Before you begin your comparison journey, you have to decide what type of web hosting will fit your needs as a webmaster. Your basic choices are shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting.
If you are just starting out online and you don’t have a lot of websites, then you may want to begin comparing cheap shared hosting plans. If you want more freedom over your hosting account, then you may want to choose a more powerful VPS hosting plan instead. Finally, if you’re extremely serious about being successful online and you want the best of the best, then you should be comparing dedicated hosting plans.
The web hosting industry is extremely competitive, with almost 25 thousand web hosting providers competing for your business at any given point in time. To grab your attention, many of them will offer extremely low prices, while some will simply add more features and benefits to the plans. While price comparisons are generally simple to conduct in other industries, in web hosting, it can be quite confusing, considering all of the plan features that must be compared as well. Many people also fail to realize the differences in payment structure, as well as other pricing factors, such as fees and startup costs.
Web hosting pricing has become very confusing over the last several years, with many web hosting companies changing the way they advertise their plan pricing. It can be discouraging after purchasing a web hosting plan, only to find out that the monthly cost is much higher than was expected.
Many web hosting companies are using deceptive marketing tactics to attract new customers without actually lowering the price. It is important to know the various aspects of web hosting pricing before comparing plans. When comparing plans it is best to consider the cost of all the features and the number of features offered.
In the web hosting industry, pricing is not always what it seems, especially for the novice webmaster. Make sure you investigate the true cost of prospective hosting plans before making any commitments.
Unexpected or hidden fees is another pricing factor to consider when purchasing a hosting plan. The first fee to look for is the setup fee. Many hosting plans charge around $50 for a setup fee when you first purchase the plan. In some cases, the hosting company may offer a rebate on this setup fee; however, you should know that you will receive the money at a later date, and you will still need to pay the fee when purchasing the plan.
Web servers are critical elements of the internet, as every website needs one in order to function. Essentially, web servers are computers that are responsible for transmitting data from a website to the site visitor’s computer. Without a web server, your web site could not exist, because there would not be anywhere to store the data and send it to a visitor’s computer.
There is a variety of web servers available on the market, with each one designed to accommodate a different range of client needs. If you want your site to perform optimally, then you will need a capable web server. Make sure you become familiar with web servers and their uses before you proceed with your online endeavors.
Most major web hosting providers have their own private data centers, in which all of their web servers are stored. Datacenters are specially designed to accommodate the environmental needs of a web server. The temperature, humidity, dust content, lighting, cleanliness, and security of the data center is meticulously upheld by on-site staff that is responsible for keeping all of the web servers in perfect condition.
VPS web hosting is one of the most popular kinds of hosting available, most likely because it offers a perfect balance between affordability and professional functionality. VPS is an abbreviation for Virtual Private Server, which describes the web server configuration.
Web servers are powerful computers that serve information to web pages so that they can be accessed by visitors around the world. When a visitor views one of your web pages they are actually downloading content directly from your web server. A virtual private server is simply a section of a web server that is devoted solely to your website.
Many people confuse shared hosting with VPS hosting because both types involve splitting a server into partitions for use amongst multiple hosting plans. However, unlike shared web hosting, VPS hosting does not place any restrictions or limitations on the kinds of software that can be used on the web server partition.
VPS hosting is perfect for small to medium sized businesses that need the functionality of a dedicated server without the additional cost or server maintenance responsibilities. If you have been using a shared hosting plan and you’re noticing decreased site performance and site downtime, then you may need to upgrade to a VPS hosting plan.
VPS hosting is perfect for people that need complete control over their server’s software configuration and control panel. With a shared hosting plan, you are forced to use the software configuration mandated by the hosting company. In contrast, VPS is comparable to having a private web server, except without the exuberant setup and maintenance costs.
VPS hosting is perfect for websites that are expanding and are in need of something more powerful than a shared hosting plan. Most webmasters begin by using a shared web hosting plan due to its affordability and simplicity. However, after a few months, sites begin to receive daily traffic, and eventually the server burden is too much for a single shared hosting account. VPS hosting is the most flexible hosting type in the world, with a massive variety of plans currently on offer.
The main benefit of VPS hosting is the expandability of the hosting plans. Instead of being confined to a particular set of server resources, you can expand your plan at any time in most cases. If you are not sure how many server resources you need to keep your sites operating optimally, then you may want to consider a powerful VPS plan or a cloud VPS hosting plan.
VPS web hosting is surprisingly affordable in most cases, with prices starting just above the cost of shared web hosting. This affordability and expandability make VPS web hosting perfect for novice webmasters and professionals alike. Upgrading a VPS hosting plan is extremely simple, especially if you choose to stay with the same hosting provider.
As the name implies, a dedicated server is a private web server that is dedicated to a single person or company. Unlike shared or VPS hosting plans, the web server that is servicing your websites is not being used by anyone else.
Dedicated web servers are the envy of the web hosting industry, being the most powerful solution available for small to medium size online business owners. Many webmasters decide to purchase the cheapest web hosting plan available rather than shop around for the most suitable solution for their web site. Unfortunately, doing this will almost always result in an unnecessary upgrade later on, often at a time that is very inopportune for both the site owner and the site visitors.
Dedicated web hosting is the most powerful hosting type currently available to the public, other than cloud hosting which is generally a corporate solution. Dedicated hosting accounts are capable of hosting hundreds of websites simultaneously without the need for additional features or services. If you are planning on building an online empire then you will definitely need a dedicated server.
With a dedicated server, you never have to worry about slow-loading pages, site downtime, or unnecessary limitations caused by a shared hosting environment.
If you own a large business or dozens of successful websites, then you may want to consider upgrading to a dedicated hosting plan eventually. This is especially true if you are experiencing site downtime or other performance issues with your current hosting plans.
If you are just getting involved in web hosting, using a dedicated hosting plan as your first web hosting experience is not recommended. Instead, you may want to start with a shared or VPS hosting plan, both of which are suitable solutions for small to medium-sized businesses.