The online revolution has almost made it mandatory for businesses of all sizes to have a website these days. But for a website to exist on the internet, you first need to host it on the net. When it comes to hosting, there are different types of hosting packages that are on offer, namely shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server hosting. If you have just started of your business operations, shared hosting might be the right hosting option for you. But, in case the traffic on your website is high, then shared hosting does not offer you the resources required for smooth operations. That is where VPS hosting comes into the picture.
VPS or virtual private server hosting offers more features, security, and benefits, and hence is more suited for websites that expect higher traffic.
The decision to start a website is a simple one, but many people get confused when it comes to selecting a hosting solution (read plan) for their website. Selecting the right hosting solution for your website is a crucial decision to make which can have a far-reaching effect on your business. Another equally vital decision that businesses have to make is to pick up the best service provider for their website. You need a hosting service provider to host a website on the internet, and you should get the best in the business if you want your website to function smoothly.
Let us try to understand what is VPS hosting and what is it that you should look for in a VPS service provider.
What is VPS hosting?
VPS hosting is a powerful hosting option, and here every website is hosted on a virtual private server. In VPS hosting the physical machine is divided into several compartments. Each compartment has a separate server software which allows every unit to function independently. One of the reasons why VPS hosting is considered as the best form of hosting is that it hosts only your website in the compartment earmarked for you. Though there are other websites present on the same physical server, still it does not affect the performance of your website. In simple terms, you get the system resources according to the plan you choose and the amount you pay.
In VPS hosting your website is housed in a separate compartment where you have all the resources so that you can survive on your own. As in case of a dedicated server, in VPS hosting also you get complete root access to your server. But since the physical machine remains the same, you have to share the bandwidth, RAM, and CPU.
VPS hosting offers you roughly the same benefits as that in case of a dedicated server but at a much cheaper rate.
The difference between shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and VPS hosting
When it comes to shared hosting, it is like living in an apartment where you have to share all the amenities of the building with other inhabitants. Common resources of the building like swimming pool, club, fitness centre, lift, etc. are shared by all the residents living in the apartment. When anyone residing in the building overuses the resources, others living in the apartment get affected in some way or the other. Likewise, in shared hosting, your website is hosted on a server that houses other users who have to share the same resources and facilities. In shared hosting resources like CPU, disk space, and RAM are shared with other websites. And, in case some website gets too much traffic then it can adversely affect the performance of your website.
Dedicated sharing is like living in an independent house where everything is at your disposal. You don’t have to share your resources with anybody. In dedicated hosting, you are virtually the owner of the server. Everything is at your command, and you don’t have the tension of sharing your resources with others in the vicinity. But dedicated hosting is a costly option, and you need it only if your resource requirements are too high.
VPS hosting is the middle path – you get the resources of dedicated hosting and the affordability of shared hosting. In case of VPS hosting, you don’t have to worry about sharing of resources. Only you can use the resources that have been allocated to your website; hence your website performance will not get affected by what others are doing around you. If your resource requirements are high, but you don’t want to pay too high a cost, then VPS hosting is the perfect hosting option for your website.
So, if you have opted for shared hosting, when should you shift to VPS hosting?
You should think of upgrading to VPS hosting as and when the traffic of your website increase. When website traffic increases, it becomes difficult for shared hosting to offer the resources for the smooth functioning of your website. When you find that shared hosting is unable to take the load, you should plan to upgrade your hosting option. If you notice that the load speed of your website has taken a hit and the downtime has increased, you don’t need any further proof – it is time to upgrade to VPS hosting.
Another indication of upgrading to a new hosting plan is when your service provider reminds you every month that you have exhausted your resources for the month. Your website will also face a problem in shared hosting if the website traffic of some other website increases. You should also be using VPS hosting for smooth functioning if your website uses a lot of rich multimedia content.
Things to look for in a VPS hosting service provider
Once you make up your mind that you have to shift to VPS hosting, you need to ensure that you hire an experienced and reliable VPS hosting service provider.
So, what is that you need to look for in a VPS hosting service provider?
Here are things that you should look for in a VPS hosting service provider:
Always hire an experienced and reliable service provider – Adequate experience and reliability are the two main factors that you need to consider upfront. Make sure that the service provider you hire has hands-on experience in the VPS hosting vertical. A reputed and reliable VPS service provider will have a robust infrastructure, which is must for the smooth functioning of your website (read business). Also, when you hire a reliable service provider, you can rest assured that they will have a technically qualified team of experts. And, this comes in handy for the smooth functioning of your website.
Look at the server configuration your service provider is ready to offer – Server configuration is an important yardstick for the smooth functioning of your website. Hence, it is vital for you to know upfront what you will get. Find out the amount of disk space, RAM, and the capacity of the processor your service provider is ready to offer. It is also vital for you to know about the quality of the machine your VPS service provider is using. You should ensure that you hire a service provider who uses a high-quality infrastructure. Your service provider should also assure you of high speed and a minimum of downtime.
Find out about the kind of customer support the service provider is ready to offer – It is vital for you to find out the kind of customer support the service provider is ready to offer. Your business operations can get affected if you don’t get the right kind of customer support from your service provider because problems don’t announce and come. The service provider needs to offer you round the clock customer support.
Price on offer is another important consideration – Companies both big and small are sensitive to the issue of pricing. The first thing you need to do is find out the going rate for VPS hosting. A bit of research is all that it will take to find out the prevailing rates for VPS hosting. Make sure that the service provider you are planning to hire offers you competitive pricing. You should look for a service provider who offers competitive rates and has a transparent pricing policy. The kind of resources you take from the service provider would, in general, determine the amount you have to pay to the hosting provider.
Find out about scalability and redundancy – You should look for a service provider who is ready to provide a scalable solution. When you grow as an organisation, your service provider should be in a position to upgrade your requirements. Reputed, experienced, and reliable service provider should have the resources to tackle the issue of a sudden rise in traffic.
Redundancy is another important consideration. It is the ability of the service provider to have a backup resource at the datacentre. Your service provider should have a UPS/ generator in place to counter the electricity problem as and when it arises. Also, your service provider should be in a position to offer alternative arrangement in case there is an interruption in the ISP services. Your service provider should also have standby servers so that you run your business operations smoothly in case there is a problem in their main server.
Find out whether they offer a user-friendly control panel or not – If you want your business operations and administration to be smooth, you should ensure that you get a user-friendly control panel. You should ensure that you get complete access to the features so that you can improve the performance of your website. Unfriendly control panels can unnecessarily complicate things for you and your website.
If you are planning to migrate to VPS hosting or in case you are starting your business operations where you know your traffic would be on the higher side, then you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech for VPS hosting. We have adequate experience in the hosting industry, and we know what it takes to host your website successfully.
vStacks Infotech offers round the clock customer support to all its customers. We have powerful datacentres, and we also offer a user-friendly interface to our customers. We can create, host, and look after your website so that you can concentrate on the growth of your business.
