Web Hosting vs VPS Hosting, FAQs before you buy.

Web Hosting vs VPS Hosting.

Web Hosting is a general term used to describe all forms of hosting a website on the internet through various servers and configurations. 

Web Hosting companies provide their server computers to store websites which comprise of various files. The Server is a special computer that has the capacity and capability to store and host websites and web based tools.

Though, for the purposes of this post, we will take Web Hosting to mean the most common form of hosting for websites which is the Shared Hosting.

Whereas VPS Hosting which stands for Virtual Private Server Hosting, is a more exclusive and generally more expensive plan than Shared Hosting as far as Web Hosting plans are concerned.

However, Virtual Private Server Hosting is basically a cross between Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting. In VPS Hosting, a physical “Dedicated Server” contains several “VPS’s”, which are granted a strict portion of the Dedicated Server’s hardware and resources. These “portions” are rented out and operate independently from one another. 

So essentially a VPS rents part of a Dedicated Server. VPS plans range in price and offer affordable scalability, better performance, and security than Shared Hosting plans.

In this post, we are going to compare the Web Hosting of Shared Hosting vs VPS
Hosting as well as answer some frequently asked questions regarding the two. 

Hopefully, by the end of this post you’ll have a much better idea of how the two Web Hosting options matchup so you can decide which one is right for you.

What is Shared Hosting?

Shared Hosting is when hundreds, maybe even thousands of small websites are hosted on the same physical server.

In Shared Hosting each client has an account on one single physical server. All these clients are using the same server, same processors, same memory, same operating system etc. 

Shared Hosting is recommended for new website users, and sites which don’t need or consume high amounts of resources. This is because if your website uses a lot of resources, it affects the other users on that same server. 

What is VPS Hosting?

VPS means Virtual Private Server. This is basically a physical server that you are allocated a certain amount of disc space on. 

It’s similar to Shared Hosting in that you do technically share the same physical server with other websites. However, it’s different because unlike Shared Hosting, with VPS Hosting you are guaranteed a certain amount of disk space on that physical server. 

The amount of websites that share that same physical server is also severely limited. Additionally, unlike Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, again, allows you much more flexibility when you need to scale and use more disk space, resources etc. 

You also have much more access to the server, which you do not have with a Shared Hosting plan.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of VPS Hosting?

VPS Hosting Advantages:

• VPS Hosting gives you the affordability of Shared Hosting while at the same time giving you more power and control like a Dedicated Server. Although it’s virtual, you can still manage it like a Dedicated Server.
• On a VPS server, you have dedicated amounts of RAM available to you at any time. 
• You have your own IP that’s not “shared” with any other website.
• Good Security, since each user occupies their own space, isolated from their neighbors with independent IP addresses. 
• You have full root access, full control and therefore you can do almost whatever you want. Like installing software and other tools, even tools that are not provided by your Web Hosting Provider. 
• You could also remove the control panel and install another one, like removing cPanel and installing another dashboard admin panel. You can even totally remove a control panel and manage the server by yourself by manually changing the configuration. 
• You could replace the webmail or provider interface with another, etc.

However, there are some disadvantages to VPS Hosting that you should know about as well.

VPS Hosting Disadvantages:

• You must know how to manage a server and getting to know how to manage one is very time consuming, so you need to learn and study carefully. 
• If you mess up something on a VPS, you risk it being unusable.
• You could open up dozens of security holes without even knowing it, if managed incorrectly. 
• You are also responsible for Security and software updates unless you get a Managed VPS plan. Then you have to make sure that those issues are covered. 
• VPS Hosting is more expensive than Shared Hosting.

What is the difference between Shared Web Hosting and VPS?

Here are some other differences between Shared Web Hosting and VPS Hosting.

With VPS Hosting you’re still sharing a Dedicated Server, but with much fewer and a limited amount of other websites. 

VPS Hosting has become a popular choice in recent years because it is generally a low cost alternative to getting full on Dedicated Server Hosting, but still provides better reliability, security, and performance, than that of a Shared Server Hosting.

Shared Hosting on the other hand, is a standard web hosting infrastructure, wherein your website is hosted on a physical server and shares common server resources with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of other hosted websites on that same physical server. 

This web hosting infrastructure with shared resources offers no form of isolation. 

The hosted websites on a Shared Hosting plan even have a similar, if not the same IP address and are bound to face the disadvantages that come with sharing resources on one server. 

Especially if that server is older, contains too many websites and is more prone to server outages and downtime.

Whereas, with VPS Server Hosting, you get a separate and isolated “virtual server” within a Dedicated Server and resources, like Disk Space, CPU and RAM come pre-assigned to it. 

Although these separate “virtual servers” share the same dedicated physical server, each of these “virtual servers” have their own isolated “virtual space” with unique IP addresses, which gives it the qualities of a Dedicated Server. 

This “virtualization process” helps in better server isolation with complete root access, including “one-click” scalability, when needed, as well as offers better control over server resources and security.

In the end, if your requirements exceed your Shared Hosting plan and you do not yet want or need access to a fully Dedicated Server, you can compromise with a VPS plan. 

This will give you full control over your hosting services, though with a few extra steps. But a VPS plan will allow you to install third-party software or change your server settings, etc. that your current Shared Hosting plan won’t allow. 

With a VPS you can use high-speed connections to run websites and external applications. 

You’ll get better and more control over your security and better reliability, all at a much lower cost, than with a Dedicated Server Hosting plan.

Is VPS Hosting faster than Shared Hosting?

VPS Hosting, by default, is definitely faster than Shared Hosting since your website has much more disc space and access to server resources than with Shared Hosting.

If you’re just starting out, then you should get Shared Hosting. But if one day the need eventually arises and you wish to take one step ahead to ensure sound scalability, security and performance for your website, then getting a solid VPS Hosting plan would be a good move.

Is a Dedicated Server better than VPS?

This, of course, depends on your needs. With a Dedicated Server the entire physical server is yours to use how you see fit and you don’t share it with anyone else nor is it partitioned like VPS. 

However, a Dedicated Server is also much more expensive than a VPS. Furthermore, you might not need all that extra space in capacity in the first place. Especially, if you have a website even with high traffic volumes. 

A Dedicated Server may be much more than you actually need. In addition, having a Dedicated Server means that you need to also manage that Dedicated Server or hire an Administrator to manage it for you. 

Maintenance and upkeep is totally your responsibility. Of course, Web Hosting Providers that offer Dedicated Server hosting may also offer to manage it for you, including assigning an Administrator etc. 

However, these are also extra costs on top of using the Dedicated Server. So a Dedicated Server isn’t necessarily better than a VPS. 

In fact, in many cases It may be not only more expensive, but it will also saddle you down with a whole bunch of other responsibilities of managing and running it.

However, with a VPS you still get the ability to scale easily and change the hardware on the fly without having to touch a physical machine. 

Most web hosting companies allow you to expand the RAM, utilize more CPU and even add additional disks or expand existing disks on a VPS plan. Although this also requires restarting the “virtual” machine, that’s all the downtime you’ll experience. 

The disadvantage though, is that your VPS shares the same physical hardware with other website’s VPS’s. So if you have some particularly “bad neighbors” who are doing really resource intensive work, you might still notice some poor performance.

In the end you’re even with a “Virtual Private Server” you’re still technically sharing the Dedicated Server hardware with other users.

How much traffic can Shared Hosting handle?

Shared Hosting, believe it or not, can literally handle thousands of visitors a day. Some general estimates have it anywhere between 7,000 to 12,000 visitors a day, others even have it between 1,000 to 2,000 visitors per hour. 

I know these are very general numbers, but they should give you a good idea of how much traffic Shared Hosting can actually handle. Most underestimate how much traffic a good Shared Hosting plan can handle.

However, I also know it’s quite exciting to see your web traffic increase to such levels. Sometimes webmaster’s get a little too excited over the increases in their websites traffic and jump the gun, thinking they’ve outgrown their Shared Hosting plan with 5,000 visitors a day. 

Then they start looking into VPS Hosting when all they may really need is a good Cloud Hosting plan.

Is Shared Hosting good for WordPress?

Shared Hosting is great for WordPress. In fact, many Shared Hosting plans cater to WordPress and offer Managed WordPress Hosting. 

This is basically a Shared Hosting plan or even a Cloud Hosting plan that specializes in WordPress sites all managed by the Shared Web Hosting provider. 

Even if you don’t get Managed WordPress Hosting on a Shared Hosting platform, you can still get normal Shared Hosting for your WordPress site and be able to do all the things you need to do with your WordPress website from your Web Host’s dashboard through dashboard software like cPanel. 

In fact, many Shared Hosting plans even offer a few different ways to install WordPress software right from cPanel, including the now famous WordPress “Quick One-Click Install”.

How do I manage my VPS?

You can either manage your VPS yourself or you can get a Managed VPS plan. 

However, before getting a Managed VPS plan, check around. Many Web Hosting providers have their own definitions of what a managed VPS plan is and what it’s not. 

If you’re going to get a Managed VPS plan, you should definitely check out not only the reviews, but also find out what exactly is included in that Managed VPS plan you’re looking at. 

For example, a Managed VPS plan isn’t simply a VPS plan with cPanel. Unlike Shared Hosting where cPanel is quite easy to use to do the things you need to do within your Web Hosting Provider’s dashboard to manage your WordPress website, VPS Managed Hosting through cPanel might not include things like regular software updates, security etc.

Some of these tasks you may be expected to do yourself. That’s why it’s always important to find out exactly what your Web Hosting Provider will manage within your VPS managed hosting plan and what they won’t.

However, if you’re very familiar with servers, server management and feel you can tackle the task of managing your VPS yourself, then you will not only have a lot of control over the performance of your VPS, but you’ll save a bunch of money as well.

Shared Web Hosting vs VPS Hosting, conclusions.

For most website owners a Shared Web Hosting plan is usually more than enough. 

In fact, choosing your Web Hosting Provider becomes that much more important, whether you’re choosing a Shared Hosting plan or a VPS Hosting plan. 

Actually, that choice of Service Provider will have more impact on the performance of your website than any other factor.

If the only reason you want to upgrade from a Shared Web Hosting plan to a VPS is because of higher traffic volumes, you might want to check to see if you are truly exceeding the normal traffic volume for a Shared Web Hosting plan, which traffic volume numbers I have given above. 

Deciding between a VPS or Shared Hosting plan becomes a matter of priorities. If your website is for business and needs to be online 24/7, especially during business hours, then getting a VPS Hosting plan, in terms of value, performance and reliability, is a great option. 

However, if your website is a simple hobby blog or niche website where it doesn’t matter if it goes offline every now and then or during specific peak business hours, then a Shared Hosting plan might be a better fit.

The Bottom line:

Shared Hosting is for smaller websites with lower resource needs and it’s cheap. 

VPS is for bigger websites with higher resource needs, but also much more expensive than Shared or Cloud Hosting, but still much less expensive than a Dedicated Server.

So start out with a Shared Hosting plan, then upgrade later to a larger plan if your website experiences much higher numbers of visitors and traffic (see above).

Ironically though, a VPS Hosting plan might not be the upgrade you truly need or should be looking for in the first place. If higher traffic volumes and lower down time is a concern, a great Cloud Hosting plan just might be the upgrade you need.