Getting Started: VPS Hosting vs. Shared Hosting
In this article, we will discuss the primary differences between hosting on a VPS solution as opposed to a Shared solution.
Let’s first start by defining what each one is…
VPS
A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a “slice” of a dedicated server; you are given a specific amount of resources (Memory, CPU, Hard Drive, Etc.) that you and you alone can use.
Shared Servers
A shared server is a large, very powerful dedicated server that is shared by a number of people. The amount of customers on each server can vary, based on a number of factors, such as how busy a server already is, its hardware specifications and other variables. Each user has access to the raw resources on the dedicated server.
Why Shared Hosting?
Shared Hosting has a lower price point because everyone is sharing a pool of resources. Because of this, it is normally a very good place to start your hosting venture. It offers enough power for you to host a reasonably active website without spending a lot of money on resources you don’t need yet.
Why a VPS?
With access to dedicated resources, you will not need to worry about problems that can sometimes happen on a shared hosting service. You have more control over your hosting environment, which allows you the flexibility to run your website(s) however you want to.
With a VPS, it’s very easy to upgrade or downgrade your account. This gives you an extremely scalable solution based on your needs. If your website is getting ready for a busy period, you can get access to more resources, and when it slows down again, you can downgrade and save some money!
What is the best option for me?
Choosing which service is best for you is easy! You can contact us 24×7, and we’ll guide you on what type of service you need. Generally, if you are just starting a new website, shared hosting should work just fine. As your site(s) become more popular, and is visited by hundreds, if not thousands of people, a VPS is recommended. Our support team will also let you know when it’s time to upgrade.
Is there anything I should be aware of when moving to a VPS?
Apart from being able to scale your resources up and down at will? Yes, it’s important to understand how a VPS will perform. While you will have greater flexibility with a VPS, and dedicated resources, depending on the VPS plan you select, the sum of those resources will not equal those of a big powerful dedicated server that we use for our shared hosting customers. That means if you’re on a VPS plan that provides you the minimum amount of resources your website needs to run, you may not see an increase in website load speeds or overall performance. That’s okay though, because our VPS plans can be upgraded or downgraded at any time! If you need an increase in performance, our support team can seamlessly upgrade you to a VPS plan that provides more resources.
Mark Allen December 1, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Re VPS, how does it differ from a partitioned HDD on a (personal) Windows 7 PC?
Mark Allen December 1, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Sorry, second question got clipped.
I’m designing a site for a brick and mortar site that will do perhaps 20% of its gross over the Internet. On the off-chance that it takes off, will I be capable with my limited knowledge base on a shared hosting service to bump up to a (managed) VPS without loosing a formidable amount of said new traffic in the transition time.
The fear of every vain entrepreneur is that they will lose new customers in a growth spurt that they would still have if they had only planned ahead.
Thanks for reading.
James Davey December 2, 2013 at 9:00 am
Hi Mark,
I hope your day is going well. I’ll address both of your questions here, rather than in separate responses, if you don’t mind.
On your local system, a partitioned HDD still splits resources like CPU and RAM. The disk space is split, but very little else is. Granted, if you have partitioned your drive to dual-boot your system – running both Linux and Windows, for example – one OS is not running while the other is, making this sharing of resources moot. If you are only running Windows, however, with a partitioned drive, the CPU and RAM is still being used between the two partitions, with no divide.
On a VPS, all resources are set aside for you. You have a limit of RAM, HDD space, etc. No other VPS on the same node can access these resources, even if they need to – they are dedicated to you, and you alone.
When it comes to upgrading from a shared environment to a VPS, we can actually do that for you. There is no need for you to move the files and data over, or anything like that. Our Migrations team takes care of all of that, and any changes to DNS – IP addresses, nameservers, etc… – are either completed by us or, if we are not able to, given to you with clear instructions. During such a move, your shared account is left active, to minimise downtime as much as possible. Your site remaining accessible is as important to us as it is to you.
JudyGandy July 31, 2014 at 2:17 am
I was searching the internet for information about VPS hosting. I find your article very interesting. Well written, well aligned, it was very simple to understand too. Keep sharing more like this. Thank you.
Baba Vanga July 13, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Hey everyone, thanks for sharing the benefits for SEO of VPS hosting vs the shared one. Yes I have experience with VPS hosting – I switched from the general shared hosting of my provider. So results were encouraging – within 40 days, my site ranked higher for a couple of my main keywords. Also I noticed a significant decrease in my bounce rates and an increase in my page views – so yeah I also confirm that if you want to take your site to the next level – SEO wise, switch to at least VPS hosting.
Anyways, thanks again for sharing !
Cheers