VPS, Website Hosting or Website Builder? Where to host a website for business?
Hosting a website is a crucial step in creating an online presence for your business. It involves some expenses. This article compares website hosting options, including VPS (Virtual Private Server), shared hosting, and website builders.
Terminology and Approximate Cost
A VPS, or Virtual Private Server, is a type of virtual dedicated server that provides greater control and flexibility compared to shared hosting. The cost of a VPS can vary depending on the provider, but basic configurations typically start at around USD 3–4 per month.
Shared hosting is a cost-effective option for hosting your website on the same server as other websites. However, it provides less control and customization options compared to VPS.The cost of shared hosting can start from USD 2–3 per month, while configurations comparable to VPS can cost from USD 5–6.
Website builders like Yola or Wix offer hosting services as part of their packages. The cost of hosting varies depending on the package and features selected. Free plans are available, but they come with limited features and often display ads. Paid plans start at USD 5 per month.
When choosing a web hosting or website builder, cost is just one factor to consider. It’s also important to think about reliability, customer support, functionality, and ease of use.
Which is better?
Website builders are an excellent solution for those who want to create a website quickly without any programming knowledge and maintain it in-house. They offer pre-designed templates and content creation tools, and you can try out their features for free. Constructors often provide you with a third-level domain name and the option to connect a third-party domain (sometimes with prepayment as part of the tariff).
Remember that maintaining site performance, updating software, and other administrative tasks are not visible to the user and are the responsibility of the site builder hosting. Popular website builders have excellent technical support and a lively community.
Website builders have limited functionality. While they may suffice for simple blogs or business card sites, more complex designs or additional features require writing or ordering code from programmers. Site builders can be limiting, preventing the use of certain designs or script integration.
Many website builders have restrictions on the number of pages or the size of downloadable files. They often charge their services by the number of sites, not by the number of databases or disk space occupied. Creating subdomains and redirects may be limited, and adding corporate email to your site may not be possible.
Additionally, relying on website builders can create a dependency on a specific service. If the company discontinues support for its product, your site may malfunction, and transferring it to shared or dedicated hosting may not always be possible.
Shared hosting is a great option for small websites or beginners who do not want to spend time and money managing their own server. However, if your site grows and requires more resources or you need full control over the server, it is better to consider a virtual or dedicated server.
Shared hosting has several advantages. It is easy to use and does not require special knowledge in programming or system administration. Most providers offer intuitive control panels, such as CPanel or Plesk, that allow you to manage your site without much difficulty. You can also configure domains, mail, software versions, certificates, and access the file system without resorting to the command line.
Shared hosting is typically less expensive than a dedicated server or VPS in terms of finances. This is because the cost of server maintenance is shared among all users. However, shared hosting often provides fewer resources, such as 7–8 GB of disk space instead of 30–40 GB on a VPS, and has limits on the number of hosted sites and databases.
Shared hosting providers offer technical support to solve site problems, not just hardware.
However, shared hosting has disadvantages. Server resources are shared between many users, which limits site performance. Additionally, shared hosting can be less secure because all sites are on the same server. If one site is attacked, it can affect other sites on the same server.
You do not have complete control over the server, which means you cannot install any additional software beyond what is specified by the host. This includes Linux packages and PHP versions, as well as server settings.
You can install web applications like MediaWiki or WordPress, and even deploy docker containers. However, deploying a documentation build system or connecting a DBMS that the host doesn’t have may not be possible. It is also unlikely that you will be able to modify system configuration files.
You may not always know the operating system of the server and may criticize a specific version or type.
Scalability can be a significant issue, as switching to a tariff with more features may not always be possible, usually only to a simpler one. Additionally, software updates may be impossible due to installed dependencies on the server.
Corporate email options vary depending on the shared host. Some shared hosts may provide the option of using corporate email, while others may require the use of Google or Yahoo mail. Shared hosts may also have restrictions on the number of mailboxes or the ability to configure connection settings to mail servers, which can reduce email security.
VPS is a common way to host websites. It provides high performance and data security as a virtual dedicated server. The cost of VPS depends on factors such as disk space, RAM, and processor capacity. Small and medium-sized businesses can deploy sites on popular CMS like WordPress or Joomla, and even online stores on engines like OpenCart or WooCommerce with minimal configurations.
VPS offers great flexibility in server configuration and management. Users can install any software, change configurations, and customize the system to their needs. If you need to upgrade the operating system and components to support a new version of your site’s CMS, it’s easy to do so. Adding new services is also a breeze.
VPSs provide increased security by isolating each server from the others. This means that even if one VPS is hacked, your website will remain protected. Unlike shared hosting, you can place your website, CRM, and online store on separate VPSs. However, you can also choose to host everything on one server, as there are no limitations on the number of sites or databases, only on server performance.
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VPS provides better performance than website builders and shared hosting because the server resources are fully dedicated to your website. This is particularly crucial for websites with high traffic volume or complex applications.
Server hosting providers typically offer guarantees of server availability and reliability, which reduces the risk of failure and downtime. In contrast, if one site in a shared hosting pool experiences failure or attacks, it can cause problems for all sites hosted on that server.
VPS is often less expensive than shared hosting with similar resources. Even the purchase of a control panel license (although you can install a free version) keeps VPS at the same price level. Additionally, VPS offers many more management and control options.
Creating and managing corporate mailboxes is unrestricted and can be done through various types of mailboxes. These features are available in almost all server control panels. All you need to do is install a panel and customize it to your needs through the graphical interface. The necessary dependencies, such as POP or SMTP servers, will be installed automatically. To secure your corporate email, set non-standard network ports and correctly specify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC parameters to avoid being marked as spam.
One of the main drawbacks of using a VPS is that it requires technical skills and experience with server management. If you are not familiar with server administration, you may need to seek the help of a specialist.
You must also monitor your VPS’s resource usage to avoid overloading. If your site becomes popular and requires more resources, consider upgrading to a more powerful virtual or dedicated server.
Technical support is important to keep in mind. While hosting providers offer support, it typically only covers server and network resources and not content. Any issues with the operating system or installed software will need to be resolved independently. Additionally, it is important to remember that backups are also the responsibility of the user.
What is the result?
If you are not an expert in HTML, PHP, CSS and other technical aspects of website development, you may be interested in using a website builder. However, it is important to remember that in the future, you may need to seek the assistance of professionals to customize templates, integrate with the builder’s API, or switch to shared hosting or your own server. Often, the cost of such services exceeds that of popular CMS and dedicated servers.
If your business is new and you require a basic yet efficient website, shared hosting may be the ideal solution. You can manage your website using the hosting control panel and customize your CMS by editing configuration files.
If your business is growing and you need to update your hosting software, add new services, and expand, shared hosting may not be the most cost-effective or functional option! Virtual and dedicated servers may be better suited for your needs. Consider using a dedicated server if you want your website to be a fully functional business tool, rather than just a business card! This is especially important if there is an opportunity to pre-order VPS servers with pre-installed CMS or E-commerce applications.
Summary table of Site Location options.
