The Three Web Hosting Types that Matter

Even if web hosting is about “hosting” your files on your website, so that your visitors may access them, it doesn’t mean that all web hosts are the same.

The type of web hosting you’re choosing is essential too. You may choose between the several hardware setups, the separate operating systems or use a specific plan from your hosting service. It all depends on your needs and budget at the end of the day.

When you know nothing about the matter or have no guidance either, it’s going to be difficult to decide which way to go. The more you know about the main types of web hosting, the easier is going to be for you to determine what sort of web hosting matches your web site the best way.

Without any further introduction, let’s see which are the main types of web hosting:

Shared hosting

Shared hosting is a common type of web hosting. It means that several sites are hosted together on the same server (hence, the name “shared”).

Here are the main benefits:

• This hosting works for many as the resources are split between multiple customers, which maintains the prices low.
• It lets the users take care of personal maintenance and upkeep to a minimum. Most of the time, the hosting service is going to take care of it.
• It’s an excellent option for the beginners that don’t have enough experience with managing a server nor feel ready to go full speed on the more professional (and pricier) choices.

What are the downsides?

• The sharing of resources may affect performance. No matter the plan you use (even the ones with “unlimited”/”Unmetered” resources) may disturb the traffic and disrupt every single site hosted on the server
• All the sites pull from the same RAM, CPU, which explains the lower performance
• As the server is shared and managed by the hosting company within its limits, you don’t have access to handling fine-tune settings that you may want for your server. It’s not a problem for a small site or a beginner, but bigger businesses don’t afford the decreased power or reduced functionality.

Dedicated hosting

Dedicated hosting is when you’re renting a whole server for you and your sire. It ensures the highest level of resources to host the high-traffic sites.

Here are the most impressive benefits:

• It provides incredible freedom as you don’t share your server with anyone. You can do whatever you need. If you need a specific set, you should use a dedicated web host.
• The speed and uptime are impressive. It’s fundamental for all webpages, but it’s a lot more critical for the business sites as any downtime leads to loss of revenue and possible customers
• The uptime with dedicated servers goes above 99.94%. However, the high levels of traffic aren’t going to affect the speed, and you may support a large volume of visitors with minimal risk for issues.
• You can install the highest level of security functions and fine-tune security settings that work for your website. The activities of other sites aren’t going to affect your website as they’re not on your server space.
• When you need support, the web host is going to assist thanks to the technical and customer service departments. Many web hosts are going to take care of other problems (the add-on service), making it easier for you to take care of other issues. It sure depends a lot on the web host. Take a look at The Hosting Institute to find out more about the best web hosting options at the moment. TheHostingINstitute.com is the place to make the perfect idea about the services you should expect from your web host. You can also take a look at a professional comparison between some of the popular web hosts out there so that you can decide which one to choose.

Is there anything we like less about this type of web hosting?

• You need to pay the right amount of money for a good web host. A dedicated server isn’t cheap, but it’s a wise investment to make for a professional business.

Virtual Private server

This type of web hosting kind of sits in the middle in terms of functions and safety.

The VPS (Virtual Private Server) simulates several individual servers that share one central server. However, the sites don’t divide a pool of sources, but every site has a specific amount for use.

Let’s see the best parts of this type of web hosting:

• This type of web hosting does reduce the risk for drain issues that are common for the shared hosting.
• You get a “root access” so that you have administrative power over the server partition. You may add/delete files as you need, uninstall/install programs that you need or not.
• It provides a comfortable level of freedom, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk. You may remove critical files without realizing it.

The less attractive parts about the VPS aren’t significant problems, but you should take a look at them nevertheless:

• The cost of a VPS is higher than the price for shared hosting. It’s not as pricey of a dedicated server, though.
• You need to have the skills of an experienced user for dealing with some specific server properties. It doesn’t mean that you cannot pay the hosting company to take care of the server management too.

Selecting your VPS hosting is fundamental, and you should pay attention to the CPU power, the setup fees, the dedicated RAM for your website, the monthly bandwidth and the storage space. The type of control interface you’re going to use for managing your server is also important.

Side note: Is it any different when you look for a host for your game?

Not everyone looking for web hosting is the owner of a business. Any online gamer knows already that he/she needs a host for his game too. It’s pretty standard for a gamer to have to choose between a specialized server hosting provider and a regular server hosting provider.

No matter your budget or other consideration, it’s all about what you’re going to use the server for, the level of your skills, how easy it is to set it up.

Here is some info that may help a gamer when deciding on web hosting:

• If you know a thing or two about servers, you can use an unmanaged server and set it up on your own. It’s cheap, and there are so many tutorials on how to do it right.
• If you lack the experience with servers, but you know how to install, configure and even run a game server, it’s wiser that you choose a managed VPS. In the case of VPS, the hosting provider is going to control the server, whereas you’re going to have to manage the game server on your own. You need to install, configure and take care of the hosted game on your own.
• When you have no experience whatsoever, selecting a specialized game hosting provider is the best decision for you. The hosting provider is going to make the whole game hosting easy. It’s going to provide 1-click installations, pre-configured servers, game server control panels, different choices for server mods and, more importantly, 24/7 customer support.

Ark: Survival Evolved, Arma 3, Cod4, Counter-Strike, Conan Exiles, Minecraft, Rust, Batallion 1944, Battlefield Hardline are only a few of the many PC games that need dedicated servers so make sure you choose right.

One last recommendation

There are various types of web hosting out there, but the ones mentioned above are the most common you’re going to find.

The type of your business, your personal needs, your skills, and your budget are going to count a lot when selecting your type of web hosting.

The size of the operation plays a significant role too. If you’re only starting and have just a single site, shared hosting is going to be your best shot. Are you expanding or have to get more freedom when managing your website? The VPS web hosting seems, in this case, your no.1 option.

A high-traffic business site or several sites are going to require dedicated web hosting, nine times out of 10. Just do due diligence when selecting.