You should use a Virtual Private Server (VPS) if your website has outgrown the resources of your shared hosting provider.
Rather than competing for the shared server’s resources, VPS users are isolated from one another, and each can rely on constant bandwidth, storage space, and uptime.
More importantly, when a user’s website gets hacked, other users’ sites are not affected.
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Reasons to Use VPS Hosting for Your Online Business
Many online businesses use VPS hosting because it’s cheaper than a dedicated server but offers improved security and more privacy than a shared server. Last but not least, virtual private servers can run on more than one operating system.
Scalability and flexibility
Shared hosting may be suitable for the first year or two until your online business starts taking off. The good news is that VPS hosting allows you to start with a cheap plan and gradually upgrade it as your business grows.
Easy migration
VPS hosting providers are constantly competing to offer their clients more RAM, disk space, bandwidth, etc., at the lowest possible price. You can easily migrate to a new provider as soon as you spot a bargain.
More control
Shared hosting providers are fully responsible for the server’s maintenance and setup. VPS hosting lets you set up your virtual machine to match your site’s type and business model.
You can install your own software or use multiple OS on a virtual server. As you enjoy full root access, you’ll be able to make backups and fine-tune the cPanel as needed.
24/7 support
If you aren’t quite comfortable with technology, you can always request a managed VPS hosting plan and let the provider take care of server administration. As you build some confidence, you can switch to a cheaper unmanaged plan.
Guaranteed uptime
If you have used shared hosting before, you probably know that it struggles to cope with traffic surges. As a result, many sites on the shared server may become unreachable, causing their owners to lose money.
Although VPS web hosting lacks the traffic management capabilities of dedicated hosting, it still copes with traffic peaks much better than a shared machine. So, you can stop worrying about slow website loading and frequent downtimes.
Higher site ranking
Google automatically indexes fast-loading and responsive sites and downgrades those experiencing frequent technical issues.
Improved security
As mentioned above, each client of a VPS hosting provider enjoys 100% privacy and is shielded from security breaches caused by other users’ negligence.
That said, VPS-hosted sites are not 100% impervious to hackers and need an active firewall at all times.
Buy a managed [VPS hosting plan for on-time patching, system backups, and security updates. It will still be cheaper than hiring a sys admin to take care of your network’s security.
VPS hosting is versatile
VPS hosting plans are pretty versatile and cater to various needs. Virtual servers cope with high traffic and let you set up virtual testing grounds, aka sandboxes.
If you have developed a piece of native software, you can install it on your virtual private server using the cPanel.
VPS plans provide enough resources for live streaming. This makes them particularly attractive to vloggers and online teachers.
Affordability
Last but not least, VPS hosting providers offer all of the above benefits at very reasonable prices. A VPS plan includes the following components:
- CPU number
- Storage
- Bandwidth
- Memory.
When you compare cheap VPS hosting offers, pick up the one providing the largest amount of resources for your money.
Final Words
Affordable and reliable as VPS hosting is, it still has some limitations. Although separated from the virtual server’s other users, you still share its resources with them.
If you need greater autonomy and extreme performance, you may want to migrate to a dedicated server. The question becomes even more relevant if you have to use an OS or an app that does not support virtualization.