- Importance of web hosting: In today's tech-savvy world, taking control of online activities through websites is crucial for both personal and business purposes.
- Shared Hosting: Ideal for beginners, this option offers affordability by sharing server resources with other sites, but may affect performance if other sites on the server become popular.
- Cloud Hosting: Offering scalability and flexibility, this option allows multiple servers to act together as one virtual server, accommodating increased needs without performance impact.
We have come to accept the fact that our lives are inextricably entwined with technology. We are no longer simply passive users of the web but are increasingly becoming more active in taking advantage of its many possibilities. Whether this means working remotely, banking online or setting up your own website, we are taking control of our online activity in ever more direct ways. For anyone looking to set up a website for blogging or business purposes, there will invariably be the question of what web hosting option to go for. With so many different types of plan out there, how can you tell which one to go for? Today, we will assess the four most popular different types of web hosting and investigate which might be the most useful platform for your needs.
When You Need Web Hosting?
First and foremost, if you are a complete novice when it comes to computing then opting for a hosting plan that restricts the amount you are required to interact with and administrate the server is preferable. Knowing exactly what the needs of your site will be is equally as important. For instance, if you simply want to start a blog there are numerous free platforms available which include hosting plans. However, if you are looking to set up a site for business purposes you may need hosting that can cater for much larger amounts of traffic and that is more readily customizable.
The best option for beginners shared hosting means that your site uses the same server as many other sites. The major benefit of this is that sharing the service drives the individual price of the plan down, making it very affordable for new businesses without too much traffic. The downside is that should one of the other websites hosted on the service become very popular, it will drain the server’s resources and could slow the performance of your website down. Although this could be seen as a gamble, the vast majority of new site owners take this option for its broadly positive benefits.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a fairly new phenomenon that follows in the footsteps of cloud computing. With this option, a large group of servers share their resources and act together, creating one giant virtual server. Among the many advantages of cloud hosting, perhaps the greatest is its scalability: if your company grows a lot in a short space of time, the group of servers is easily able to accommodate the increased needs of your site without affecting performance. Cloud hosting is most often priced according to what you used.
Managed WordPress Hosting
WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, used as a platform for almost 25% of the world’s biggest websites. As such, almost all hosting companies offer a service which is tailored to WordPress site needs. In these cases, the host will oversee all the technical aspects of running WordPress, making sure you are always running on the most up-to-date version, run backups, updates and various other measures to ensure you have the best levels of security and performance. A managed WordPress plan is often highly affordable and perfect for those using the platform already.
Dedicated Web Server
For anyone running the site of a successful business with a high number of visitors every month, a dedicated server is the best option. With no other drain on the server’s capacity, it is entirely dedicated to your site’s running and means you can tailor it to your specific needs. This level of performance comes at a price though: a dedicated plan will be at least 10 times the cost of a shared plan, and will likely require you to hire someone to take care of the technicalities.
