Many people I know who start off with blogs or websites on a small scale, start with Shared Hosting. However, once the growth is picking pace, it might be a good time to change to a hosting package that will scale up to meet that growth as well. Why? Primarily, because they’d need more control over their hosting. Before we jump directly to the signs that you should move, let’s understand what is a VPS.
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS hosting is a virtual server with its own OS and server resources. A VPS or a Virtual Private Server is a web hosting solution offered by many hosting providers. It includes physical servers that are virtually assigned to a user where a part of the server has its own allocated resources like disk space, bandwidth and more. Usually, providers set up a VPS so their clients can use it like a Dedicated Server which allows full customization at a cheaper price.
Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting
The main difference between VPS and Shared Hosting lies in how the server resources are allocated or shared. Both VPS and Shared Hosting could be using powerful hardware, but the extent to which each user gets to use that hardware is where the difference lies. In shared hosting, resources like bandwidth and disk space are mutually shared. The image below explains the anatomy of both.
Image credit: Gouri Web Media
In VPS hosting, a machine is divided into several virtual compartments where your website may be hosted on the same virtual system with independent server resources allocated only to you.
Other websites won’t affect the performance of yours as the resources aren’t shared. You also get complete root access to your server with benefits of a Dedicated Server at a much lesser cost.
VPS, however may require a bit of technical understanding but it also gives you more power than basic shared hosting allowing you to scale up when you need.
3 Signs that show you need to move to VPS Hosting
When is the right time to switch? Most websites launch on a shared hosting plan because it’s the easiest option for starters. It’s cheap and requires very little technical knowledge. However, as your site grows a VPS hosting becomes a necessity at some point.
Here are a few indicators that tell you it’s time to make the switch:
- If your website traffic increases
Let’s assume you have a high amount of incoming on-page traffic. Sometimes, you might receive a notification from your hosting provider if you are consuming too many resources from your shared hosting package. This is your first indicator that you need to upgrade your hosting plan to a VPS. If your provider doesn’t alert you, ensure you monitor your load times and visitor traffic periodically to judge.
- If security becomes a primary concern for your business and clients
You need to ensure a constant flow of resources for better website reliability and no downtime. If your clients demand that you implement backups or advanced monitoring features for their website with superior security features like SSH (secure shell access), it’s a clear indicator for a VPS upgrade.
- If you want more control and server root access
While your shared hosting package does the job, you might reach a point where you require complete control over your web host to perform superior control demanding actions, such as installing custom software or server configuration. In this case, you might need better control over your clients as well and a VPS could be the best solution for you!
Conclusion
By now, you should be able to assess if you need VPS hosting or not. People often confuse the need for VPS hosting with that of a Dedicated Server. The question here is do you need an entire server to yourself or would just the benefits of one be sufficient? The image below explains the difference :
VPS is considerably cheaper than a dedicated server and still lets you enjoy the same benefits in terms of customization and root access. In VPS, you pay for resources you need once your Shared Hosting package isn’t enough. This is primarily for you to scale when you think is the right time. VPS would usually come with 24×7 support so all your technical difficulties can be addressed any time.
If you’re looking to explore providers for VPS, I recommend checking out ResellerClub which was set up primarily to cater to Web Professionals and hosts.