When you create a website for your business, you’ll need to choose a Linux web hosting provider—be it a shared, dedicated, cloud, or virtual private server (VPS) hosting provider. This last type has become a very popular option, but many people are still not sure what a VPS hosting package actually provides them.
What A VPS Hosting Provider Should Give You
VPS hosting is a truly great “in-between” option for those who want more than shared hosting, but can’t afford a dedicated server.
Ultimately, VPS hosting provides you with more security, customization options, control, and resources for your website or application.
- Cost—Let’s get this one out of the way first since it’s usually the “elephant in the room.” VPS hosting is a happy medium when it comes to pricing. It isn’t going to be one of the “free” offers you will read about which gives you zero support and a bunch of hidden fees. It’s also slightly more expensive than the “starter” packages that you get with shared hosting. And it is not as expensive as dedicated hosting, where you have to pay a lot for your own personal server. If you’re running an online business, then this is an affordable option that won’t destroy your budget.
- Security—When it comes to a secure hosting service, VPS is a great option. With VPS, your website is separated on the server from all the other sites on that server. You will not share your operating system with any of these sites, so they don’t have the potential to access your files. Additionally, if one of the sites on a shared server is hacked, your website could be open to attack. A VPS eliminates this.
- Customization—When you’re on a shared server, you share everything including your operating system. But with a VPS, you have your own operating system along with root access. This means you can personally customize all of your OS apps including PHP, MySQL, Apache (also known as LAMP stack). Ultimately, you can configure your server to meet your individual needs instead of having to take the default setting for everyone else.
- Control—Sometimes, if you are installing updates or new resources such as applications, you have to restart the server for them to take effect. On a shared server, you can’t do this because it would take everyone else’s website down while the server reboots. With a VPS, you can reboot as needed without worrying about bothering your neighbors.
With a VPS hosting package, you also have an independent IP address, which gives you more control over how your site is ranked on search engines. Having your own IP also means that filtering software won’t inadvertently block you. (If you are on a shared server and have the same IP address as an adult-themed website or one that is tagged as having malware on it, your website could be blocked as well.)
- Resources—With a VPS, you do not have to share the resources of the server with other websites. For instance, on a shared server, there is a limited amount of memory (RAM) and hard-drive space. This translates into other areas such as shared bandwidth usage. If one website on your server sees a heavy increase in traffic, it can (at best) slow down your website and possibly (at worst) cause it to crash entirely. Dedicated resources equate to higher system uptime.
Our managed VPS hosting plans include cPanel and WebHost Manager (WHM) with free SSL certificates. cPanel is a solid control panel known for high performance and being easy to learn for those without much technical knowledge.
Choosing a VPS hosting provider is one of the best moves for a company that is growing beyond the constraints of a shared server, but isn’t ready to take the plunge and splurge on their own dedicated network server. Hosting companies such as InMotion Hosting can provide eCommerce and many other businesses with a reasonably priced plan that will help move your site along.