Whether you’re a small business or a budding startup, a good server is the difference between a business that runs efficiently and one that gets left behind. In fact, choosing a reliable webhost was rated third on the Forbes list, 5 Mistakes People Make When Setting Up Their Websites.
There are of course some key things to consider before buying hosting packages, including space for growth and scaling costs; however, when all is said and done, knowing which kind of hosting option is right for you depends on needs of your website or business. Companies that offer a range of server options, such as Host1Plus, are hugely beneficial, as they will likely have a server plan that will fit your business requirements.
Types of Webhosting
There are five primary types of web Hosting mediums
- Reseller Hosting
- Shared Web Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
- Cloud Hosting
Reseller and Shared Hosting
Reseller hosting is really an individual or business acting like a hosting provider, where they have the ability to sell their own space and bandwidth. Although this type of hosting is usually not massively appealing to small businesses.
Shared hosting is common, mostly because it is the most affordable. With shared hosting, the account holder is paying for a limited amount of space on a server being used by other account holders. For a small business or basic website with low web traffic, shared hosting is a viable option. However, as soon as you require higher RAM or CPU, shared hosting becomes a little trickier. Not to mention that if you are a business like an e-commerce startup, especially one that depends on increasing web traffic, shared hosting just doesn’t offer the space for your business to grow.
VPS Hosting
VPS hosting, or a virtual private server, is similar to shared hosting in that you are still sharing a server with other account holders. A key difference however, is a higher amount of RAM and CPU is offered through a VPS, and it is often faster and more reliable than shared hosting. Moreover, you are given greater control over the server, for example, being able to personally configure your operating system. However, if your business deals with a higher amount of data being sent or incorporates a lot of images, like a fashion magazine for example, then VPS hosting can quickly get expensive, as bandwidth and storage space are not unlimited. Before going with a VPS hosting option, it is best to decipher what resources your business or site will need.
Dedicated Hosting
On the higher end of reliability is dedicated hosting. It is exactly what it sounds like: an account holder pays for the use of an entire server instead of sharing it, which means full access to disk space, RAM, and CPU. This is ideal for much larger businesses, considering it is generally quite expensive. If you have very high traffic, like some e-commerce sites may have, or if you work with sensitive information, a dedicated server is a good way to go, since only your company has access to it.
Cloud Hosting
Finally, cloud hosting offers a little bit of everything. A major advantage of cloud hosting is not having to deal with software upgrades and hardware failure, as backing up of hardware is always in place to kick in at the first sign of trouble. Another drawing factor is that you only pay for what you use and there is infinite room to grow or scale up RAM and disk space, so you can scale up or down depending on web traffic and business flow. Businesses that need reliable and customizable hosting features are best to go with a cloud option, especially if they are growing rapidly or see vast fluctuations in web traffic. However, it’s important to note that while cloud servers tend to start off on the cheaper end, increasing space does tend to be more expensive, as well as other chargeable resources.
Ultimately, choosing the right provider is a matter of having a well-thought-out business plan that accounts for business growth and increases in web traffic. You are best to go with an option that can handle your immediate needs and your intended plans for future growth.
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