Starting and successfully running an online business is centered on the performance of your website. For a new site owner, choosing a web hosting service can be overwhelming due to the sheer number of options available. Add to it the technicalities associated with web hosting, and a layman is sure to find himself way out of his depth. Difficult as it may be, the success of your websites relies heavily on the right choice of web hosting service. Hence, today, we will talk about the different types of hosting services available and try to find the hosting type that best suits your online business.
Types of Web Hosting Services
Let’s start with listing down the most famous types of web hosting services available:
- Shared Hosting
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
- Dedicated Server Hosting
- Cloud Website Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
Considering an online business, we will discuss four main types of hosting – Shared, VPS, Dedicated Server, and Cloud Hosting.
Shared Hosting
In Shared Hosting, your website is hosted on a shared physical web server. The hardware and resources of the server are shared between multiple websites.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| The cheapest type of web hosting service available | Sharing resources can create performance issues if one website hogs the processing power of the server |
| Most of the set-up is handled by the host, and you can focus on building your website | Security is also a concern as one website getting infected can impact all the other websites on the same server |
You should opt for a Shared Hosting service if you are running a static site or don’t have a lot of traffic yet. It is also a good option if your hosting budget is tight.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting
In VPS Hosting, your website is hosted on a virtual server with dedicated resources and an isolated hosting environment. While you share the same physical server with other websites, the virtual server is a complete hosting environment on its own.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Despite sharing the same physical server, the performance of one website does not affect the others since each VPS has dedicated resources | It is costlier than Shared Hosting plans |
| You get complete root access that allows you to customize the hosting environment as per your needs | You need to have some amount of technical knowledge to use a VPS optimally |
| You can increase the resources if your website grows in popularity |
This is the most logical move from Shared Hosting plans. It offers the features of a Dedicated Server without costing a lot. Choose this service if you have outgrown the Shared Hosting plan but still don’t need a Dedicated Server.
Dedicated Server Hosting
The entire web server to yourself! In Dedicated Server hosting, you can do anything you want since the server is not shared with any other website.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| No issues pertaining to sharing of the resources or the server | This is one of the costliest types of hosting services |
| High levels of customizability from software to the hardware of the server | You need to have a fair bit of understanding about web servers and their configurations |
Unless you have major concerns regarding storing critical and sensitive data with the web host and receive extremely high volumes of traffic every day, a Dedicated Server is not for you.
Cloud Hosting
Think of Cloud Website Hosting, as an advanced form of Shared Hosting powered by a secure cloud storage system. This system stores your data across multiple servers within the cloud. It offers a range of features, making it one of the most popular types of hosting services.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Instant scalability of resources to manage traffic spikes | Costlier than Shared Hosting plans |
| Cost-efficiency since you pay only for the resources you use | |
| Advanced security for your website | |
| Better traffic management due to the load balancing feature |
You should opt for Cloud Hosting services if you have a growing online business and are looking for a hosting service that grows with you. It is not cheap, but it’s on-demand cost-scalability feature makes it one of the most cost-efficient hosting services.
Summing Up
We hope that this quick overview of the four major hosting types gives you an idea about the type of hosting that you would want for your online business website. Remember, the performance of your website relies heavily on the performance of the host since it resides there. Hence, research well and choose wisely. Good Luck!
