Do you need a better hosting solution than shared hosting? Then this article will interest you.
There are other types of web hosting solutions that offer more disk space, more bandwidth, higher performance and more server control compared to shared hosting:
- Dedicated hosting
- Cloud hosting
- Virtual private servers
All of the three web hosting plans have a different purpose and gives far better performance than shared hosting. Whether it is about the performance or resources, these solutions are better for all of them.
Further, it also gives you better control over your server. Shared hosting has a very limited amount of features available and the performance is also low. One of these alternatives is good to pick if you are looking for something better.
We are going to see an in-depth review of all of the three web hosting services. Moreover, we will also see the advantages and the disadvantage in comparison with shared hosting.
The article is about the following things:
- Which are the best alternatives to shared hosting for you to pick between the three web hosting solutions given above?
- Their advantages and disadvantages.
- Further, we will also see some examples or solutions to these web hosting.
Alternative # 1 – Dedicated hosting
Presentation
Dedicated hosting is the best hosting among all the hosting solutions available. Here, you will get an entire server by yourself. Dedicated hosting gives you a large amount of storage (Most probably SSD), RAM, CPU, etc. Here, you own the entire server.
You will get plenty of physical memory, CPU, and other resources because the entire server is only used by you. You can add as many websites as you want over here or you can even host one single website. It is totally up to you.
As there are no other websites on the server, you will get blazing fast website speed. When you go with the shared hosting, there are certain limits on the programming languages too. In simpler words, you will not be able to host software that is written in a particular language. That’s where a dedicated server or dedicated hosting is useful. Here, you can use any kind of language.
There are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind over here. As you fully own the server, it is your responsibility to maintain the server and the security. The basic amount of security is surely provided by the web hosting company but you need to keep an eye on the codes.
However, if you do not want to manage all these things, you can go with managed dedicated hosting. This is where the web hosting company will manage everything for you. In other words, you don’t require much technical knowledge if you choose to go with managed hosting.
Advantages & Disadvantages
The advantages of dedicated web hosting top-quality performance and full control over the server and offer a lot more in terms of resources such as CPU, Ram, more disk pace, and more Bandwidth.
The disadvantages are that dedicated hosting can be very expensive, it’s one of the highest offers there is in the web hosting industry. On top of that, you’ll need to be very technical and experienced in handling servers on your own. It’s a meticulous task that requires some expertise in this area, otherwise, a lot can go wrong during the setup and maintenance of your server.
Some dedicated hosting offers to handle these tasks for you, however, we always advise that you have some knowledge on the subject as well.
Example of a dedicated hosting solution
Alternatives # 2 – Cloud Hosting
Presentation
Cloud hosting is very similar to shared hosting. Shared hosting has one server from which it takes all the resources. In simpler words, all the websites are hosted on the same server.
Cloud hosting is a little bit different. It uses a group of servers to take the resources. The group of servers is known as the cloud. As your website (hosted on cloud hosting) is pulling all the resources from multiple servers, you will get a better speed and performance.
All the servers are used at once. The hosting software combines the resources of all the servers for optimal performance. Just in case, one of the servers fails or crashes, the hosting software will start fetching the data from the other servers. This is the main reason why you will not face downtime in cloud hosting.
Further, if you want to scale up your hosting. You can do it easily. As there are already these many servers connected, it is easy to increase the resources. Therefore, if you will soon need to scale up your hosting or you are looking for the hosting which is fast and scalable, Cloud hosting will be one of the best alternatives to shared hosting packages.
Also, along with this, the security of cloud hosting is awesome. As there is not one server, it becomes harder to hack. In this way, your website will be safe from unwanted access.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Easy scalability: Cloud hosting is one of the best alternatives to shared hosting in terms of scalability. You can easily scale up cloud hosting.
Less Downtime: There is not one but multiple sever whose resource you are using. So, just in case, one server goes down, the other server will be used to retrieve the data.
Better pricing: No doubt, it is expensive than the shared hosting but compared to the number of resources you are getting, the price is affordable. Some of the high levels of cloud hosting might even cost you more than the VPS hosting. It depends on the web hosting company you choose to go with.
There are more options available for you in the cloud. However, there are certain restrictions you will get as if you make some changes on your website, it might also affect other websites which are hosted in the same cloud hosting.
This is why you are not allowed to do all the configurations. Also, you will get certain restrictions just like you are getting in your shared hosting.
It is still a better option as the performance is amazing. Your website will load at full speed and will not face downtime.
Example of a cloud hosting solution
Alternative # 3 – VPS hosting
Presentation
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. VPS hosting is perfect for someone who is looking for alternatives to shared hosting but doesn’t want to go with dedicated hosting. It comes somewhere between both of these web solutions.
In shared hosting, there are all the websites hosted in the same server which share the resources of the server as needed.
In VPS, there is a virtualization software installed in the server which divides the server into various parts (known as buckets). Your website is hosted in one of these buckets. In simpler words, a server is divided into various parts and when you register for VPS, you get one of these parts.
This is beneficial as it prevents other websites from using your resources. This gives you the best performance. The VPS hosting uses the best server which is generally made up of SSD storage, Advanced caching options, CDNs, Ngnix servers, HTTP/2 and LightSpeed servers which will speed up the website. Further, security is also far better compared to shared hosting.
As there are different buckets created in the server, each of the buckets acts as a standalone server. As a result, you will also get the root access when you go with the VPS hosting. Just like the dedicated hosting, you will get two options here. You can either go with the managed VPS or you can go with the unmanaged one. Overall, the performance of the VPS is great.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Even though it looks the same but there are a lot of differences in both the hosting. The main advantage of choosing VPS as one of the alternatives to shared hosting is performance and security. VPS gives far better performance. You will get your own bucket. This is why other people’s website does not affect your performance.
In the same way, if you talk about the disadvantage, it is about management. If you choose to go with unmanaged VPS, it can require a lot of work from your side.
VPS is like having a part of a dedicated server. You will get the root access and also the speed is high. It is like a lite version of the dedicated server. The benefits are almost the same the price is a lot more affordable than the dedicated hosting.
Therefore, it is recommended for the people who want to upgrade to dedicated hosting but don’t want to spend more money. There are very fewer disadvantages over here. However, you will have your own limits which you will need to maintain.
Example of VPS hosting solution
Conclusion
The conclusion is pretty simple over here. If you want the best kind of hosting solutions, you can go with the dedicated hosting.
However, if you are tight on budget or you simply don’t want to handle all the technical features, Cloud and VPS can be a great choice for you to start with.
