The kind of web hosting you select is important for the website you wish to build. Learn about the various kinds of web hosting if you’re just starting off. You may then choose which one is perfect for your website. Take your time with this decision. Making the wrong decision when it comes to web hosting might have serious consequences for your website.
When we speak about different types of web hosting, we’re generally referring to how a hosting provider uses the storage space on a specific server. In this post, we’ll discuss what web hosting is and then break down the main types of web hosting that are available for website owners:
What is web hosting?
Web pages and the data associated with them are stored on servers, which are powerful pieces of technology. Your web host provides access to a server that houses every element of your website. Everything is included in this, including documents, text, pictures, and videos.
Servers, which are normally run and managed by various web hosting companies, are where servers are physically located. Your website can be accessed on the Internet thanks to the technology and server space provided by web hosts. This makes it possible for people to find your website and view your web pages online.
Now that we understand what hosting is, let’s get into the various hosting options. Below we will look at some of the various forms of web hosting options that are available:
Shared hosting
The most basic kind of web hosting is called shared hosting. For small or beginner websites, it is the most affordable choice. Websites using shared hosting will, as the name suggests, share server resources with other websites. Since the vast majority of websites don’t require their own entire server, this solution works well.
This is why shared hosting is still so affordable. The cost to the site host is reduced by splitting the resources. As a result, according to their particular hosting package, each website on the server will only be able to use a certain number of resources. Shared hosting is a great choice for beginners and smaller websites. It’s cost-effective and doesn’t require lots of technical knowledge to get started.
Dedicated hosting
The exact opposite of shared hosting is dedicated hosting. With this kind of plan, an entire server will be set up solely for your website. You won’t have to be concerned about other websites compromising your security, performance, or disk space.
Understandably, good things cost money. The cost of dedicated hosting plans can reach hundreds of rands per month in some cases. This can be unnecessary if you have a small website that won’t fully utilise the power of a dedicated server. Additionally, dedicated hosting services frequently demand that you administer your server on your own. It is therefore preferable to delay purchasing a dedicated hosting package until your website has sufficiently expanded to justify having its own server and you are confidently maintaining it. This hosting will be most useful for high-traffic, business websites.
Virtual private server (VPS) hosting
A Virtual Private Server (VPS) solution offers a good compromise if you’re worried about the limitations of shared hosting but don’t need a whole web server to yourself. Each website has a designated and virtually partitioned amount of space, even though you will still share your server with other websites.
This stops one or a few websites from using up all the resources on the shared server. Additionally, it can prevent a single user from straining your server or degrading the functionality of your website. Plans are considerably less expensive than dedicated hosting, but the server is still shared. Upgrading from shared to VPS hosting will help your server keep up with your users’ needs if you’ve had your site up and running for a while and have started to develop a loyal audience. But you’ll also be able to control costs.
A final thought on web hosting
What kind of hosting is ideal for your website? Everyone’s response to this question will be different. Your website’s type, the resources you require, your budget, and the volume of traffic all play a role in this. You can limit your alternatives once you know what you need. For a more detailed analysis of the pros and cons of the various hosting types, we recommend you read this blog post.
