Web hosting is serious business, and if you are new to the game, getting your website up and running on the Internet can come with all sorts of unique challenges. The established industry standards like dedicated or shared web hosting are hard to ignore. Even the latest addition to the team – cloud computing – has a hidden allure that’s hard to resist, especially if you like to test the latest technologies offered.
However, if you are looking for the best mix of flexibility and power, there is no better option on the market than using VPS hosting.
Why so? What makes VPS hosting so special?
Hand on, we’ll soon give you the answer to these questions. We’ll talk about VPS hosting, how it works, and the main benefits of using it.
What is VPS Hosting?
First, let’s get the basics out of the way.
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server, which in short, means an isolated environment on a server machine that’s created using virtualization technology.
Since it’s software-based, it can be configured to function as a dedicated physical server for web hosting, with its own set of dedicated resources.
You’ll still be technically sharing resources with other users on the central server, but you’ll reap the benefits of having complete control over your private server. VPS hosting offers you the freedom to change and customize any aspect of the server freely.
Unfortunately, you’ll need to have advanced technical knowledge to do this. Luckily, hosting providers are a step ahead, so they provide plans for end-consumers who lack the skills needed to manage a server. These packages offer dedicated support from an experienced web administrator who will cater to your needs.
What is VPS Hosting Used for?
There’s not a lot you can’t do with a sufficiently powerful VPS hosting. VPS hosting allows for creating and realizing any big project way past its conception stage.
It is powering huge eCommerce websites that have thousands of daily customers all actress the globe—maintaining enormous email servers that feature an unlimited number of inboxes and users, housing complex databases for any demanding application. The list is practically endless. These are just some of the examples that come to mind.
VPS hosting is full of possibilities for anyone looking for dedicated and reliable web hosting that’s flexible and has top-notch performance.
VPS Hosting Advantages
VPS hosting is the ideal framework for any website compared to other web hosting types on the market.
As we mentioned, a VPS runs in an isolated environment, with its share of computing power and resources. This hosting model brings many benefits to the user, some of which are covered in the list below.
Stability for High Traffic Websites
With shared hosting, you share the same resources with many other users on the network. If a big traffic spike occurs, guilty or not, your own website will slow down, or even worse – In the case of a server crash, it can become completely inaccessible. That’s not something you want, especially if you manage a successful business. on the other hand, With VPS hosting, fluctuations in the web connection won’t affect you.
It’s Entirely Scalable for Any Size
Eventually, you’ll hit your web hosting limit, and when that happens, you’ll have to go through the hassle of transferring your website to another hosting and another server. And only then can you upgrade to a plan that suits your needs. In contrast, VPS hosting can be scaled to any size, personal, entrepreneurial, corporate, or industrial.
Much Faster When Compared to Competitors
Network speed is the game’s name when it comes to web hosting. With VPS hosting, not only do you get to have a stable disruption-free connection, but you also get the pleasure of having it at breakneck speeds. All of your visitors can enjoy lightning-fast loading times.
Access to the Root Directory
With VPS hosting, you can access the innermost directory of your remote server. This way, you have a full range of control over all the key components of the server. In other words, installing custom software or modules, modifying internal configurations, changing the way running apps interact, doing a personalized system restart are only a few examples of the functionality that comes bundled up with a standard VPS hosting plan.
Security
Anyone who plans to share, host, or manage confidential data on the web, sooner or later, will encounter the threat of a data breach. This is especially important for enterprises. Data breaches are the easiest way to lose your customers’ trust and concurrently your profit. The best way to resolve this issue is to build a stable foundation capable of bouncing back from any danger or setback. When you use VPS hosting, your website runs in an isolated and safe environment – a safebox, so to speak – so your data will be well protected from harm even in the case of a server crash.
Bigger Storage Space and Larger Bandwidth
VPS plans are usually centered around enterprises and large to medium businesses requiring content upkeep and large traffic. That’s why VPS plans come prepacked with a sizable set of bandwidth and storage. Not only that, the allocated server space is dedicated to only to your virtual machine, thus making it faster and better.
You Get Excellent Customer Support
VPS hosting providers mean business. And they play for the long game. So chances are, you get to benefit from having premium support. 24/7 on-call assistance is excellent, plus you enjoy the feeling of being valued as a customer.
Sturdier Server Infrastructure
VPS hosting servers usually use up-to-date hardware that’s been proven to work reliably and efficiently. That means you get a large amount of RAM, a current-gen CPU, and your remote machine is guaranteed to use the latest OS. Plus, you get to enjoy an excellent uptime percentage. And what’s better, these resources are only dedicated to your demands.
VPS Hosting Disadvantages
Expensive
VPS is doubtlessly the more expensive option compared to shared web hosting. If you think you can manage with a cheaper option, or if your website lacks the need for high-end web hosting, a VPS might not be the most suitable choice.
It Requires More Technical Knowledge to Get the Most Benefits
VPS plans usually feature some sort of user-friendly control panel. But, it’s often limited in its capabilities. So, if you are a beginner on the technical front, you might get more for your buck choosing different hosting solutions.
VPS Hosts That do Offer a Management Service are More Expensive
VPS providers are usually self-managed. In other terms, that means you’ll have to do all the work by yourself. A simple solution is to hire an in-house web server expert who’ll ensure you get the proper configuration for security, monitoring, and performance. Unfortunately, you have to pay extra cash if you plan to use this feature.
Summing Up
VPS is a high-performance solution for anyone searching for a powerful web set-up that has the capabilities to be scalable in the future.
It’s mainly targeted at developers, designers, or system administrators – pretty much anyone who has in-depth knowledge of managing a complex webserver.
However, if you are keen on taking advantage of everything this type of hosting offers but don’t have a technical background, taking a managed VPS plan is the way to go.