Are you finding your website struggles to keep up with all that new visitor traffic?

It might be time to upgrade to VPS hosting.

VPS, short for virtual private server, gives your site dedicated resources to perform better than shared hosting.

In this guide, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of VPS hosting. What is it? How does it compare to shared or dedicated hosting? We’ll also look at the factors indicating it may be time to upgrade. To sum up, learn how to choose the best VPS hosting plan for your growing business.

Let’s start with the basics.

What Is A Virtual Private Server?

So, what exactly is a virtual private server? Let’s break it down.

• Server: A server is a powerful computer that stores all the data and files for a website. When you type a domain name into your browser, that server delivers the site to your screen.
• Virtual: Virtualization technology splits one full server into multiple virtual machines. It’s still one physical piece of hardware, but it operates like several separate servers.
• Private: The word private is just what it sounds like. Your virtual server and all its virtual resources are reserved just for you, giving you a high-performance hosting environment where the RAM, CPU power, or any data will not be shared with other users.

A VPS offers the advantages of dedicated servers without the high costs associated with dedicated hosting.

How Does A VPS Work?

VPS hosting uses virtualization technology to simulate having your own dedicated server, even though the physical server is shared.

How does it work?

Well, your hosting provider installs a virtual layer on top of the server’s operating system. This virtual layer separates the server into individual compartments for each user, creating individual virtual machines or VMs.

Within each compartment, you can install your preferred operating system, software, and other required tools to host your website. For example, Linux, MySQL, and a control panel like cPanel.

These virtual machines ensure that you get guaranteed resources. And unlike shared hosting, your server’s performance does not depend on how much of the resources other websites on the same server use.

In a nutshell, VPS gives you the experience of having your own dedicated environment through virtualization. Your site lives in a private, isolated container with allocated resources just for you.

This means your website lives within a secure container with guaranteed server resources: memory, disk space, CPU cores, etc.

You don’t have to share any of it with others.

Pros And Cons Of VPS Hosting

A virtual private server provides dedicated resources and greater control over server configuration compared to shared hosting, at a lower cost than dedicated hosting. VPS strikes an optimal balance of affordability, customization, and guaranteed performance for many growing websites and web applications.

Pros of using a VPS server:

• Cost-effectiveness: VPS costs less than dedicated hosting but delivers better performance than shared hosting. VPS is a budget-friendly option for sites outgrowing shared servers.
• Customization and control: VPS users can fully optimize and customize server settings, and install software. This level of control is ideal for sites with specific configuration needs.
• Scalability: It’s easy to scale VPS resources like CPU cores, RAM, and storage as site traffic increases. Sites can upgrade their VPS plan as needed to accommodate growth.
• Dedicated resources: VPS provides guaranteed CPU, RAM, bandwidth, and disk space. Resources are not shared, ensuring full control and reliable performance.

• Enhanced security: VPS isolates sites from one another for added security compared to shared hosting’s open environment.
• Support and maintenance: Many VPS plans include technical support and management options to maintain the server.

Cons of using a VPS server:

• Technical expertise required: Managing and optimizing a VPS requires strong technical skills. Those without server admin experience may struggle.
• Resource allocation problems: Improper resource allocation by the hosting provider can impact VPS performance.
• Limited hardware control: Users don’t control the physical server since VPS virtualizes hardware.

How VPS Compares With Shared Hosting & Dedicated Hosting

When selecting a web hosting plan, there are three main options: shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and VPS hosting. Let’s examine the key differences between shared, dedicated, and VPS hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most common and the most cost-effective form of web hosting and works well for most new website owners. When you purchase a shared hosting plan, you’re sharing resources like CPU, RAM, and hard drive space with other website owners on that same server.

Consider shared hosting as multiple websites renting a single apartment in the same building. Each of you gets your own private bed, but you share the apartment with common spaces like the lobby, elevators, and utilities. In the case of websites, it’s CPU, RAM, and storage.

This offers multiple benefits, including lower costs, as the server costs are split among all the website owners. If one of the websites on your shared server has a huge spike in traffic, that could affect your website’s performance as well.

But when you’re just getting started, you are unlikely to notice the impact—and if you need help starting out, you may want to read this web hosting guide.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting allocates an entire server to just your site. You have full control over resources and can customize them to meet your needs.

With dedicated hosting, you are no longer pooling resources (and sharing the costs) with other website owners.

Sounds great, right? The catch is that it’s much more expensive — but you get 100% control over your resources and can customize the software to meet your individual needs.

This type of hosting package is best for websites with robust technical demands. Some examples where dedicated hosting could be beneficial:

• Websites with high-traffic volume
• Sites handling large financial transactions
• Custom software requirements
• Need for specific operating system

Dedicated hosting is the optimal solution for sites that demand unparalleled performance and specificity.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting provides a middle ground between shared and dedicated. When you choose VPS, other websites will be hosted on the same hardware as yours (remember that powerful server we talked about earlier?)

But now, your website is running on a virtual machine with its own dedicated resources. That means you get your own operating system, dedicated storage, powerful CPU, scalable RAM, and unlimited bandwidth.

Thinking of it from the apartment complex analogy, consider all apartment owners now have access to their private lobbies, elevators, and utilities. One person using the resource no longer impacts the rest.

This provides you with the double benefits of dedicated hosting, where you have complete control over the resources and lower costs because of the shared physical servers.

When Should You Switch To VPS?

If your website is growing, you may wonder: should you upgrade to VPS? Here are eight key signs that can indicate you’re now ready to make the switch.

1. You’re Worried About Security

Shared hosting offers basic security, but VPS delivers if you need more advanced features like firewalls, SSL certificates, or daily backups. This is particularly true for sites that process payments or store sensitive data. VPS gives you top-notch security features for the complete safety of your website.

2. You Start To Experience High Traffic Volume

Shared hosting is great when you’re just starting out and have a low visitor count, but it can struggle and slow down when your site has large spikes in traffic. With VPS, you get dedicated resources (CPU, RAM, bandwidth, etc.) that can smoothly handle those traffic swells.

3. Your Website Is Consistently Running Slowly

On shared servers, you’re fighting for resources with other sites. As you add more content over time, you can max out limits for things like RAM. Suddenly, pages take forever to load.

A VPS gives you plenty of room to continue scaling your business without frustratingly slow load times.

4. You Have An Online Store

The moment you plan on running an online store is the moment you should upgrade your hosting plan.

Why?

Because with VPS, you have a secure and dedicated virtual server where you are more likely to pass a PCI compliance test. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was established by major credit card brands to protect against cardholder data theft.

If you are accepting credit cards on your website via a payment gateway, you want to do everything you can to ensure the safety of your consumers’ financial information.

Since VPS is more secure than shared hosting, it’s the better option for e-commerce websites.

5. You Need To Install Custom Software

Shared hosting is great for website owners building their site with WordPress or other Content Management Systems. However, suppose you reach the point where you need to install custom software, engage in any other advanced programming, or use a custom server configuration. In that case, you’ll want a hosting option that affords you more control.

Similarly, several standard tax, billing, bookkeeping, and other integrative programs require around-the-clock server availability as well as high-speed internet. You’ll need a VPS or a dedicated hosting account to run these applications successfully.

If you operate on a shared server, you’ll only be frustrated when you learn advanced actions are forbidden, or that apps don’t have the support to function properly. Instead of dealing with this potential problem, upgrade to VPS hosting and immediately gain more control over your programming actions.

6. You Run Into Server Errors

Do you often see 503 or internal server errors?

It’s highly likely your customers see those, too. These errors generally indicate that your server is experiencing difficulties serving the website.

While you can troubleshoot downtime issues, every minute of downtime costs money for your online business. Instead, upgrading your resources usually offers better time-to-value for your business.

7. You’re On A Budget

While it’s true that a dedicated hosting package can address many of the problems on this list, it’s important to remember that a dedicated plan is a much pricier option. If you need to improve your bandwidth, increase your security, and get more RAM, then the most affordable option is to opt for VPS hosting.

8. You Build Websites For Your Clients

Shared hosting can be great for building personal or portfolio websites. It’s simpler to manage and offers lower costs. But when handling client sites, you do not want a slow server to impact them.

VPS hosting provides you with high-powered servers so you can host unlimited websites without worrying about performance.

How To Choose The Best VPS Hosting Plan For Your Website?

Now, let’s understand how you can find the best web hosting provider and the perfect VPS hosting plan for your needs. Before you begin, you need to pick between self-managed and managed VPS servers.

Self-Managed Vs. Managed VPS Services

When selecting a VPS hosting, you will usually be presented with two options:

1. Self-managed VPS service (sometimes called unmanaged VPS)
2. Managed VPS service

With self-managed VPSs, you need to understand server administration, troubleshooting software, and managing apps and services installed on your VPS.

Managed VPSs, on the other hand, are an excellent choice when you are unfamiliar with these admin skills or you just want your hosting company to handle it for you.

All of DreamHost’s VPS plans are fully managed, meaning you can skip worrying about the intricate technical details and focus on what really matters: creating great content for your website.

If you’re looking for root access, consider opting for DreamHost’s cloud hosting.

Now, let’s understand other options you’ll be faced with when picking a VPS server.

Operating System

Most VPS hosts offer Linux-based operating systems. This could include Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, or Red Hat Linux.

The reason? Linux is open-source, stable, secure, and flexible.

Windows VPS exists but is less common. You likely only need Windows if you use Windows-specific software. Linux VPS offers the most reliability, which is why most hosting providers only offer Linux VPS.

Reliability and Uptime

Your VPS host should guarantee an uptime of 99.5% or higher in their SLA. Anything less could result in unacceptable downtime and impact your business. Preferably, look for hosting providers that offer 100% uptime guarantees, load balancing, redundancy, and failover to deliver maximum reliability.

Hardware and Resources

Select a VPS host using modern hardware for optimal performance—SSD storage, abundant RAM and bandwidth, multi-core processors, etc. Scalability is also important to allow seamless upgrading of resources as your site grows. Make sure the VPS specs match your site’s resource needs.

24/7 Customer Support

Even with managed services, website issues can occur unexpectedly. Ensure your VPS provider offers 24/7 customer support via phone, chat, and support ticketing in case you need immediate assistance. Prompt support is crucial for minimizing downtime.

Backup Service

Choose a host that includes automated daily or weekly backups to prevent data loss. Managed hosting providers generally handle backups in the background without any effort on your part. However, remember that you still need to check with the support on your backups’ frequency and retention period.

Generally speaking, the more frequently your website changes (like a community website where many people post every day), the more frequent your backups need to be.

Ready for Your Own VPS Hosting?

If you made it this far—congratulations! You now understand VPS hosting and how it can benefit your fast-growing website!

You’re now ready to make the smart choice of upgrading to a VPS hosting—so you have the right resources and control to reach the next level, without breaking the bank.

If you haven’t finalized a VPS hosting provider yet, try DreamHost’s Managed VPS Hosting. It offers all the benefits you’d need from a complete VPS hosting provider, along with a 100% uptime guarantee. Talk to our support team and find out how our professional team can help you with site management, marketing, and more.

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Neither one is inherently better than the other — it all depends on your website’s unique requirements. You may need super-tight security, lightning-fast speed, a low price point, or scalable resources. By carefully considering the pros and cons of each option, however, you can have your cake and eat it too.

In this post, we’ll explain what VPS and shared hosting are and the main differences between them. Then, we’ll show you how to make the right choice for your website. Let’s get started!

What Is Shared Hosting?

With shared hosting, your site shares the same physical server with many other sites. It’s kind of like an apartment building: you get one unit in a larger structure. While you each have individual living spaces, you may share communal resources like a courtyard, garden, or pool with your neighbors.

There is no reason to be concerned, though. No one using the server can see what others have on it. With a shared hosting plan, you simply share some of the physical resources with other users.

This option tends to be the cheapest because providers can serve many customers from one machine. Shared servers offer customers less bandwidth, management flexibility, and performance, but the hosts take care of all technical configurations, maintenance, and security.

What Is VPS Hosting?

A step up from shared servers is Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting, which offers more room to grow and fewer restrictions. This version of online real estate is similar to living in a condo. You’ll still share the physical server with a few others, but resources are partitioned off and dedicated to each user.

When you own a condo, you can make changes to your living area such as knocking down a wall. Similarly, virtual private servers allow you to modify the server to your liking. The level of customization lies somewhere between a shared plan and a dedicated server.

As we mentioned earlier, you’ll share server space but have your own resources. Since you don’t have to compete for computing power, there is less worry about other websites using up too much bandwidth or storage and slowing down your site.

If your website deals with secured data or resource-heavy applications, VPS hosting may be the way to go. These plans are typically more costly than shared hosting but still quite reasonable.

7 Key Differences Between VPS and Shared Hosting

If you’re creating a website for the first time, it can be difficult to choose the right hosting option. To help you decide between VPS and shared hosting, let’s discuss some of the key differences. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, so let’s take a closer look at exactly what that entails.

1. Performance

As a website owner, it’s important to create a site that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. However, if your web pages aren’t optimized for fast loading, these factors may not matter.

47% of online visitors expect web pages to load in under two seconds. That means if your website buffers for a longer amount of time, these users will likely be unsatisfied and quickly leave the page.

If you run an e-commerce website, you probably already know how important it is to retain customers. When your visitors experience an unsatisfactory loading performance, 79% of them are unlikely to return to your website.

Ultimately, this is not a lot of time to waste. Choosing the right hosting package is a serious business decision when you consider that mere milliseconds can determine whether people will do business with you.

A VPS hosting plan is almost always going to be faster than a shared hosting plan simply because your users don’t have to queue up with other sites’ visitors to access yours.

To illustrate the difference, imagine a carnival with different food vendors. If everyone had to stand in the same line to get to the vendors, the wait would be longer than if each food stand had its own line.

To put it simply, if your site is relatively small, a shared hosting plan will likely do perfectly fine. However, if your site is larger or is relied on for business and revenue growth, you’ll probably notice the difference.

VPS hosting offers more computing resources and processing power, which can boost the speed of most sites and, thus, increase conversions. Several VPS reviews emphasize performance and reliability when comparing DreamHost with our competitors.

2. Reliability and Stability

When we talk about the availability of a web host, we’re not checking its calendar or relationship status. Rather, we’re examining how often you can expect your website to be working properly. This includes any loading issues because of server or networking problems.

This directly correlates to the uptime of a server, or how often the server is up and running. Uptime is listed as a percentage, and, generally, anything 99.9% and above is considered excellent.

Uptime is important for any website because it determines whether your online presence will be available and open to visitors whenever they appear. This can be especially crucial for professional portfolios, business sites, and e-commerce stores.

Keep in mind that problems can arise with servers in both shared and VPS hosting plans. Much of this depends on the quality of the server hardware and software, as well as the provider’s expertise, support, and management practices.

However, with a VPS hosting plan, fewer customers exist on each server. Each partition can be configured and customized for a particular website or application’s requirements. This extra attention means each VPS is typically more secure and stable.

In a shared hosting environment, there are many websites that could potentially overload the server. A VPS resides in an independent hosting environment and, thus, there is no worry about whether other accounts can affect access to your site.

DreamHost is one of a select few providers that delivers a 100% uptime guarantee, meaning our data centers have a reliable, modern, and redundant infrastructure. In the rare case that your website experiences unexpected downtime, DreamHost will reimburse you the cost of a full day’s worth of hosting expenses.

3. Security

In a shared hosting environment, there is typically more risk for security breaches. Simply because there are more sites on a server, there are more opportunities for attackers to gain entry. Additionally, shared hosting customers are usually the least experienced with web hosting precautions, meaning that server vulnerabilities could be caused by your hosting neighbors.

When one customer sharing the server forgets to update WordPress or has a page that becomes compromised, it can impact other sites on the same machine. Just like performance and reliability, however, the risks can vary wildly depending on how much the hosting company has invested in the security of its servers.

DreamHost, for example, offers Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates on all domains it hosts. This means that data passed through each site is always safely encrypted.

Websites that deal with a lot of user data or payment information may benefit from choosing VPS hosting. This option offers robust security features that are usually managed by seasoned professionals, so you have less to worry about when it comes to securing sensitive information.

To understand this, consider what it would be like to purchase home security. Basic options come with a few sensors and signs that deter people from breaking in. More sophisticated options, however, include cameras and other monitoring devices that provide additional protection — this is more like a VPS hosting environment.

The world-class security engineering team at DreamHost, lovingly known internally as Nightmare Labs, helps keep websites running smoothly without breaches. By ensuring that your site has the latest patches and security upgrades, you can rest assured that your site is protected.

4. Price

In shared hosting, the cost is split among the many users of the shared server. For this reason, you can generally expect these plans to be more affordable. A VPS plan provides more resources and tends to be more reliable, so it often costs more.

Therefore, from the standpoint of pricing, shared hosting is usually going to be the most economical option overall. At DreamHost, shared hosting plans start at $2.59 per month and increase depending on the features and billing cycle you choose.

VPS hosting plans come with more premium features like increased performance and customizations for online businesses. The VPS hosting plans at DreamHost start at $10 per month, offering a range of varying storage and RAM allocations.

5. Managed Services

So far, we’ve talked about what constitutes shared servers and virtual private servers, but we’ve yet to talk about who manages them. It’s important to know that most of the time, shared servers are managed, which means that expert employees of the hosting provider will ensure the servers are updated and secured. Shared hosting technicians can also assist with tasks such as migrations, backups, monitoring, updates, and maintenance.

A VPS can be either managed or unmanaged, with the latter referring to a service where the company only assists with problems with its server or network. For example, the customer would be responsible for installing and maintaining software and configurations.

When selecting a VPS host, you can expect more features and support with a managed plan. To decide between a managed and unmanaged VPS, you’ll need to evaluate how much time you want to invest in maintaining the reliability and performance of your site, along with your technical ability to do so.

At DreamHost, we offer managed VPS, so you can be assured that you will get high-quality assistance from the 24/7 technical support team. This can help you easily diagnose and resolve unexpected performance and security issues on your website.

6. Scalability

Scalability is how well your hosting plan will accommodate the growth of your website. This is often the make-or-break feature when deciding between shared or VPS hosting. There are several aspects to scalability, including storage and server capabilities.

A shared hosting plan is well suited for low-to-medium traffic websites, particularly if the visits are spread out over the course of the month. As your site grows, or if its traffic tends to arrive in large bursts, a shared server may not be able to keep up with the increased workload. A VPS hosting plan will provide more guaranteed headroom with resources dedicated to your site, and your site alone.

Resources can often be adjusted to adapt to various traffic trends. For instance, e-commerce stores will likely need more bandwidth to handle the rush of shoppers on Black Friday. Therefore, if you expect to add a lot more content and traffic, a VPS hosting plan is typically a good investment.

Some website owners opt to go with an affordable shared hosting plan initially. This way, they can test an idea and then switch to a VPS plan later. If you anticipate rapid growth, however, you may want to consider starting out with a VPS host right away. When user demand starts to exceed server resources, there is no other option but to upgrade your plan.

7. Customizations

On a shared hosting plan, your server will be pre-configured and optimized for most users. If you’re a beginner, you may not want to modify your server environment at all. In this case, shared hosting may be right for you.

To optimize your website’s performance, you may want to have more control over your installed software. With a virtual private server, you generally have fewer restrictions as far as customizing and installing applications on the server. Unlike shared hosting, you’ll be able to set up new software and customize it to your needs.

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. With access to the server’s software and settings, you don’t want to inadvertently delete the wrong file or misconfigure a critical component. If you’re new to web development, you may want to start with a shared hosting plan until you learn the ins and outs of these skills.

How to Decide Between VPS and Shared Hosting

With shared hosting, you won’t have to worry about upgrades because most of them are done automatically. Since you won’t need to maintain your own server, no technical expertise is required.

Moreover, shared hosting can be a great choice if you have minimal traffic or are just looking for hosting that’s easy to maintain. This type of plan can be well-suited for:

• Blogs and personal websites
• Small to midsize companies
• E-commerce sites expecting up to 500 visitors per day
• People who are planning start-ups

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Choose Your Plan

Like shared hosting, VPS hosting offers a number of its own advantages. Since you’re in full control of your server, you can configure it in any way you please. This can be extremely useful for seasoned WordPress developers.

You’ll also enjoy a tremendous amount of bandwidth and storage that is entirely yours. VPS hosting provides easy backups and scalability, and you can run numerous batch files with your shell access.

Here are some common cases in which a virtual private server is probably appropriate:

• Businesses that are expanding rapidly beyond shared hosting
• Companies that expect a substantial increase in traffic in a short few months
• Businesses that plan to host numerous websites in the near future
• High-traffic websites in need of extraordinary bandwidth and security

In short, VPS hosting is great when your site is going through rapid growth and expansion as it can keep up with your success. Meanwhile, shared hosting is a terrific entry point into web hosting, allowing you to enjoy affordable hosting as your business develops.

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When to Upgrade from Shared Hosting to VPS Hosting

If you’re already using a shared hosting plan, you might wonder if it’s time to move on to VPS hosting. Fortunately, there are a few warning signs that can indicate your site is ready for this change.

It’s probably time to get serious about switching when:

• Your website receives a large number of daily visits
• You need additional resource allocation like RAM, CPU, disk space, or bandwidth
• Your website takes longer than 3 seconds to load
• You receive a lot of unexpected downtime

Whenever you notice any of these factors, it could be time to switch to a VPS. Shared hosting is ideal for smaller websites that need fewer resources, so you should upgrade if your site needs more.

Additionally, you’d be wise to consider scalability. If you plan to host multiple websites for your businesses, you can upgrade to a VPS to accommodate this development. In general, think about what your website currently needs, as well as what it will require for future growth.

Choose the Right Hosting Plan

Ultimately, choosing the wrong type of server can result in a lack of resources. This could be in the form of storage space, scalability, or affordability. However, you can easily avoid this by selecting the best hosting plan for your website.

You’ll want to make sure you evaluate your site’s current needs, as well as your plans for the future. Shared hosting can be a beginner-friendly and cost-effective option for smaller sites. Meanwhile, virtual private servers can provide better security, reliability, and customization options, which is ideal for larger sites with higher traffic.

Want to try VPS or shared hosting? At DreamHost, we offer a variety of both options. That means no matter your budget, required resources, or growth potential, you’ll be able to find a suitable plan for your site!

The post Shared vs VPS Hosting: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

Fortunately, choosing a hosting provider is easier when you know what you’re looking for. While there are pros and cons to both managed WordPress hosting and VPS hosting, they are suitable for different kinds of web users.

In this post, we’ll introduce you to VPS vs. managed WordPress hosting. Then, we’ll explore the main pros and cons of each type of hosting. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting is a package that includes the usual server space and resources for your website. You’ll also get access to additional site management services, such as security, migration tools, database maintenance, and optimization. Additionally, the hosting plan is designed specifically for WordPress websites.

For instance, at DreamHost, our managed WordPress hosting plans provide built-in caching for fast performance:

We also throw in a free migration service and a staging area so that you can test out changes before altering your live site. What’s more, you’ll get a pre-installed SSL certificate, daily backups, and 24/7 expert support.

Due to the inclusion of additional services, managed WordPress hosting is typically an excellent option for beginners. Alternatively, it can be a great choice for users who don’t want the responsibility of ongoing site maintenance.

Running a website can be demanding. Therefore, choosing a managed hosting solution can free up time for you to focus on creating content and growing your business.

Managed WordPress Hosting: Pros & Cons

The Pros of Managed WordPress Hosting

There are many advantages to choosing managed WordPress hosting over other solutions:

Simplicity

Managed hosting is one of the most stress-free ways to set up your website. You don’t have to worry about running updates or backing up your site, among other administrative tasks.

Security 

Since your website is in the hands of trusted professionals, if anything goes wrong, it’s often sorted out quickly. Plus, you can benefit from advanced security features like malware scanning and defense against cyber attacks.

Scale

Managed hosting providers have the resources to handle sharp traffic spikes as opposed to other setups like shared hosting. As a result, you don’t have to worry about your site going down during busy periods.

WordPress-Specific Perks

Many managed WordPress hosting providers provide extra features to benefit your WordPress site such as one-click installs, staging environments, and version control.

Performance

Managed WordPress hosting servers are often optimized for WordPress performance and fast loading times.

Support

Not only can you access quick help with server-related issues, but support teams have been trained to work with WordPress. Therefore, you can access expert advice related specifically to the CMS.

At DreamHost, we pride ourselves on top-notch support because we understand how frustrating it can be when things go wrong:

You can browse our knowledge base to find quick, convenient solutions. Alternatively, you can join a discussion forum to get tried-and-tested advice from real users. If you’re still stuck, you can log in to your panel and reach our tech support team, who are available 24/7.

The Cons of Managed WordPress Hosting

While there are many benefits to choosing managed hosting plans, it’s also important to be aware of the drawbacks:

Less Control

This can sometimes be a good thing if you don’t want accountability. However, if you’re an experienced user who can manage your server settings, you’re placing your site in control of others. Additionally, you might be unable to use some plugins if they’re incompatible with your host’s architecture.

Limited Use 

Typically, managed hosting providers only work with WordPress. Therefore, solutions don’t always account for other CMS platforms or development use cases. Plus, most plans only accommodate a limited number of websites, so paying for extra sites can quickly become expensive.

Cost

With all the additional services included in managed WordPress hosting, you might end up paying more than VPS hosting. However, prices are more competitive than ever due to the popularity of this hosting method. Plus, you’re essentially gaining access to a dedicated web team since many providers offer 24/7 support and handle everything for you.

Overall, if you use lots of third-party software for added functionality or you’d like the flexibility to configure your server, managed WordPress hosting might not be the best choice for you.

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An Introduction to VPS Hosting

With VPS hosting, your website will be hosted on a virtualized part of a server. It works similarly to shared hosting since you still share a physical server. However, your files and resources are separate from other websites on the server.

VPS eliminates the main drawback of shared hosting since downtime is less likely to occur from competing for resources. Instead, each website hosted on the server will be allocated a set amount of files.

For this reason, VPS hosting combines many of the best features of shared hosting and dedicated hosting. While the server doesn’t belong to you entirely, it’s a much cheaper alternative that comes close to a dedicated instance.

Typically, you’ll benefit from more control and flexibility with VPS hosting compared to managed hosting plans. Still, fully taking advantage of this solution can require some technical knowledge. Plus, it may also require more time and effort to maintain, and you’ll be solely responsible for managing your site.

VPS Hosting: Pros & Cons

The Pros of VPS Hosting

While it may not be the right choice for every user, there are many benefits to choosing VPS hosting for your website.

Control

You’ll be in the front seat of running and maintaining your site. This unlocks many possibilities, such as configuring your server to your exact specifications and installing third-party software.

Flexibility

Unlike managed WordPress hosting, you aren’t bound to WordPress. In fact, you can host any kind of application on any system you like.

Freedom

Rather than discussing what you can do with VPS hosting, it’s easier to talk about what you can’t do (and there isn’t much). You can pretty much achieve anything you want as long as you possess the technical knowledge to configure it.

Security

Managed WordPress hosting takes care of all your security needs. However, if you know what you’re doing, you can enjoy air-tight security with VPS hosting. There will be fewer sites on your server with solid separation, so the risk of cross-infection is significantly reduced.

As a result, VPS hosting is a versatile, flexible hosting option. It’s particularly well-suited to experienced users who can thoroughly enjoy the freedom that it provides.

The Cons of VPS Hosting

Before you get too excited about VPS hosting, it’s vital to consider the main pitfalls of this option:

Challenging for Beginners

VPS hosting generally isn’t a great fit for beginners. In fact, even experienced users might struggle with some of the tasks. For example, you’ll need to be able to administer a server, and build and manage the application you want to host.

Requires More Time

While you might be able to establish your website fairly quickly, certain tasks like website maintenance and security management can require significant time and effort.

Responsibility

Not all of your VPS options will be fully managed. Being solely responsible for your site with no experts to help you out can be daunting.

Cost

Renting a VPS can be expensive because providers can’t put as many customers on one server. However, prices differ drastically depending on the setup, bandwidth, and hardware options. While some managed hosting plans might seem pricey, bear in mind that you get access to a ton of additional services and expert support.

This is one of the reasons we offer managed VPS hosting:

Managed VPS hosting aims to address the main issues of unmanaged hosting. You can rent a VPS server while accessing many other useful services that make this a more manageable and beginner-friendly alternative.

Of course, you can still enjoy blazing performance by configuring your server resources. However, you can also benefit from one-click SSL installation, unlimited domains, and automatic software updates. As a result, you can combine the convenience of managed hosting packages with the freedom that VPS provides.

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Here’s how DreamHost’s VPS offering stands apart: 24/7 customer support, an intuitive panel, scalable RAM, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited hosting domains, and SSD storage.

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VPS vs. Managed WordPress Hosting

Here is a quick overview of the differences between VPS vs. managed WordPress hosting:

If you have the technical know-how and don’t mind spending more time and effort on your site, VPS hosting is an excellent choice. What’s more, you can enjoy complete control and flexibility over your site, which makes this setup great for creating custom solutions.

However, for beginners or businesses that don’t have extra time to invest in site management, managed hosting is the simpler option. Plus, you will benefit from additional services and expert support to troubleshoot issues quickly.

Choose the Right Hosting Solution for Your Website

It can be difficult to choose a web hosting solution. However, this process is easier when you know what to look for. While VPS hosting is a great option for users with technical skills, managed WordPress hosting is an excellent choice for beginners.

You can enjoy complete freedom, control, and flexibility with a VPS. However, it can be more demanding being solely responsible for your site. On the other hand, managed WordPress hosting takes care of all the technical aspects of running a website, freeing up time to invest in your business.

At DreamHost, we offer a range of solutions to suit all kinds of users, from managed WordPress hosting to managed VPS hosting. Whichever option you choose, you will enjoy 24/7 support, fast speeds, and unmetered bandwidth. Check out our plans to get started!

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This so-called “headless CMS” decouples the back end (content creation and management) and database from the front end and presentation layer. This means that the CMS can be used to power any type of front-end application, ultimately providing more flexibility and scalability.

In this post, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of a headless CMS. We’ll discuss its origin, benefits, what it solves, and common implementations. We’ll then wrap up with some speculation about its future. Let’s jump in!

What is a Headless CMS?

A headless CMS is a back-end CMS that enables you to easily manage and store your content without the need for a front-end website. This means that you can use any platform or device to access and edit your content without worrying about its presentation.

To fully understand what a headless CMS is, it helps first to understand its origin. So let’s take a look at the traditional CMS architecture and how it evolved.

How Headless CMS Is Different From Traditional CMS

Traditional CMSs, also known as “coupled” CMSs, first started in the early days of development. They’re represented by popular platforms such as WordPress and Drupal as a way to store and display various types of content, such as text and images.

With a traditional CMS, all of the elements are in one place, including HTML, CSS, text, images, etc. It uses web frameworks to organize website content and connect the front end with the back end.

Key Features of a Traditional CMS:

• In-house hosting and delivery
• Support for limited simultaneous devices
• Monolithic back-end system
• Scheduled updates

There are a handful of benefits of a traditional CMS. For example, it serves an entire site from a single system, making it easy to manage content. It also lets developers control the design of a site through templates and themes.

However, as web development advances and becomes more sophisticated, so does our need for scalable and flexible solutions. For instance, many developers want to create content that can be served on devices other than websites. That’s where headless CMS comes in.

A headless content management system is a type of decoupled CMS. Decoupled CMSs are back-end systems that store and manage content but don’t render it on the front-end site. This means that they can be used with any supported front-end system, whether it’s a traditional website, a mobile app, or even a voice assistant.

Key Features of a Headless CMS:

• Cloud hosting and delivery
• Limitless supported devices
• Microservice back-end system
• Continuous updates

The main difference between a headless CMS and a traditional CMS is that a headless one doesn’t have a built-in templating system for rendering content on the front end. This means that you need to use a separate front-end system to render the content from your headless CMS. Additionally, a headless architecture is often more scalable than a traditional one, as it can be used with multiple servers and devices.

How a Headless CMS Works

A headless CMS stores your content in a cloud-based database. This content can then be accessed through an Application Programming Interface (API), which can be used to render the content on any type of device or platform.

The content repository, known as the “body”, is decoupled from the “head”, also known as the presentation layer. This is why it’s referred to as headless CMS. The presentation layer is separated from the body (content).

A headless infrastructure creates a custom framework for organizing your content types and how they relate to each other. This includes breaking down individual elements. In other words, you won’t be using a preprogrammed model as you would be with a traditional CMS.

To use a headless CMS, you first need to create your content in the back-end system. This can be done using a variety of methods, such as a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor, markdown, or even directly via the API. Once your content is created, it is then stored in the cloud-based database.

It’s important to note that a headless CMS does not directly connect to the front end of the site. It only deals with the content. The content is then published through the API.

When you want to display this content on your website or app, you simply send a request to the API, which will return the content from the database. The front-end system will then render this content using a variety of methods such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The Benefits of Using a Headless CMS

Huge companies are using a headless CMS to manage their content. However, small businesses are also finding benefits in using a headless approach.

A headless CMS is perfect for businesses that want to create dynamic and responsive websites or for those who want to be able to easily update their content without having to rely on a web developer. It also gives you the freedom to choose any platform or device to access your content, making it very versatile.

There are many other benefits of using headless CMS solutions. Let’s take a look at some of them.

You Can Use Any Supported Front-End System

With a headless CMS, you’re not tied to a specific platform. Instead, your content is easily accessible through an API, making it easy to use with many types of devices or platforms.

Being served over APIs means that you can choose your front-end system. Developers can also work with PHP over JavaScript or Ruby (or vice versa). Switching frameworks on the front end won’t affect the CMS on the back end.

You Can Make Website or App Changes With Ease

Headless CMSs make it easy to make changes to your website or app. You can edit your content without paying attention to the code.

The content infrastructure eliminates the need for redundant copying and pasting since it unifies all of your  content in a single place. You can change images or text from this centralized hub, and the changes will automatically apply wherever it’s located.

Headless CMS can also help with team collaboration as it replaces the traditional waterfall development process with an agile framework. In addition, it can help you reuse your content and make it accessible on different platforms.

You Can Seamlessly Scale Your Website or App

A headless CMS is often more scalable than a traditional CMS, as it can be deployed to multiple servers and used across a number of devices. Therefore, it’s perfect for businesses that want to create dynamic and responsive websites.

Basically, a headless CMS offers you more flexibility. It allows you to change developer tools and work with your preferred ones.

When to Use a Headless CMS

While a headless CMS offers many benefits, it may not always be necessary to use them. Traditional CMSs can still be a very solid solution.

For example, if you’re creating a single website for yourself or your small business, a traditional CMS will likely suffice. You’ll be able to manage everything from one place and get your site up and running in no time.

On the other hand, if you have more complex needs, a headless CMS may be the better option. More specifically, it can be ideal if your website or application is using JavaScript frameworks such as Angular, VueJS, or React.

It’s also preferable if you plan on making a native mobile app and any project that requires you to publish content across multiple platforms simultaneously. A headless CMS is also useful for e-commerce sites.

If you’re thinking of using a headless CMS for your business, consider the following questions:

• Do you need a front-end website?
• Do you want to be able to update your content easily?
• Do you want the freedom to choose any platform or device to access your content?
• Are you comfortable working with code?
• Do you have the budget to hire a web developer?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, a headless CMS could be a solid solution.

How to Choose a Headless CMS

If you decide to use a headless CMS, there are some important factors to keep in mind. In most cases, you may have to spend some time testing the interface and API to find the platform that you’re most comfortable with.

When deciding on a headless CMS, you might want to consider the following questions:

• What type of content do you need to manage?
• How will this content be used?
• Who will be responsible for creating and managing the content?
• What budget do you have for a headless CMS?
• What level of technical expertise do you have?

You’ll also need to research the different headless CMS options available and read reviews from other users to see which one would be the best fit for your needs. Again, there are many options available, so taking the time to understand each platform’s use cases and features fully is important.

Many headless CMSs are available as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. Others let you handle the hosting, database, and servers on your end. For instance, you could use a DreamHost Virtual Private Server (VPS) environment.

Let’s look at some of the most popular headless CMS solutions.

Contentful

Contentful is an API-driven headless CMS:

It provides a centralized hub that lets users edit content from anywhere. It also features a user-friendly User Interface (UI) that is easy for beginners to navigate. As a result, this platform is best for small to medium-sized businesses.

Strapi

Strapi is popular open-source headless CMS that is self-hosted:

It works entirely with JavaScript and is highly customizable. This makes it a solid option for developers looking to enhance their workflow productivity. It also works with a RESTful API or GraphQL.

WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular, powerful, and flexible CMSs in the world:

While it started as a traditional CMS, you can use WordPress as a headless system because it’s open-source and offers a RESTful API. WordPress can also help heighten your site security since hackers won’t be able to access your back end.

The Future of the Headless CMS

The future of the headless CMS is looking very bright indeed. As more and more businesses discover the benefits of using a headless CMS, we can expect to see more headless CMS options becoming available over the next few years. We also anticipate seeing more features added to headless CMSs, such as support for multilingual websites and apps.

More businesses and marketers will likely recognize the benefits of using a headless CMS and want to take advantage of the opportunity to save money, improve productivity, and increase time to market. In an increasingly omnichannel world, it will be unsurprising to see using a headless CMS as an essential development strategy in an increasingly omnichannel world.

Get Started With Headless CMS Development

The right CMS can help you create and manage your digital content more effectively. However, more developers are moving away from the traditional CMSs in favor of headless CMS solutions.

As we discussed in this post, a headless CMS is a decoupled architecture that separates the content repository from the presentation layer of a website or application. It can be a powerful option if you’re looking for a highly flexible, scalable, and versatile environment for developing dynamic projects.

Do you want to switch to a scalable hosting solution for headless CMS? Check out our VPS hosting plans to learn more!

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Here’s how DreamHost’s VPS offering stands apart: 24/7 customer support, an intuitive panel, scalable RAM, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited hosting domains, and SSD storage.

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The post ELI5: What Is a Headless CMS & Why Use One? appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

Fortunately, both Virtual Private Server (VPS) and dedicated hosting can give you a customizable server separate from other websites. A VPS is a more affordable option and acts as a middle ground between shared and dedicated servers. Alternatively, dedicated hosting can provide more extensive resources to handle high web traffic.

In this post, we’ll explain the key differences between VPS and dedicated hosting. Then, we’ll show you how to choose the best hosting plan for your website. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to VPS Hosting

Before you start building and designing your website, you’ll want to consider signing up for web hosting. Essentially, this process involves purchasing space on a server to house your site. Due to the many types of hosting plans available, you might struggle to find the best option for your needs.

Many beginners start with shared hosting, which places your website on the same server as other sites. A shared hosting plan allows you to share resources with other users, making it the least expensive option:

One step up from shared hosting is a Virtual Private Server. Like shared plans, VPS hosting involves sharing a physical server. However, a provider will install a virtual hosting environment on top of the server’s Operating System (OS). This setup gives your website its own dedicated resources:

A VPS works by using a hypervisor to create virtual machines for each website on the server. Put simply, your site is on shared server space, but it has its own partitioned resources.

With VPS hosting, you can receive many of the same benefits as a dedicated server without the high costs. Since it is a middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting, a Virtual Private Server can be an effective option for growing websites. It can offer unlimited bandwidth, dedicated disk space, a personal OS, and scalable Random-Access Memory (RAM) for an affordable price.

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Here’s how DreamHost’s VPS offering stands apart: 24/7 customer support, an intuitive panel, scalable RAM, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited hosting domains, and SSD storage.

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An Introduction to Dedicated Hosting

You’ll receive an entire server dedicated to your website with dedicated hosting. This setup contrasts with VPS or shared hosting, where your website shares a server with other sites:

One of the main advantages of dedicated hosting is that you don’t have to share resources with another website. In addition, this setup can improve your loading speeds significantly.

Although it is an expensive option, dedicated hosting can give you complete control over your server. With a dedicated server, you can customize the software and physical hardware to meet your website’s needs.

The main downside of dedicated hosting is its high cost. Purchasing a dedicated server can be expensive, especially compared to shared and VPS hosting affordability. Plus, you’ll be responsible for the configuration and maintenance of your server.

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Our dedicated hosting plans are the ideal solution for high-traffic sites that require fast speeds and consistent uptime.

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VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting (4 Key Differences)

Now that you know the basics of VPS and dedicated hosting let’s dive into some of the main differences between the two options!

1. Security and Performance

Although VPS hosting involves sharing a server, it offers a higher level of security and performance than shared hosting. This is because a VPS gives your website a partitioned space on a server and a dedicated set of resources. This setup can avoid the performance and security issues of shared hosting.

A Virtual Private Server can provide faster page speed loading times and less downtime because it doesn’t rely on shared resources. Generally, VPS hosting is very secure, especially if you choose a managed hosting plan.

However, sharing server hardware introduces the risk of security breaches from other sites. Although this threat is minimal compared to shared hosting, it’s still more significant than if you used a dedicated server.

Dedicated hosting can offer many advantages when it comes to performance. A dedicated server is the best option for handling high web traffic and customer transactions because you’ll have personal use of CPU output, RAM, and bandwidth.

Plus, if another website faces a security breach, it won’t affect your site. Since you have isolated server hardware and software, you can implement your own security measures, such as firewalls, anti-malware systems, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection.

2. Customization

With dedicated hosting, you can customize your server to your specific needs. For example, you can choose your ideal server software and adjust your hardware configurations.

Furthermore, a dedicated server enables you to install a different OS. Therefore, it’s an excellent choice for web developers who need a fully-controlled server for their clients’ websites.

Although VPS-hosted websites aren’t as customizable as dedicated servers, they offer more flexibility than shared hosting. After purchasing a Virtual Private Server, you can access your server files and install any software you need to run your website. This advanced programming won’t be possible on a shared server.

3. Scalability

If you’re looking to grow your website, you’ll need to know whether your server can continue to provide adequate resources. With VPS hosting, you can do just that.

On a Virtual Private Server, you can increase CPU, storage space, and memory. This hosting can be a great option for medium-sized websites that want to expand their audience over time. Using VPS hosting, you can scale your server resources without upgrading your subscription.

For example, DreamHost VPS hosting plans come with different RAM availability. Although you’ll initially receive 1GB of RAM, we have additional plan options that can scale with your needs.

When you can’t scale your VPS anymore, it’s time to consider a dedicated server. Dedicated hosting comes with a significant resource allocation, so you likely won’t need to upgrade your plan. With a dedicated server, you can focus on reliably maintaining your web traffic rather than increasing your server capabilities.

However, it is also possible to move to a larger server or extend a dedicated server’s resources. When you configure your server, you’ll be able to choose the amount of RAM you’ll need to handle your web traffic. You can select one RAM size above your current needs, giving you room to grow.

4. Price

Often, the most meaningful difference between VPS and dedicated hosting is its price. The costs of web hosting can widely vary based on which plan you choose.

Similar to shared hosting, VPS plans are affordable options. With both of these choices, hosting providers can put more websites on the same server. As such, they can provide server space at a discount.

Although they are affordable, Virtual Private Servers will cost more than shared plans. For example, here at DreamHost, we offer shared web hosting for as little as $1.99 per month. Since VPS hosting is an upgrade, the lowest plans start at $10 per month.

Dedicated hosting includes an entire personal server, so the costs are much higher. Our DreamHost dedicated servers start at $149 per month. However, this plan can be an effective option for larger websites that need more performance, control, and versatility.

Even our lowest dedicated hosting tier comes with 4GB of RAM, DDoS protection, and a 100% uptime guarantee. With full root and shell access, you can easily start customizing your server to meet your needs.

If you need a middle ground between VPS and dedicated hosting, consider cloud hosting. This plan offers a network of virtual servers with scalable resources. Plus, you only pay for what you use.

How to Choose Between VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting

When using a shared server, larger websites can suffer more downtime and limited resources, meaning it’s time for an upgrade. If you’re unsure which advanced hosting plan would suit your needs, it’s best to consider your website’s size and traffic.

Why Choose Dedicated Hosting?

• You own a high-traffic website such as an e-commerce or business site.
• Your website has grown beyond VPS resource allocation.
• You are comfortable with configuring and maintaining your own server.

While dedicated hosting has its advantages, it is the most expensive hosting plan. You might only consider purchasing a dedicated server after using the scalable resources of a Virtual Private Server. Plus, you have to be prepared to handle the server configuration and maintenance required for a dedicated server.

Why Choose VPS Hosting?

• You have a small to medium business website.
• Your online traffic exceeds shared server visitor limits.
• You need an affordable middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting.

However, VPS hosting involves sharing server hardware with other websites. Furthermore, unlike a dedicated server, a VPS can leave you more vulnerable to security breaches.

Upgrade Your Hosting Plan

Ultimately, shared hosting might not have the performance, security, and storage you need to run a high-traffic website. By choosing a VPS or dedicated hosting plan, you can customize your server to meet the needs of an online store or business site.

To review, here are the four key differences that you should consider when choosing between VPS and dedicated hosting:

1. Security and performance: Dedicated hosting plans have the edge because they offer faster loading speeds and advanced security while handling high web traffic.
2. Customization: Although both VPS and dedicated hosting are flexible, you can customize a dedicated server’s hardware to meet your specific needs.
3. Scalability: If you’re looking to slowly grow your website with an affordable server, VPS hosting can be a better option.
4. Price: VPS hosting offers a much lower price point because it shares the same server hardware as other websites.

Whether you choose VPS or dedicated hosting, you can find a DreamHost plan to keep your website performing at its optimal level. Check out our plans for managed VPS and dedicated server hosting!

The post VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting (4 Key Differences) appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

Knowing your options for web hosting will help avoid half-baked results when it comes to setting up your website. Whether you are redesigning your site or putting it together for the first time, you’ll want to find the hosting plan with the greatest potential to make your site taste the best — erm, be successful.

One of the decisions you’ll have to make is choosing between shared hosting and virtual private server (VPS) hosting.

Neither one is inherently better than the other — it all depends on your website’s unique requirements. You may need super-tight security, lightning-fast speed, a low price point, or scalable resources, among other considerations.

By carefully considering the pros and cons of each option, however, you can have your cake and eat it too.

While both shared and VPS hosting can make your website a success, the differences between the two are significant enough to require some explanation.

With one option, you get an entire cake to yourself; with the other, you just get a slice. Before we go into what gives these two approaches their distinct flavor, let’s clarify what goes into each one.

Shared Hosting and VPS Hosting Basics

With shared hosting, your site shares one server with many other sites. It’s kind of like an apartment building: you get one unit in a larger structure. This option tends to be the cheapest because providers can serve many customers from one machine. Shared servers offer customers less bandwidth, management flexibility, and performance, but the hosts take care of all technical configurations, maintenance, and security.

A step up from shared servers is VPS hosting, which offers more room to grow and fewer restrictions. This version of online real estate is more like a digital condo — more space to call home where you can host your website or application on a virtual server allocated solely to you.

You’ll still share the physical server with a few others, but resources are partitioned off and dedicated to each user. Since you don’t have to compete for computing power, there is less worry about other websites using up too much bandwidth or storage and slowing down your site. These plans are typically more costly than shared hosting but still quite reasonable.

Potential customers should check out reviews to learn more about the shared and VPS hosting services we offer. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what that entails.

Difference No. 1: Performance

No matter how aesthetically pleasing or useful your website, the ability to access it quickly matters.

Web users expect sites to load within two seconds, according to a Kissmetrics study, and visitors may abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds — that’s not a lot of time to waste. The survey also found that 79 percent of online shoppers won’t return to a website if they experienced performance issues while using it.

Choosing the right hosting package is a serious business decision when you consider that mere milliseconds can determine whether people will do business with you.

A VPS hosting plan is almost always going to be faster than a shared hosting plan simply because your users don’t have to queue up with other sites’ visitors to access yours.

To illustrate the difference, imagine a carnival with different food vendors; if everyone had to stand in the same line to get to each different vendor, the line would take a lot longer than if each food stand had its own line.

VPS hosting offers more computing resources and processing power, which will boost the speed of most sites and, thus, make consumers more likely to convert. If your site is relatively small, a shared hosting plan will likely do perfectly fine. If your site is larger or is relied on for business and revenue growth, however, you’ll probably notice the difference. Several VPS reviews emphasize performance and reliability when comparing DreamHost with our competitors.

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Whether you choose shared hosting or VPS, we'll make sure your website is fast, secure, and always up so your visitors trust you.

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Difference No. 2: Reliability and Stability

When we talk about the availability of a web host, we’re not checking their calendar or their relationship status. Rather, we’re examining how often you can expect your website to be working properly and how often it may not load because of server or networking problems.

This directly correlates to the uptime of a server, or how often the server is up and running. Uptime is listed as a percentage, and, generally, anything 99.9 percent and above is considered excellent.

Uptime is important for any website because it determines whether your online presence will be available and open to visitors whenever they appear — especially crucial for professional portfolios, business sites, and e-commerce stores.

Problems can arise with servers in both shared and VPS hosting plans. Much of this depends on the quality of the server hardware and software, as well as a provider’s expertise, support, and management practices. However, you can generally expect fewer problems with a VPS plan because fewer customers exist on each server. Each partition can be configured and customized to the most effective settings for a particular website or application’s requirements, and the extra attention means each VPS is typically more secure and stable.

In a shared hosting environment, there are many websites that could potentially overload the server. A VPS resides in an independent hosting environment and, thus, there is no worry about whether other accounts can affect access to your site.

Think of a wall: if each brick is solid and secure, the wall is strong and fortified. If bricks are crumbling or missing, the entire structure is in peril. Shared hosting servers contain hundreds more bricks.

DreamHost is one of a select few providers that delivers a 100% uptime guarantee, meaning we spare no expense when outfitting data centers with supremely reliable, modern, and redundant infrastructure. In the rare case that your website experiences so much as an hour of unexpected downtime, DreamHost will reimburse you the cost of a full day’s worth of hosting expenses.

Difference No. 3: Security

In a shared hosting environment, there is typically more risk for security breaches simply because there are more sites — and more websites equals more opportunities for attackers. Additionally, shared hosting customers are usually the least experienced with web hosting precautions, meaning that server vulnerabilities could be caused by your hosting neighbors.

When one customer sharing the server forgets to update WordPress or becomes compromised, it can impact other sites on the same machine. Just like performance and reliability, however, the actual security risks can vary wildly depending on how much the hosting company has invested in the security of their servers.

DreamHost, for example, offers Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates on all domains it hosts, meaning that data passed through each site is always safely encrypted.

Websites that deal with a lot of user data or payment information may benefit from choosing VPS hosting. This option offers robust security features that are usually managed by seasoned professionals, so you have less to worry about when it comes to securing sensitive information.

You can think of the differences in security levels by considering what it would be like to purchase home security. Basic options come with a few sensors and signs that deter people from breaking in. More sophisticated options, however, include cameras and other monitoring devices that provide additional protection — this is more like a VPS hosting environment.

The world-class security engineering team at DreamHost, lovingly known internally as Nightmare Labs, helps keep websites running smoothly without breaches by ensuring that your site has the latest patches and security upgrades.

Difference No. 4: Price

You can generally expect to pay more for VPS hosting than for shared hosting simply because the cost of shared hosting is split among the many users of the shared server. VPS hosting provides more resources and tends to be more reliable, so it often costs more.

Ideally, you’ll find the sweet spot between what you are willing to pay and what features you absolutely must have.

From the standpoint of pricing, shared hosting is usually going to be the most economical option. At DreamHost, shared hosting plans range from a modest $2.59 to $13.99 per month depending on the features and billing cycle you choose.

VPS hosting plans come with more premium features like increased performance and customizations for online business. The VPS hosting plans at DreamHost start at $10 to $120 per month, offering a range of four options with varying storage and RAM allocations. Figure out your ideal price point and the features you need to determine the level of service your website requires.

Difference No. 5: Managed Services

So far, we’ve talked about what constitutes shared servers and virtual private servers, but we’ve yet to talk about who manages them. Most of the time, shared servers are managed, which means that expert employees of the hosting provider will ensure the servers are updated and secured. Using a relatively loose definition of managed services, shared hosting technicians assist with tasks such as migrations, backups, monitoring, updates, and maintenance.

A VPS can be either managed or unmanaged, with the latter referring to a service where the company only assists with problems with its server or network — the customer is responsible for installing and maintaining software installations and configurations, for example.

To be clear, however, managed shared servers and managed virtual servers are not created equal.

When you select a VPS host, you can expect to see more features and more support when you go with a managed plan. Whether you choose managed or unmanaged, VPS comes down to how much time you want to invest in maintaining the reliability and performance of your site, along with your technical ability to do so.

At DreamHost, we offer managed VPS, so you can be assured that you will get high-quality assistance from the 24/7 technical support team to diagnose and resolve performance and security issues.

Difference No. 6: Scalability

Scalability is the capacity for a hosting account to accommodate the growth of your website. This is often the make-or-break feature when deciding between shared or VPS hosting. There are several aspects to scalability, including storage and server capabilities.

If you have an average of 10,000 visitors per month, a shared host will be able to support that level of usage. As you expand and grow your website, however, a shared hosting plan may not be able to keep up. Although shared servers are limited in their ability to support an increased workload, VPS hosting plans have relatively unlimited potential in this area.

Resources can often be adjusted to adapt to various traffic trends — for instance, e-commerce stores will likely need more bandwidth to handle the rush of shoppers on Black Friday. If you expect to add a lot more content and traffic, a VPS hosting plan is typically a good investment.

Some website owners opt to go with an affordable shared hosting plan initially to test an idea and then will switch to a VPS plan later. If you anticipate rapid growth, however, you may want to consider starting out with a VPS host. When user demand starts to exceed server resources, there is no other option but to upgrade your plan.

Difference No. 7: Customizations

Sometimes you may want to have more control over the software you can install to optimize your website’s performance. With a virtual private server, you generally have fewer restrictions on what you can and can’t do as far as customizing and installing applications on the server. You won’t have the same clearance on a shared server.

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Although the potential for software configuration is unlimited, you don’t want to overdo it and accidentally destroy or delete files or programs. Make only the changes that are necessary for your site.

So Which Option is Best for You?

Remember the cake fail at the beginning of this article? Running out of icing resulted in a birthday cake that would make even Hagrid shout “Pinterest fail!”

Choosing the wrong type of server can result in a similar lack of resources.

This could be in the form of storage space if you have a large site, scalability if you want room to grow, or money saved if you need a cheaper hosting plan. Whatever your website and business require the most should be central to your decision-making process when considering either shared or VPS hosting as an ingredient for your recipe for hosting success.

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