When it comes to choosing a plan or upgrading, there
are usually four options in the web hosting world
to choose from: Shared hosting, Reseller Hosting,
Virtual Private server, and dedicated server. If your
wondering "which one should I choose", then
this article may help you decide. First off, lets
get the definitions of these 4 straight.
Shared Hosting -- This usually refers
to buying a bit of space on a server. You are sharing
the server with tens, maybe even hundreds of other
people.
Reseller -- This is really for people who have multiple
domains or who want to host other people. Depending
on the size of you reseller package, you may be sharing
the server with lots of other people.
Virtual Private server -- This is
for people who need root access to the server to install
their own software. Basically a chunk of the server
is blocked off for each VPS user. There are usually
not that many people sharing a server with VPS plans.
Dedicated server -- This is where
you get the whole server to yourself and share it
with no one. This is for large or intensive CPU or
RAM sites.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is for small to medium sized sites.
Shared hosting is the cheapest of the four but has
many drawbacks. You are probably sharing the server
with many,many other people so performance may sometimes
be an issue. With shared hosting you risk more downtime
since if any of the accounts on the server you are
hosted on generates excessive CPU or RAM usage, it
will slow your sites down. If you own a large site
or a busy forum, you may want to think about upgrading
your hosting. Shared plans usually limit the number
or domains you can host per account.
Reseller
Resellers are for people who host multiple sites
or want to start their own hosting company. You are
sharing a server with several other people. Unlike
shared account, most reseller accounts come with a
generous number of domains hosted allotment or unlimited
number of domains. You and the people you host also
risk the chance of suffering performance setback if
any of the accounts on the server drains too much
CPU or RAM usage.
VPS
VPS(Virtual Private Server) is for those people who
need the control of a dedicated server but cannot
afford the price. In a VPS, you are guaranteed a certain
amount of CPU usage and RAM usage. While this may
be restrictive at times, it saves the risk of other
people on the server bogging your site down. VPS accounts
generally have full root access and can install their
own software. VPS acts as a dedicated server except
with less space, CPU, and RAM. You are usually sharing
a server with a few others on a VPS account.
Dedicated Server
A dedicated server is a server fully to yourself.
You do not share the server or resources with anyone
else. This is generally for high-intensive sites or
sites that have alot of visitors. With a dedicated
server you have full root access,can install your
own software, and can do pretty much whatever you
want with the server. Dedicated servers are generally
pretty costly in terms of price. This kind of hosting
is best suited for a busy portal or forum.
