Selecting the right type of hosting for your website, determines the right place to host it. The choice between the dedicated web hosting and VPS hosting is not always easy. Of course, both options have their advantages, but only you can determine, which option is the best for you. Now, it is time to compare dedicated web hosting and VPS hosting in more detail and provide you with some useful tips.
What is Dedicated Web Hosting?
Dedicated web hosting means your website will be the only website hosted in that server. This hosting type is characterized by the maximum performance, control, and security of the site. When you own a dedicated server, then you are not likely to be sharing your server with any other people. This exclusivity comes with high performance and reliability, which is very important when dealing with sites with a lot of traffic and consuming applications.
When it comes to dedicated web hosting, you also get full exclusive control of the environment of the server. The hardware and software can be arranged in a way that will suit the business requirements, especially where specialized settings are required or specific software applications must be used. This type and amount of control and tailoring cannot be found in any other hosting platforms.
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS means Virtual Private Server. They include partitioning of a physical server into a number of virtual servers is known as VPS hosting. VPS’s are all separate from one another and you are provided with a number of resources on your own. This hosting setup is more preferable than the shared hosting since it provides better optimization. Nonetheless, you are still co-hosting the physical server with other VPS clients.
VPS hosting is an excellent finding for clients with the need for more capabilities than those offered in the shared hosting plan but cannot yet afford the services of dedicated web hosting. Hence, it has advantages of specialized resources but at a lesser cost of carrying out the function. It is highly flexible for the different uses, because every VPS can host its own operating system and other applications.
Performance and Resources
In terms of performance, dedicated web hosting has been highlighted to be the most superior among the rest. Since you are having your own server, it is quite easy for any website you develop to handle all the traffic and even large-scale applications. This means that you do not have to worry about other web sites ‘taking up system resources’, since there are none. This is ideal for e-commerce site, large corporations and business, and the high traffic blog.
On the other hand, the VPS hosting is many times faster than the shared hosting more so if you have lots of traffic. You have your own CPU, RAM, storage space and so on, hence, your site runs faster. However, because you fairly distribute the resources of a physical server with other VPS instances, it can sometimes be less effective. These dips are typically small but can be present if you’re using your computer to run demanding applications.
Control and Customization
Dedicated web hosting implies that the server is solely dedicated to a specific website or project, and the owner has full control over it. It also allows you to have the desired server environment depending on the type of work you are conducting. This level of control is suitable for firms that need to configure web servers or other servers, or that want to host particular soft wares. You may install any program, setting up the characteristics and fine-tune the work characteristics according to your needs.
VPS hosting also gives the client an ample control in their servers as well as the Internet as a whole. While not such unique and diverse as dedicated web hosting, there are possibilities to organize vServers to one’s relative needs. Considering most website users, VPS hosting is adequate in the level of versatility users require to execute distinct applications or unique software. You can freely select the operating system, introduce the applications required for functioning and control various parameters.
Security
Security is very important when it comes to hosting your website. Dedicated web hosting is also measured to have a high level of security because you are not sharing a server with other companies. This way, you can put into practice your security measures and, at the same time, enjoy the knowledge that any other Web site cannot jeopardize your server. This is especially of importance to websites that deal with unique information like sites dealing in commodities, products, or those dealing with finances.
Security is also a notable benefit in the case of VPS hosting services. As previously mentioned, each VPS is independent of the others; hence, nobody can access your files or data of other sites. Nevertheless, because the multiple instances of VPS are located on the same physical server, the web hosting security is ever so slightly lower than that of the dedicated web hosting. These risks, however, can be easily avoided by proper setup and security measures put in place that is why VPS hosting is a safe option for most of the users.
Cost
Price is a common reason because of which it changes or remains the same. They are more costly because it entails the renting of a dedicated server for the website. This cost refers to the equipment, cost of maintaining it, and possibly a better level of support than what is offered to other clients. In the case of large business operations or heavily visited websites, this investment becomes tenable. This is why dedicated resources, control, and security more than offset a higher price of such a solution.
VPS hosting is relatively cheaper than the other two hosting types. Because you do not have the server all to yourself, the cost is shared with other people who are on it too. The performance and price of VPS hosting are somewhere in between making it ideal for small to medium business hosted. Despite offering many of the features inherent in dedicated web hosting, this happens to cost significantly less than dedicated web hosting which is favorable for business sites that have limited capital to invest.
Scalability
For any growing business, scalability is an essential factor that needs to be considered. On the other hand, there is a little more breadth of scaling with dedicated web hosting, although the cost may be slightly higher. Occasionally, you may require buying new hardware or even transfer to new server. Nevertheless, the potential to expand is present and for the companies that have the financial means to do so, it remains fully feasible.
VPS hosting, on the other hand, provides an easy solution when it comes to this kind of scaling. The use of resources can be easily expanded quicker than you might anticipate your website to grow. For this reasons, VPS hosting is perfect for firms that anticipate a high growth within the near future. You can add more RAM, CPU, or storage quite easily, and typically this can be done with very little disruption to service, so your website can grow over time with relative ease.
Reliability
Another factor that cannot be overlooked is that of reliability. Dedicated web hosting is very reliable since resources are not being dealt out to many users. Your website has low chances of experiencing bad availability and poor performance. This is particularly important for organizations where the website is the primary source of income or where the audience interacts with the company through the website.
VPS hosting is also quite reliable; however, it can never offer a level of uptime that can be achieved by a dedicated web hosting service. Unfortunately, as you are sharing the same physical server, there is a little risk based on other tenants on the same physical server might slow down your VPS. Although, most of the reliable hosting providers provide higher uptime guarantees on their VPS hosting plans, so this hosting is suitable for many
Use cases for Dedicated Web Hosting
The dedicated web hosting is good for large companies, frequently visited websites, and companies needing complete control and protection of their data. For any specific e-business website, the dedicated web hosting allows your website to give its best performance during the time of peak traffic. It is also useful in industries that have various applications to execute or organizations that require particular server settings.
Use Cases for VPS Hosting
VPS hosting is suitable for small to mid-sized companies and developers/web sites that are growing at a constant rate. If you are in need of more resources than host several websites on shared hosting, but do not wish for a dedicated server, then VPS hosting is the way to go. Very often it provides rather affordable solutions, which at the same time, can be reliable and efficient. This is particularly popular for developers as it provides flexible as well as controlled environment for test and development level hosting.
Making the Right Choice
It is up to the individual to decide which one is suitable for them; dedicated web hosting or VPS hosting based on the set budget. To configure the most efficient and to have absolute control over the server and application installed on it, there is dedicated web hosting. Nevertheless, if one is searching for affordable solution, but with good reliability and easily scalable, then VPS hosting is the right solution.
Conclusion
Summing up, dedicated web hosting as well as VPS hosting have benefits that distinguish them from other hosting options. Dedicated hosting provides better service, flexibility and reliability, and as such is suitable for intensive websites or websites that receives large number of traffic or require a lot of resources. On the other hand VPS hosting is more cost effective and offers good reliability and scalability at a lesser cost than both solutions.
Consider nature of website, its requirements and financial position together with expected growth in the decision-making process. It is worth to note that irrespective of whether you go for a dedicated website hosting or VPS hosting, you will anyway be set with a good base. It is with this knowledge of the strengths and weakness of each hosting type that you can make an informed decision as to the most suitable kind of hosting to get.