litecoin, which is a great alternative should you wish to pay using cryptocurrencies.
How can a VPS help my online business?
One of the answers is that virtual private servers are easily scalable. Say that you want to start an online business and you are not certain about the traffic that you expect your website will drive in the future. This, consequently, means that if you invest into a shared hosting plan, you might not be able to handle all of the user requests should your website suddenly take off, which will result in slow loading times and negatively affected user experience, which can in turn lower your position in the search results. However, if you decide to go big and purchase a dedicated server plan, your website might not obtain the expected traffic, which would ultimately waste you money due to the expensive nature of this hosting type.
The solution is to opt for a VPS as you can start with the resources that you currently need and then expand on it by investing into additional resources whether be it processing power, active memory or storage. Remember that having a fast website is of the utmost importance. On the one hand, it enables web crawlers to index your website and its content without disturbing the active users. On the other hand, users expect everything to load fast with as little time spent waiting as possible, meaning that faster websites offer better overall user experience, which is also reflected by the search engine results ranking algorithms that companies like Google, Yahoo and Bing utilize.
Why a VPS is the best choice
Ultimately, a VPS offers you full administrative control over your server by enabling you to manage its resources as well as allowing you to have complete root access to your website. Furthermore, virtual private servers are easily scalable so you can always add more resources if your website sees a sudden increase in traffic. Moreover, a VPS can offer your website faster speed overall, meaning that pages and elements will take less time to load, resulting in better user experience and search engine results rankings. Finally, a VPS is quite affordable, making it an optimal choice for your online business or website.
