Differences Between Shared web hosting, VPS, and Dedicated Web Hosting

Choosing the best form of web hosting for you might be difficult with the variety of options available. Do you choose between shared hosting, managed virtual private servers, or a dedicated web hosting package? You might simply want to know what shared hosting or a VPS is. To help you choose the correct hosting plan for you, we will explain shared, virtual private server(VPS), and dedicated hosting plans in this article and list the differences between them.

NB: Most Hosting companies offer all three plans for you to choose from

Video Credit to Inmotion Hosting

What is Shared Hosting?

The entry-level and least expensive hosting option is Shared hosting. You are able to lease space on a shared hosting server using these plans. Along with your website, these servers also host a large number of other websites. These programs offer the least performance, security, and flexibility, making them the least expensive options.

Pros of Shared Hosting

• Low Cost

Due to their shared nature, shared hosting solutions are very affordable. Shared hosts frequently oversell their hardware, resulting in more users using the server than it is capable of supporting while every user is actively using it. This enables smaller sites to be clustered around busier ones, which may or may not be advantageous depending on the situation.

• Simplicity

Due to the fact that dedicated servers are used to manage them, shared hosting is also referred to as managed hosting. Shared hosting has a data center where it keeps all of its servers and gear. This will serve as the administrator and give you access to all the simple and intricate connectivity.

Cons

• No dedicated SSL

Shared hosting does not allow individual users to have SSL specifically for their websites. Why? Because SSL works on IP addresses and since the IP is shared, subscribers have to share the same SSL script.

• Vulnerable to Security Issues

This is probably one of the biggest disadvantages of shared hosting and the greatest threat to using shared hosting. If any website on a server gets hacked, then other websites also come under potential threat. And if the server itself gets hacked, then every website on that server goes with it. So, without a mistake of your own, your website is at risk in a shared hosting environment (to be fair, shared hosting companies do try to isolate websites, but it is not 100% isolation).

Top Examples of Shared Hosting Providers are- Inmotion, Bluehost, Hostinger.

What is VPS Hosting?

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting is a cross between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. A physical server (also called the "parent") runs several VPS instances, which are granted a strict portion of the parent server’s hardware resources. These instances are rented out and operate as independent servers from one another. So, it’s essentially renting part of a dedicated server. These plans vary in price and offer affordable scaling, better performance, and better security than shared hosting.

Pros of VPS Hosting

People who select VPS hosting take into account its numerous priorities. The following are some benefits of VPS hosting:

• Compared to dedicated hosting, a VPS account is less expensive
• You can customize several VPS plans and just pay for the things you require.
• By using a VPS, you may divide up resources like CPU and bandwidth such that other users won’t significantly affect you.

• Fewer people share the same server, allowing your website to be given access to greater resources than with shared web hosting;
• With virtualization software, you can configure your server with more freedom. Additionally, you will possibly have root access and the opportunity to utilize scripts that a shared hosting provider would not permit.

Cons

• It is more expensive than shared hosting because fewer users share the same server, so you have to pay more. This is the main disadvantage from a financial standpoint.

• Configuring servers demands more technical experience compared with dedicated hosting, VPS hosting is less demanding for users, but it still requires some technical experience to control your server.

• You have no complete control over your server Compared with dedicated hosting, VPS hosting users do not have full control over their environment.

• Your resources are not allocated appropriately, This is because your web host may have oversold its space. It may cause server issues that will affect all other sites on that server. So you should be aware of how many virtual accounts are hosted on your server at one time.

Top Examples of VPS Hosting Providers are- Vultr, Inmotion, Liquidweb.

What is Dedicated Hosting?

Much of the media focus today is on the cloud, but traditional models aren’t going anywhere. So, what is dedicated hosting? As the name suggests, dedicated servers are one server solely for you. You have complete control over the server’s hardware. In a data center, dedicated servers next to bare metal servers frequently share network connectivity but not any hardware. Even though these hosting plans are typically more expensive than shared or VPS, they can provide you with superior speed, security, and flexibility, especially for those who need specialized hardware or bespoke configurations.

Pros of Dedicated Hosting

• It Delivers Exceptionally Reliable Performance

When you use shared hosting, the performance of your website is usually directly impacted by the performance of the other websites hosted on the same server. The performance of the other websites would probably be affected. For instance, if one of the websites suddenly has a spike in traffic or is poorly written (and thus consumes a lot of resources).

Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, means that no other users share the same server. As a result, none of these issues will be a concern for you. You’ll get a much faster and more dependable performance because you’re not sharing resources with anyone else (come on, I know we all like to be a little selfish sometimes). Even better, many dedicated servers employ modern hardware like solid-state drives (SSDs) rather than more conventional hard drives (HDDs), which will undoubtedly make it easier for your website to load quickly. If you want to give your guests the finest experience possible, that is awesome.

• It is safe and secure

As you are probably aware, you share a server with other websites when you use shared hosting. Sadly, this implies that you are also vulnerable to their shortcomings. Consider the scenario when a website with whom you share a server has security flaws that are exploited by hackers or perhaps just some type of virus. The server might be shut down immediately. That implies that even if your website were completely secure, it would still be offline. On the other hand, if your website is hosted on a dedicated server, all of those problems are avoided. You won’t be subjected to other websites’ security flaws. Additionally, you would be able to incorporate any extra security measures to suit your particular needs. That’s ideal because web hosting isn’t exactly a “one size fits all” product.

Cons

It can be very Expensive

It is critical that you realize that server expenses don’t significantly differ between shared and dedicated servers. Generally speaking, the cost of the server is no longer shared with anyone else, which is why dedicated hosting is so much more expensive than shared hosting. Consider that the annual operating cost of a server is £1000. In the simplest case, each user on a shared server would pay £10 per year for hosting if there were 100 users. On a dedicated server, however, the full £1000 a year must be paid by the server’s lone user.

Top Examples of Dedicated Hosting Providers are- Bluehost, Inmotion, Liquidweb.

Conclusion

Which is best for you? Based on this analysis, if you are on a relatively tight budget and would want to try out an inexpensive hosting with reliable security and customizable resources, Your best option is VPS. Check out my recommended VPS with a free $100 credit to begin with today