Shared vs VPS Hosting: A Comprehensive Guide

Whether you are redesigning your site or integrating it for the first time, you will want to find the hosting plan that has the most potential to make your page successful. You have to choose between shared private server (VPS) hosting and virtual private server hosting.

Neither one is inherently better than the other. It all depends on the unique requirements of the website. It may require very strict security, very high speed, low cost or scalable resources. However, after carefully weighing the pros and cons of each option, you can have your cake and not eat it.

In this post, we’ll discuss what VPS and shared hosting are and the main differences between them. Then we’ll show you how to make the right choice for your site. Let’s get started!

What is shared hosting?

When co-hosted, your site uses the same physical server as many other sites. It’s like an apartment building. You will have one unit in a larger structure. Although you each have an individual living space, you may share common resources, such as courtyards, gardens or pools, with your neighbors.

But there’s no reason to worry. Users who use the server can’t see what other users have on the server. With a shared hosting plan, you just need to share some of your physical resources with others.

This option is usually the cheapest because the provider can serve many clients on one computer. Shared servers provide customers with less bandwidth, management flexibility and performance, while hosts do all the technical setup, maintenance and security.

What is VPS hosting?

A step forward in shared servers is virtual private server (VPS) hosting. It provides more room for expansion and fewer limitations. This version of online real estate is similar to living in a condominium. Although the physical server is shared with other users, resources are separated and allocated to each user.

When you have a condominium, you can make changes to your living area, such as taking down walls. Similarly, you can use a virtual private server to modify the server at will. The level of customization is between a shared plan and a dedicated server.

As mentioned earlier, the server space is shared, but users have their own resources. Since you don’t have to compete for processing power, other websites use too much bandwidth or memory and are less likely to slow down your site.

We recommend that you use VPS hosting if your website handles secure data or resource-intensive applications. These plans usually cost more than shared hosting, but they’re still quite reasonable.

7 Key Differences Between VPS and Shared Hosting

If you’re building a website for the first time, it can be difficult to choose the right hosting option. Let’s look at some key differences that can help you choose VPS and shared hosting. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, so let’s take a closer look at what exactly they entail.

Introducing

As a website owner, it’s important to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing website. However, if the web page is not optimized for fast loading, these factors may not be an issue.

47% of online visitors expect a Web page to load within two seconds. That is, if the website buffers for longer, these users may not be satisfied and quickly leave the page.

If you run an e-commerce site, you already know how important customer retention is. If visitors experience unsatisfactory load speeds, 79% are less likely to return to the website.

At the end of the day, that’s not a lot of time to waste. Choosing the right hosting package is a serious business decision, given the number of milliseconds people can spend deciding whether to do business with you.

VPS hosting plans are almost always faster than shared hosting plans because users don’t have to wait for visitors from other sites.

To illustrate the difference, imagine a carnival with other food vendors. If everyone had to stand in the same line to approach the vendors, the wait would be longer than if each food stand had its own line.

Simply put, if your site is relatively small, your shared hosting plan will be just fine. However, if your site is larger or designed to increase business and revenue, you may notice a difference.

VPS hosting can speed up most sites by providing more computing resources and processing power to increase conversions. There are several VPS reviews that emphasize performance and reliability when comparing DreamHost to competitors.

Reliability and stability

When you talk about web hosting availability, you’re not checking calendar or relationship status. Instead, I examine how often websites are working properly. This includes loading problems due to server or network issues.

This is directly related to server uptime or how often the server is running. Uptime is expressed as a percentage and is usually considered excellent if it exceeds 99.9%.

Uptime is important for all Web sites because it determines whether a user’s online status is available and open to visitors whenever the online status is displayed. This can be especially important for professional portfolios, business sites and e-commerce stores.

The problem can occur on servers with shared and VPS hosting plans. Much of this depends on the quality of the server hardware and software, as well as the vendor’s experience, support and management practices.

However, using a VPS hosting plan reduces the number of clients present on each server. Each partition can be configured and customized to meet the requirements of a particular website or application. This added caveat means that each VPS tends to be safer and more stable.

In a shared hosting environment, there are many websites that can potentially overload the server. A VPS is in an independent hosting environment, so you don’t have to worry about whether other accounts might affect access to the site.

DreamHost is one of the few carefully selected providers that offers a 100% uptime guarantee. This means that the data center has a reliable and up-to-date backup infrastructure. In the rare event that your website unexpectedly goes down, DreamHost reimburses you for your daily hosting costs.

Security.

Shared hosting environments tend to have a higher risk of security breaches. Because there are more sites on the server, attackers have more opportunities to break in. In addition, shared hosting customers tend to have the least experience with web hosting precautions, which means that server vulnerabilities can be caused by hosting neighbors.

If a shared server client forgets to update WordPress or a page is corrupted, other sites on the same computer could be affected. However, as with performance and reliability, the risks can vary greatly depending on how much the hosting company invests in server security.

For example, DreamHost provides encrypted SSL/TLS certificates for all the domains it hosts. That is, the data that passes through each site is always securely encrypted.

Websites that deal with a lot of user data or payment information can benefit from choosing VPS hosting. This option provides powerful security features that are usually managed by experienced professionals, so you don’t have to worry about protecting sensitive information.

To understand this, you should think about what it’s like to buy a home security system. Basic options come with a few sensors and alarms that prevent intruders from entering. However, more sophisticated options include cameras and other monitoring devices that provide additional protection. This is closer to a VPS hosting environment.

DreamHost’s world-class security engineering team, popularly known as Nightmare Labs, helps websites run smoothly, without hacking. Make sure your site has the latest security patches and updates so you can be sure your site is protected.