When you’re looking to create a website, one of the first factors to consider is the type of hosting to opt for. Your web host can play an important role in performance, security and scalability, and as such will be a key determiner of the ultimate success of your website. There are four main kinds of hosting available, each with its own merits.
Shared Hosting: The Budget Option
Shared hosting is often available for free or at a considerably lower price than the other hosting options. Easy to set up and use, it’s a good choice if you’re looking to create a blog or information-only website but may not work well for those expecting considerable web traffic or if you want to sell online. This budget-friendly solution comes with the risk of reduced performance, however, as there could be hundreds of other sites stored alongside your own, eating into storage and bandwidth capabilities.
VPS: A Great All-Rounder
Virtual Private Server hosting, or VPS as it’s most commonly known, offers you some of the savings of a shared web host but with the additional benefits of greater security and scalability potential. Unlike with shared website hosting, with VPS you will only be sharing the server with twenty or so other websites, and your bandwidth and storage allowance are ring-fenced, helping to assure the performance of your website. There are more options for customisation, but a user-friendly control panel means that VPS is an accessible web hosting option even if you aren’t an I.T. expert. Sites such as https://www.names.co.uk/web-hosting can give an idea of the applications available.
Dedicated Server: Limitless Potential
If you or your team are tech-savvy, however, and want unrestricted access to software platforms and applications, a dedicated server might work for you. It’s the most expensive type of web hosting, as it provides you with your own private server, but this means unrivalled performance for your website. It’s a good choice for websites with a very high level of traffic, and hosts will often provide management services, too, ensuring that security and maintenance are in place.
Cloud Hosting: The Future of Hosting?
A great many organisations are turning to cloud-based hosting solutions, and it’s easy to see why. Following a virtual shared model, cloud hosting offers great security and infinite scalabilty and looks set to continue to grow in popularity in the future.