What is the difference between shared hosting and virtual private server? This is one of the questions that those who are about to activate a new web project are facing. Maybe you have to create a large website, and that’s where the doubts about what to buy start to grow.
Because it’s easy to choose hosting for a small site. You can settle for a basic plan, of good quality and easy to improve with an upgrade to deal with more or less manageable growths. The problem occurs with large projects.
Like, for example, an e-commerce or an online booking site for tourism. In these cases, in fact, the needs are different and more demanding. So it is legitimate to ask what is the difference between shared hosting and VPS. You can find the answer in this article, read on.
What is shared web hosting?
To understand the characteristics of the products and make a choice, you need to work on the basic definitions. Let’s start with web hosting: this term means that service that allows you to rent, for a minimum of one year, a space on a server that is shared with other projects.
To explain it with a similarity, shared hosting is like a condominium. Each client has his own well-defined, private space, but must live with other people. With all the advantages and disadvantages of the case. First, you can count on a reduced price and services that meet your needs if you buy quality shared hosting (always an important condition).
On the other hand, you have limited resources: you can’t move as you think. In a job of maximum personalization to manage site needs, peak visits and available space, web hosting can also have obvious limitations. For this there are the VPS.
What is a virtual private server?
What is the difference between shared hosting and virtual private server (VPS)? This last solution (acronym of virtual private server) is the right halfway between a space to be shared with other people and a dedicated machine. Which represents the ideal, the dream of every self- respecting webmaster.
But you can’t expect a private server if you don’t really need it: this is the most demanding combination in economic and technical terms. Not everyone is able to manage a dedicated server. The alternative is the VPS, that is to say the virtualization of resources: customize it by adding or removing CPU and RAM by clicking on a simple command.
The advantages of this reality: you have the resources you need when you really need them. Through the control panel you can set the machines and decide how much to dedicate at a given time of the year. For example in view of Black Friday or Christmas.
Or close to sending the newsletter with an interesting discount. The advantage of the VPS is that you can choose which and how many resources to give to your site, paying only what you need.
You can also limit the damage of any downs. Server plan services focus on VMware technology, H24 assistance and HA service. This means that in case of failures and malfunctions the contents are automatically moved to a working node.
Which one should you buy?
The universal answer does not exist. The shared web hosting is perfect for personal websites, corporate blogs also working on a number of visits but without great need.
The answer comes from a reflection: do you really need a system that allows you to be online even when traffic peaks are expected? The private server is for those who always have large volumes of visits or different sites to manage (for example a digital agency)
While web hosting is perfect for those who do not have to deal with large volumes of traffic. Even if the different offers cover needs ranging from the startup condition to the advanced one. To say, there are shared hosting perfect even for less demanding e-commerce.
What are the differences between Shared hosting and VPS?
Choosing a VPS means making the assignment of resources a very simple process, without having to intervene on the server or using the availability of components.
In shared hosting, you don’t have administrator access and you can’t use hosting as a server – for example by installing custom kernels. The difference is clear: with a VPS, you have a resource control similar to that of a dedicated server, but you don’t pay the cost of an exclusive machine.
