The two most popular options for the consumer are Shared hosting – where one server is used to host hundreds of sites by dividing the server resources equally among them – and VPS hosting. VPS stands for “Virtual Private Server”, which has various advantages like privacy and security over Shared Hosting.
In shared hosting since all the websites are hosted on the same server, all the resources like RAM, Processor and Hard Disks gets equally divided across all websites. The problem comes when one of the hundred website starts getting affected by malicious entities like viruses. It affects all the websites on the server.
On the other hand VPS offers more privacy, slightly higher cost, but more control or more responsibility – for example, over operating systems and installed programs. VPS hosting allows you control over configuration and firewalls, but within strict limits set by the owner of the server you are on. This means that the others sharing a server with you cannot harm you too easily.
Though VPS Hosting is better than Shared Hosting I don’t mean to say that Shared Hosting is a complete disaster. It really depends on the host, for example Hostgator and Blue Host handle their servers really well, while others do better with people to take over the headache for them. For beginners who require only basic levels of bandwidth and disk space, shared hosting from a reliable service is a much more preferred option than a VPS.
There is one more risk factor involved with Shared Hosting, since one IP is shared across hundreds of sites there is a possibility that one of those hundred users is a spammer. The problem arises when search engines blacklists the IP. This can severely affect your website traffic and degrade it. Getting a dedicated IP address for your website is the only solution for this. Your host will charge you approximately $5 per month, a small price to pay. Also please consider that not even a dedicated IP will give you the security you get with a VPS system.
Finally, the conclusion I have arrived at is that shared hosting – with a well-known, reliable host – is definitely the best option for personal or small-scale users. But for people with big plans for their web presence, VPS is a long-term investment that will last for a lifetime. The additional privacy, control and scalability it offers is worth ten times its cost.
Choosing between Shared Hosting or VPS hosting is tough. Select web hosting that allows you to switch from one to another easily.
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