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Shared Hosting Vs VPS Hosting
You plan to build a website, but haven’t subscribed to a hosting provider that provides space and servers? Before deciding to buy a hosting service at one of the providers, you should first find out some types of hosting on the market. Well, of the many hosting services, the most widely used are shared hosting and VPS hosting. In this article, we will compare shared hosting vs VPS hosting in terms of basic understanding, features, and also advantages and disadvantages.
Simply put, shared hosting is a cheap hosting service with a server that is shared with other website users. Later you will be given several resources which, unfortunately, can only be used to run a simple or small-scale website. VPS hosting, on the other hand, frees its users to manage websites and servers. However, the subscription fee is much more expensive than shared hosting.
Shared hosting can be likened to an apartment that has several public facilities, such as a swimming pool, mini garden, and parking lot. This public facility is then referred to as a resource in shared hosting. Examples of resources that will be used jointly on the same server are CPU, disk space, and memory.
Shared hosting subscription fees are the cheapest when compared to other types of hosting. It’s just that, the bandwidth capacity is limited. If the website starts to get busy and the traffic increases, the loading of the site will slow down. This factor also affects the performance speed of other sites that share resources on the same server as you.
You could say the website performance will remain neat as long as the website traffic of other users is still within normal limits. During this time, you have to take steps to anticipate in case one day the server starts to get crowded.
Shared Hosting is suitable for:
- A simple website or personal blog.
- Small and medium scale company or business website.
- Limited budget users.
- Ordinary users who don’t know about web development.
Advantages
- Easy-to-use hosting service for novice users.
- Simple setup.
- Does not require users to understand technical things.
- The cheapest hosting service.
Deficiency
- Limited bandwidth and storage capacity when compared to VPS.
- Often affected by errors due to high traffic.
- Limited access to the back end.
- Does not grant root access.
What is a VPS?
In VPS hosting, you still share a physical server with other users. It’s just that, you will get a special set of resources that are not affected when other users’ websites experience errors or traffic spikes. Of course, this is very different from shared hosting.
VPS hosting provides a dedicated virtual partition for each user so that resources are not down and can always be accessed at any time. This advantage can be enjoyed as much as you want with a high subscription fee.
VPS services are analogous to penthouses or condominiums. Within this building, there are several apartment rooms with all the amenities that can only be used by yourself.
VPS Hosting is suitable for:
- Users who are building a business and planning to expand their reach.
- Users who have large budgets and want to ‘invest more in the website.
- Users who expect high traffic for their website.
Advantages
- Grants root access to the user’s server.
- More memory capacity and bandwidth and easily expandable.
- Will not be affected by traffic from other sites on one server.
- More stable and fast than shared hosting.
Deficiency
- Subscription fees are more expensive.
- Users are required to have an understanding of technical matters.
In this section, we will discuss some shared hosting vs VPS hosting comparison factors to make it easier for you to choose the right service.
Safety and Performance
Security is the most important factor for all types of websites. Both shared hosting and VPS hosting offer good and stable security. However, some differences need attention.
In shared hosting, if one website crashes, other websites will be affected. The same is true when bandwidth usage exceeds the limit. Website speed will slow down. Usually, this case occurs because of the high amount of traffic.
To overcome the problems above, you can’t help but switch to VPS. This partitioned server will ensure every website functions normally. However, if your technical knowledge is still inadequate, you can’t just upgrade shared hosting to VPS, that’s all. If it is not managed properly, it will only cause a lot of problems.
Control
If what you are looking for is a hosting service with more advanced functions and features, VPS hosting is preferable to shared hosting. This type of hosting provides root access to the server so that each user can install an operating system and software to optimize site performance and security.
Conversely, in shared hosting, you are faced with a server setup that has been configured and uniform. This setting is considered easier and more convenient for users who do not fully understand server management.
Server Administration
The difference between shared hosting and VPS then lies in server administration. If the hosting chosen is shared hosting, you don’t need to go directly into the system maintenance. Usually, the provider has set up the shared server, installed and upgraded the required software such as cPanel or hPanel, monitors the server to prevent downtime, and maintains the backend.
Whereas in VPS hosting, resource management has a higher level of difficulty. It takes someone who really understands system administration and server management. Fortunately, VPS hosting gives users the freedom to set up and configure applications and software. This flexibility is expected to improve website performance, provide root access, and allow users to customize the backend.
Website Development
The difference between hosting and VPS can be seen from their ability to accommodate growing websites. VPS hosting capacity is easier to upgrade than shared hosting. Shared hosting tends to be used to run short-term projects or small business websites. If someday traffic soars, shared hosting will no longer be able to accommodate your website.
This is where VPS hosting comes in. You can start from a small-scale website, then develop it into a large website without worrying about bandwidth and storage limitations. It’s no wonder that VPS is the best investment for you and your website.
Price
In terms of price, shared hosting is definitely the winner. But you need to know, the cost of subscribing to VPS hosting is quite expensive because of its advantages and disadvantages that cannot be underestimated. Here’s an example of a price list for shared hosting at Siteground.
For comparisons, also check the VPS hosting price list on Siteground:
Even though the price is quite big, VPS hosting offers more storage space as well as bandwidth.
So, when to upgrade your hosting?
Let’s say you currently have subscribed to shared hosting. When is the best time to upgrade to VPS hosting? Before making a decision, it’s good to answer some of the questions below:
- Do I need more functionality and want freedom in controlling and managing servers?
- Will, my website be crowded with visitors and traffic will increase?
- Do I have a plan to manage more than one website?
Talking about shared vs VPS hosting, each has its advantages and disadvantages. You alone can make the decision to use VPS hosting or shared hosting.
Are There Other Types of Web Hosting?
Apart from shared hosting and VPS hosting, other hosting services that can be taken into consideration are dedicated to hosting and cloud hosting.
Using a dedicated hosting service means that the website will be stored on one physical dedicated server. The user is only you and you don’t need to share with other users. You are free to customize. Unfortunately, the subscription fee is the most expensive of all types of hosting available.
Cloud hosting is a type of web hosting that uses multiple servers to balance traffic and increase uptime. This service is inspired by cloud computing technology (cloud computing) which allows several machines to work together as a single system.
Your website will not be stored on one server, but in multiple locations. So, if there is an error server, for example, another server will support the website to keep it running normally and there is no downtime.
Conclusion
The choice of hosting package is based on website planning. VPS hosting is indeed superior to shared hosting. However, that doesn’t mean shared hosting isn’t worth choosing. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
Here is a brief summary of the differences between shared hosting vs VPS hosting in terms of:
- Safety and Performance. Shared hosting offers a server that is shared with other users. Meanwhile, VPS hosting provides servers that are more secure and stable but requires users to master technical things.
- Server Administration. Shared hosting is more suitable for novice users than VPS hosting. However, this type of hosting does not free its users for customization.
- Website development. VPS hosting provides more space when compared to shared hosting.
- Price. Both shared hosting and VPS hosting have different costs and uses. However, in comparison, shared hosting is much cheaper than VPS.
The use of hosting services depends entirely on your need for additional features and other functions. Hopefully, this shared hosting vs VPS comparison review can help you make your decision.
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