Guide to purchasing the best hosting. Next, we will explain the different types of hosting and the most important factors to consider when purchasing a shared hosting package.
Hosting type: Shared hosting, WordPress hosting, Cloud hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated servers. Functionality: Which shared hosting package to choose? What is domain? What is SSL certificate? What is SSD storage? What is backup?
Types of hosting
Shared hosting:
When to choose shared hosting? • Receive fewer than 100,000 visitors per month
What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is the entry-level service: multiple websites are hosted on a single server, sharing the same hardware resources (CPU, SSD memory, RAM, etc.). Take the apps installed on your phone as an example: you don’t have a smartphone for every single app, but all installed apps share the hardware resources of your smartphone.
For most hosting customers, shared hosting is a great place to start: it’s affordable and generally includes all the features you need (e.g. domain, SSL certificate and automatic backup) at no additional cost. . It will prove to be the perfect choice up to around 100,000 visitors per month (a rather high number).
WordPress hosting
When to choose WordPress hosting?
Receive fewer than 100,000 visitors per month • You want to create a website with WordPress
What is WordPress hosting?
Most of the time, WordPress hosting does not differ from shared hosting. Hosting providers know that their customers often want to create a WordPress website, so they use the term “WordPress hosting” to address them directly and avoid confusion.
In most cases, however, the package is identical to shared hosting, but with WordPress pre-installed. On a regular shared hosting package, you would have to do a few more clicks or contact customer support to install WordPress – all in all, the service is pretty much the same.
Cloud hosting
When to choose cloud hosting?
Receive more than 100,000 visitors per month • You want the most reliable and scalable package
What is cloud hosting?
In shared hosting, a single server hosts multiple websites: as a result, there are some limitations, such as speed and storage space, since all websites share the same resources. Furthermore, if the server is down (i.e. unreachable), all hosted websites will be down.
In cloud hosting, a group of servers (called a cloud cluster) hosts multiple websites. Logically, hardware power (CPU, RAM and memory) is greater in a group of servers than in a single server, and, by leveraging intelligent architecture, hosting services can push resources dynamically to websites that have them more need.
There are essentially two advantages: the first is that your websites will be faster, especially when they receive many visits at the same time. The second is that downtime (i.e. when your website is unreachable) will be infrequent – after all, if one server goes down, the other servers in the cluster can back it up.
Most shared hosting users who want to upgrade to a higher service opt for cloud hosting.
VPS hosting
When to choose VPS hosting?
Receive more than 100,000 visitors per month • You want to have root access to your server for maximum customization
What is VPS hosting?
In shared hosting, a single server hosts multiple websites, which share its resources equally. VPS hosting has some similarities, as a single server hosts multiple websites. However, the customer will be exclusively assigned specific resources: for example, you may have exclusive access to 2 CPUs on a server with 16 CPUs.
As the name Virtual Private Server (VPS) suggests, a single dedicated server transforms into multiple “virtual private servers” by dividing available resources.
What is the difference with cloud hosting?
Users often compare and confuse VPS hosting and cloud hosting. The confusion is completely understandable, as both bridge the gap between shared hosting and a dedicated server. However, the differences are substantial but, fortunately, the decision is less complex than it might seem.
Cloud hosting is the right choice for most people:
Scalability: If necessary, you can upgrade to a higher plan simply by requesting more resources. • Reliability: Since your website is hosted on multiple servers, you will rarely have speed and uptime issues.
VPS hosting is best suited to software developers with specific needs:
Maximum customization: Since you will have root access to the server, you can install anything you want, such as custom software, scripts and plugins. • Less reliability than cloud hosting: Speed and uptime issues can arise when the users you share the server with require high processing power.
If you want complete customization, choose VPS hosting, otherwise opt for cloud hosting.
Dedicated servers
If you have millions of visitors and want to be able to fully customize your server, choose a dedicated server. The concept is pretty simple: instead of sharing the resources of one server (as with shared hosting and VPS hosting) or sharing the resources of a group of servers (as with cloud hosting), you will have an entire server of your own. you, as well as complete control of it.
Functionality
Which shared hosting package is best for you?
All providers present roughly the same offer. Generally you can choose between three packages:
Entry level. Sufficient for a single website visited by up to 15,000 users per month. May not include free domain.
Intermediate. The ideal solution for multiple websites between 15,000 and 30,000 visitors per month. Generally a free domain is included.
Superior. It allows you to host multiple websites and take advantage of advanced features (such as daily backups). Suitable for 30,000 to 100,000 monthly visitors. The free domain is almost always included.
On the other hand, don’t be fooled by slogans like unlimited: for example, unlimited websites, unlimited bandwidth and unlimited SSD space. All hosting providers obviously have limits, although unlimited may appear prominently on the company’s website.
If you analyze the so-called “fair usage policy”, you will quickly discover that you cannot deviate much from the “average” usage. It couldn’t be otherwise: you certainly can’t upload YouTube (which would really require unlimited SSD space and bandwidth) on a shared hosting space.
