-In order for your website to be available on the Internet, it has to be hosted on a server. Web hosting providers are, in fact, companies that let you use a particular space on their servers while providing you with several features that come along with the service you choose. Ultimately, your choice of hosting provider influences the speed of your site as well as your rankings in search engines – and, consequently, the overall visibility of your site.
But here’s the problem: most website owners are confused when it comes to choosing the right type of hosting. It is why we created a list of all the types of website hosting providers out there, each structured to satisfy particular needs based on the size of the business.
The five types of hosting you can choose from are, shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, cloud hosting, and managed a particular. Now let’s explain each of them!
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is a type of hosting service that gives you space on a server that you share with other websites.
It means that space and the features the web hosting provider offers you aren’t exclusively used by you but are shared by other websites that you won’t be familiar with. Your domain name and the domain names of other websites, in fact, share the same Random Access Memory (RAM) and Central Processing Unit (CPU).
Due to this reason, shared hosting services are usually very affordable, which makes them perfect for beginners who are on a tight budget. It is also the simplest way to host your site due to the servers being mostly managed by the web hosting provider itself. On top of that, you’ll get features such as website builders, security, a free SSL certificate, email hosting, and more.
Bear in mind that this type of web hosting won’t be the right fit for you if you need some exclusive or extra features or if you have a lot of traffic on your website. After all, you will be sharing the bandwidth and disk space with other sites. So some traffic peaks might not be well handled, which can result in negative user experience. You should choose this type of hosting only if that’s not a concern.
Dedicated Web Hosting
Dedicated web hosting is the complete opposite of shared web hosting. Given that there is no server sharing involved. You’re given total control and freedom to use an unlimited amount of bandwidth and disk space on the server. It gives you the exclusive right to decide on the type of security you’re going to use and the way in which you’ll operate the server.
By choosing dedicated hosting, you have the opportunity to adjust any feature as you see fit, so if you have the necessary budget and a lot of traffic to your site, this might be the right option for you. Plus, you won’t ever be concerned with your site being in a “bad neighborhood.”
Virtual Private Hosting (VPS)
Virtual private hosting (VPS) can be placed somewhere between shared and dedicated hosting. It’s the perfect choice for those who might need more space and control compared to shared hosting. But don’t need all the services and space that dedicated hosting offers.
With VPS hosting, the website is hosted on a server, on its own dedicated space, while it shares the physical server location with other websites.
The customization and storage space of virtual private hosting is more significant compared to shared hosting. However, your website will be affected by other sites, which means that the server still won’t be able to handle a high amount of traffic.
The technicalities are handled by the hosting provider, while you still have control over the design and content on your website.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting isn’t a single physical hosting; In fact, it’s a way of storing data on several computers that are connected on a cloud. You have access to them via an Internet connection.
Since you’re not limited to only one physical server, as you are with other hosting solutions. Cloud hosting offers you the configuration and features of several different servers that constitute the cloud. As a result, your storage space and resources are higher than with a traditional web hosting option.
As a website owner, you only pay for the resources you need, with the chance to scale at any time since the resources can be extended whenever you want. You also enjoy the benefits of high uptime and availability and easy setup. Not to mention that you’ll be lowering the environmental impact of your hosting.
Managed Hosting
Managed hosting is a hosting option when the client rents a server or cloud computing resources all for themselves. And doesn’t have to share them with other websites. With managed hosting, the web hosting company is responsible for managing all the significant aspects of the administration for the client to whom they’re leasing the server.
Most hosting providers offer a chance for managed hosting services. This means that the provider will provide you with hardware and software setups, configuration, constant tech support: maintenance, security and backups, updates, and monitoring. Therefore, the hardware, software, and apps will be handled by your hosting provider. A pretty safe bet for website beginners.
Conclusion
Now that you know what each type of web hosting can offer you. It’s your turn to choose the one that’ll fit your requirements.
If you want to know more about the types of hosting options or turn theory into practice by picking a hosting option, Domain Name Sanity is a pretty good option for any type of high quality yet affordable web hosting.
If you are based in Canada, then you can check the best hosting for Canadian websites on Hosting Foundry.