When I stepped into blogging, I kept wondering, just what is Web Hosting? How does a domain work? How can you start a WordPress blog? Do I buy a domain and a website is magically built? Where will I store all the data? All these beginner level questions and no answers. However, as the time passed, I learnt everything about web hosting, cPanel and how everything works.
No matter how you proceed ahead, it is going to be essential for you to completely understand the basics. All thanks to my technical background, it was pretty easy for me to get a good grasp of all this information. When I started out, I kept reading and watching lots of online courses. All this helped to get grab a better understanding of the entire working of a website including other basic aspects such as IM, Freelancing, etc.
Out of all the basic aspects of building a website, we are going to shed some light on web hosting packages in this contact. However, we are not going to discuss anything about the companies that offer web hosting packages. Instead, we will just focus on the various types of web hosting packages and advantages of signing up for them.
It is no brainer that as a beginner you’re indefinitely worried about which hosting package is best for your requirements. Clearing the confusion off the air, here I’ll thoroughly give you an overview of the most common hosting packages to ultimately help you understand which hosting package works best for you and your website.
Most Common Web Hosting Packages
First of all, it is worth mentioning how hosting packages are further divided into two types: Windows and Linux Hosting. However, as these types are subset of what we are about to discuss here, there’s no necessary need of discussing them. Some apps work well with Windows based hosting, while some work best with Linux best hosting. Keeping that discussion aside, let us talk about the most common web hosting packages type: Shared Hosting, Dedicated Hosting and VPS Hosting.
1. Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting package is undoubtedly one of the most common and probably the cheapest hosting package types in the market. For any novice blogger, Shared Hosting package is the most affordable package as they usually start as low as $1 per month. This package is further classified into limited and unlimited hosting. It mostly depends on what resources are provided to you by the hosting company. However, many web hosting companies now provide unlimited resources on most of their plans.
For example, SiteGround offers three basic Shared Hosting plans: StartUp, GrowBig and GoGeek. All these three plans come under the category of Shared Hosting. However, they differ only on the basis of how much web space SiteGround provides to you alongside how many monthly visits can its server sustain.
On the other side, companies like BlueHost Hosting offer only one shared hosting package unlike SiteGround. BlueHost’s package has unlimited resource, means to limitations on using any feature they provide to you. Though, you need to be careful here. As despite providing unlimited resources on web hosting packages, it is essential that you do not cross their fair usage policy. Upon crossing, the web hosting companies can terminate your account anytime. However, it is almost impossible to cross these limits unless you are offering illegal streaming or downloading on your website.
When you sign up for a shared hosting package, you are basically opting for a server which will then be shared with other websites. This means that all these websites will have the same IP address and will share the resources provided by the company. The only thing that makes people go away from shared hosting is the fact that if any other website on the shared server starts consuming high resource, it might affect your website and lead to downtime. Therefore, web hosting companies advise users to opt for an independent server if their website garners lots of monthly visits. Though, for a beginner, shared hosting is the best place to start your journey in the blogging world.
Pros
Shared hosting is fairly cheaper than other hosting options.
There are no administrations issues which means you don’t have to handle your servers, the web hosting company does it for you.
Cons
If another website on your shared server starts consuming high resource, your website’s performance will be affected.
Incorrectly configured file permission settings might lead fellow users of the shared server to access your files and bust your website’s security.
Despite not having the headache of handling your server, your access to your own website is restriction on various occasions when you need perform an admin task.
Best For: Website with 10,000 to 100,000 monthly visits.
2. VPS Hosting
Like Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting package is one of the most common hosting packages offered by web hosting companies. However, it is basically depended on virtualization and unlike shared server, your server will be equipped with limited but dedicated resources. Compared to shared hosting packages, VPS hosting packages are relatively costly but it is the best option to opt for when you require dedicated resources for your website at a cheap price.
VPS precisely breaks the gap between a shared hosting server and a dedicated server. Despite sharing the similar system with numerous other websites, your website is going to be powered with a dedicated IP address and dedicated resources which means that despite having any faulty website on your server, your website will stay intact.
There are two most common types of VPS packages available: Unmanaged VPS and Managed VPS. Unmanaged VPS allows you to gain full control of your server including updating packages, installing new scripts, etc. On the contrary, Managed VPS is perfect for bloggers who don’t have a strong technical background but need dedicated resources for their website. You will have full control of your server alongside having web hosting company’s support team at your bay 24/7. This means that you can either install a new package or add-on yourself or ask the managed VPS support team to do it for you.
Pros
VPS hosting package is more affordable compared to a dedicated hosting package.
You will a lot more control over your VPS server compared to a shared server.
VPS servers are more powerful, more secure and easily upgradable.
Cons
Just like having websites on a shared server, if there are several VPS servers consuming high resource at a time, this might slow down your VPS server.
Users need to be technically proficient to manage and maintain their VPS server.
Best For: Website with 100,000 to 800,000 monthly visits.
3. Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting packages are best suitable for larger corporations. Upon signing up for a dedicated hosting package, you’ll be provided an independent server for your website which means you’re not sharing your server with any other website. Dedicated hosting packages are usually the costliest packages and come with both managed and unmanaged dedicated server plans.
In simple terms, you’re basically renting a system under web hosting company’s infrastructure when you opt for a dedicated hosting package. Depending upon the features and policy of the company, you’ll be offered a dedicated server, dedicated resources and a premium support team to assist you 24/7 throughout the day.
Pros
Dedicated hosting servers have faster connectivity and can manage huge traffic flow easily.
You’ll have total control over your dedicated server.
Websites hosted on a dedicated server are more secure and more flexible.
Web hosting companies provide superior support to dedicated hosting customers.
Cons
Dedicated hosting packages are relatively more pricey compared to other web hosting packages.
User needs to be fully acquainted with technical proficiency to handle the dedicated server.
Best For: Website with 800,000+ monthly visits.
Ending Statement
Shared, VPS and Dedicated hosting are the most common and popular types of web hosting packages available in the market. Talking about me, I started out with a cheap shared hosting company when I stepped foot in the blogging world. Once my website started garnering more monthly visits, I switched to a VPS server.
There are many web hosting companies in the world and undoubtedly, most of them come with a high price tag. However, if you’re just starting your blogging journey, go for a shared hosting package. As your website grows, opt for a costlier hosting package which provides better resources for your website.
Another piece of wisdom, no one likes a slow website or a site which regularly faces downtime issues. Therefore, never shy away from upgrading to a better hosting package. By doing this, you are allowing your website to fully exploit the resources offered by the web hosting company and build a strong presence in the web space.