Published on January 6th, 2020 | by Sumit Bhowal

Difference Between VPS Hosting and Shared Hosting

When smartphones started becoming popular in the early 2000s, there was an exponential increase in data usage. The data plans shared by families were not sufficient and one had to pay through the nose in order to get the services. A lot has changed since then, and data has become cheaper with the advent of new technologies. The infrastructure that powers the internet is dynamic and ever-changing. You might be looking for a web hosting solution for your company but not sure of what to go for. It is understandable if you’re stuck between choosing VPS hosting and shared hosting. Before making the decision, there are key differences that you should be aware of and we’re going to highlight some of them.

The Difference in a Nutshell

With shared hosting, you will share the server with different websites. It will be the cheapest web hosting solution but you should be prepared for limitations when it comes to bandwidth, performance, and administration capabilities.

VPS hosting solutions are usually performance-oriented compared to shared hosting. You might need to have a dedicated administrator to maintain the server. There are some key points that you should have in mind when choosing between VPS hosting shared hosting and some of them include:

Performance

With shared hosting, there will only be a few performance enhancements since the resources are shared with a couple of sites. The websites that are using the same hosting could adversely affect the performance of your website. It will only be a good solution if you have limited performance demands and don’t mind sharing the resources with other websites. VPS will offer better overall performance when it comes to bandwidth. There is the freedom to configure the server according to your specifications. This means you will have some level of control with the resource allocation.

Security

Even though shared hosting will be an attractive proposition from a cost point of view, it could result in serious security vulnerabilities in case of infiltration. The security of the shared hosting will hugely depend on the company’s efforts in providing a secure environment. There are some companies that will not pay a lot of attention to shared hosting clients, especially when it comes to security.

There are more robust security features for VPS hosting which protect your sites from hackers and phishing attempts. If your business has sensitive data, you should seriously consider opting for VPS hosting.

Price

Price is one variable that is hard to understand in the hosting business. You could be paying $20 for shared hosting and not get the quality that you’re looking for. On the other hand, there are VPS hosting solutions that could be as cheap as $30. You don’t want to be saving $10 to go through the trouble of having to deal with a rogue web hosting company. Even though there are extreme scenarios with web hosting pricing, you should aim for a balance. You don’t want to pay for too much or too little. A web hosting provider that is suspiciously cheap will have a lot of things to hide and you don’t want to find out the hard way.

Server Administration

With shared hosting, you will not have any kind of administration role. Once the resources have been allocated, everything is done and you will have to get in touch with customer care if you’re experiencing any problems. VPS offers more complexity when it comes to resource management. It could take some time getting used to it. That is why it is important to have someone on the team that is savvy enough with servers.

Scalability

Scalability is an important consideration when looking at a VPS vs shared hosting comparison. The needs of a business will grow with time. Shared hosting doesn’t offer a lot when it comes to scalability. You will be limited to the resources that have been allocated. With VPS hosting, you can scale your business needs. VPS has customized features that allow for fast and efficient scaling. This is crucial for a business that is growing as you don’t want to experience challenges with web hosting.

Conclusion

If you’re a business that is just starting out, you might not have a lot of needs. Even so, you don’t necessarily have to go for shared hosting as VPS hosting has become affordable. There is an increased level of security and you get to scale the business depending on your needs. Make sure you’re doing research on the different hosting providers before making a decision.

Tags: shared hosting, VPS hosting

About the Author

Sumit Bhowal An Internet addict and a MASTAN , Also a lazy Freelancer . I don't try to reinvent the wheel I just like to soak things in Steroid's :p Thanks (y)