There are currently over 1.21 billion registered hostnames spread across the web. Many of these aren’t currently active, but they have nearly all been served through one of the four most common types of website hosting available at some point during their registration.
Choosing which method of hosting a website can be tough. But, finding the right type will help to avoid overspending or undervaluing traffic to a site.
Read on to gain an understanding of each method to make an informed decision.
Why Does It Matter?
Each method of hosting stores websites with varying degrees of:
• Storage capacity
• Reliability
• Server speed
• Required knowledge
• User control
• Cost
Site owners need to decide which is the most appropriate website hosting to suit their specific needs.
Online tools from IT industry experts can help them make the right choice. For example, Trust Geeky compares the competition to find the best hosting provider for WordPress. Tools such as this take some of the guesswork out of it.
Shared Hosting
This type of hosting is usually the cheapest option.
Shared hosting plans split their resources with other users, meaning the RAM and CPU power are divided between each site hosted on the server. Surges in user activity by one website can slow down every other site hosted on the same server. Hosting with this method is excellent for new sites that don’t have much traffic yet. It’s also great for beginners as the plans can be easily managed and often come with accessible tools such as WordPress hosting and website builders.
Shared hosting can also be a great way to complete the website design process without wasting money on an expensive server. Site owners can always migrate to another type of server once they’re ready.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
VPS hosting plans work similarly to a dedicated server even though they still share resources.
With this method of hosting, each site on the shared server has its own allocated space. This separation means the websites are less susceptible (but not immune) to slowing down because of traffic spikes on other sites.
There are often more customization options for VPS hosting than shared hosting with a slightly higher price point.
Dedicated Server Hosting
Just as the name implies, this method of hosting provides website owners with their own physical server.
The level of control on dedicated hosting is leagues above VPS and shared hosting. Users have access to full admin and root privileges to manage everything from the operating system to security protocols.
Unfortunately, this type of hosting is usually also the most expensive. That means it’s best suited to websites that already have a lot of traffic.
Service providers, colocation, or internal server rooms moderated by a company’s IT department can all run dedicated servers.
Cloud Hosting
It seems like everything is “in the cloud” now, and that includes web hosting. In hosting, it means several computers combine their resources via a network to run a server. The multiple locations associated with cloud hosting mean there is minimal downtime from server malfunction.
Cloud hosting is also the most scalable type of server. As websites grow and require more resources, the host can add them from the cloud.
Which Are the Best Types of Website Hosting?
It’s not ideal to have a low-traffic site running on an expensive dedicated server, nor would it be sensible for a high-traffic website to be using shared hosting. Website owners need to think about their budget and what features included in each of the types of website hosting are best for them.
Did you find this article helpful? Check out the other blog posts under the tech category.