Shared / VPS / Dedicated – Which one is right?

Choosing the right hosting options for a small business website will make a huge difference in a number of ways. The hosting options and package will impact the businesses reputation, sales, website performance, security, and more. There are endless options and setups for website hosting, but the three most popular are shared hosting, VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, and dedicated hosting. Along with different prices, each option comes with its own set of pros and cons. 

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most affordable of the 3 most common hosting options. It is a common choice for very small businesses and startups that have a limited budget and are just getting their presence established. With shared hosting, your website will share a server space with many other websites, all built by different developers.. This means the server’s resources ( as CPU, RAM, and bandwidth) , are shared between multiple users. Think of it like staying in a hostel – limited privacy and you can’t make any changes to the environment. 

Pros of Shared Hosting:

• Cost-Effective: Shared hosting is the least expensive option. This lower price can make it tempting (and possibly ideal) for small businesses with limited budgets.
• Beginner-Friendly: Most shared hosting providers will use a very easy-to-use control panels and features like one-click installation tools. These one-click installs and easy to use control panels can make this a good choice for non-technical users.
• Managed Services: Many common things like server maintenance, security, and software updates are handled by the hosting provider. The managed service option can help by removing the requirement for in-depth technical knowledge.

Cons of Shared Hosting:

• Limited Resources: Since your website will be sharing resources with other websites, you have less access to sometimes needed key resources. Iif another site on the server that your website is on experiences a traffic spike or uses a lot of resources, it can slow down your site. 
• Security Risks: Sharing a server with multiple users will increase the chances and odds of a security breach. Since you don’t know who or how the other sites on your server were programmed, they could be opening your website and business up to attacks.
• Limited Control: You’ll have minimal control over things like server settings and configurations. A change made by any one user will have the ability to impact all the other users.

VPS Hosting

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting offers the best of both worlds between shared and dedicated hosting. When using VPS hosting, your website is still stored and served from a physical server with other websites and users, but each website is allocated or partitioned a dedicated portion of the server’s total available resources. Think of it like having an apartment – you can make changes to your unit, but it won’t affect anyone else’s unit. 

Pros of VPS Hosting:

• Better Performance: Since your site has its own dedicated resources, your site won’t be nearly as negatively affected by the other websites on the server. The dedicated resources will lead to improved performance.
• More Control: VPS hosting will provide more control over server settings and configurations. This will allow you to customize the hosting for your website and business goals and needs.
• Scalable: VPS hosting is an ideal option as your website and business grows. It’s easy to scale up (or down) the resources without being required to move your site to a different server or plan.

Cons of VPS Hosting:

• Higher Cost: Being the middle ground option, VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting but it is still more affordable than dedicated.
• Technical Knowledge Required: A VPS hosting environment is not nearly as complex as that of dedicated hosting, but it does require more technical knowledge. A more detailed knowledge will be needed if you plan to do much customization work on the settings.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is by far the most robust and feature rich option available. With Dedicated hosting you are renting an entire physical server. This server will store and serve your website and your website only. This is like owning a house—you have full control over all the resources and configurations.

Pros of Dedicated Hosting:

• Maximum Performance: Since your site is on its own server and not sharing any resources with any other website, it can be configured to peak performance for the site. 
• Complete Control: Dedicated hosting offers full and complete control over all server settings and configurations. You can customize every setting and feature of the server to be tailored exactly to your business’s needs. This can even include installing custom software, advanced setting security measures, and more.
• Enhanced Security: The risk of security breaches on Dedicated hosting is reduced since no other websites or developers are using the server.

Cons of Dedicated Hosting:

• Expensive: Dedicated hosting is the most expensive option among the major 3 hosting options. The high costs of dedicated hosting often make it less than ideal for small businesses.
• Requires Technical Expertise: Managing a dedicated server requires a vast and technical understanding of the server. You must have a knowledge of everything from server administration, security updates, backups, troubleshooting, and more

Which Option is Right for Your Business?

Selecting the best choice for hosting depends on your website and business needs, budget, and technical capabilities. 

• Choose Shared Hosting if: You’re just starting out or have a very small budget. This is only a good hosting option if you don’t expect high levels of traffic on your website and don’t need customization.
• Choose VPS Hosting if: Your business is growing and you have a slightly larger budget available. If you need better performance and more control, shared hosting will provide a great option for your business. 
• Choose Dedicated Hosting if: You have a very high-traffic website or need top-level performance. You must have the technical expertise to handle a dedicated server.

Which hosting plan you need for your small business and website will depend on a number of factors. If you’re unsure which option is best for you, consider starting small with VPS hosting and downgrade or upgrade as needed. For all of the hosting that we provide at Full Scope Creative, we use VPS hosting for all of the accounts and all of the servers we manage. It provides the best options, security, and scalability to match our needs and those of our clients.