Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting: What Is It, Who Should Use It And More!
This article discusses Virtual Private Server hosting; what it is, who needs it and the pros and cons of using VPS hosting.
As your website grows and you experience higher volumes of traffic, your site needs may change.
To provide for this, a hosting package upgrade may be a good option. Shared hosting may not be able to keep up with your traffic volumes, amount of content or your security and functionality needs.
The next best option in our opinion is VPS hosting, so let’s take a closer look at what it is.
What Is VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server Definition
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server; to understand this fully, let us break it up into the three parts that make up VPS.
Let’s begin with the virtual aspect.
Virtual technologies allow physical server resources to be divided and act as multiple online servers. What this means in simple terms is that, one physical server that a company owns can be used to function as multiple online servers for others to use to host their websites.
Next let’s take a look at the private part of VPS.
By subscribing to a private server you don’t have to share any resources with any other users. Your bandwidth, RAM, storage etc. is set aside for your use only.
Finally let’s discuss servers.
A server is just a computer which stores all files and data related to your website. These computers are extremely powerful and their function is to pull up all the files and data related to your website when a user types your address or domain name in their search browser.
Who Needs VPS Hosting?
There are 7 factors to think about when deciding on which hosting package you need.
If you are experiencing issues surrounding the following 7 factors, we suggest you should seriously think about moving to VPS hosting.
Let’s see what the 7 factors are:
1. Budget
When deciding which type of hosting is right for you, we think your budget concerns come first. VPS hosting allows you to maximise your spend by increasing bandwidth, RAM, security and storage whilst still benefiting from a shared cost set up. This allows you to scale your website in a cost effective way. Now that we’ve introduced scale, let’s look at website traffic.
2. Traffic
A slow website is one you thing you want to avoid at all costs. VPS hosting, with their reserved resources, allows you to enjoy increasing volumes of traffic without issues surrounding speed.
3. Speed
As your website gains traction and more traffic flows in, you will no doubt increase the amount of content on your site. With an increase in content, you may begin to notice that your website slowing down.
Upgrading to VPS hosting will avoid slowing load times and allow you more freedom to upload useful content. As your speed is upgraded and traffic is increasing, you may begin to need an increase in security, so let’s have a look at how VPS hosting aids the security of your website.
4. Security
Top notch security features can be expected from VPS hosting. The advanced monitoring capabilities will be well worth the upgrade, not to mention the website reliability and backup space as well as securing your online payments.
5. Online stores
A few years ago, the major credit card brands were looking to protect online credit card data. These brands came together and the PCI(Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) was born. To host online payments on your website, you will need to pass the PCI compliance test. A VPS hosting upgrade will ensure that you pass the PCI compliance test.
6. Custom software
Many websites use WordPress and the simple plugins on offer through them, however if you need specialised software or advanced coding, VPS hosting will effectively service these advanced tools.
VPS also allows you to better operate with integrative programs. If your website requires constant server availability to manage billing or book keeping, an upgrade to VPS hosting will better service these integrative programs
7. Server errors
If working online is your bread and butter, then service errors need to be avoided. “50x errors”, “internal server errors” and “service unavailable” errors have to be avoided for your business’ long term sustainability. VPS hosting will reduce the risk of your potential customers experiencing any one of these errors and you won’t have to waste time troubleshooting downtime issues.
VPS Hosting
Pros and Cons
Now that you understand what VPS hosting is and who needs it, let’s have a look at some of the pros and cons to better decide if this hosting is for you.
Pros
- Less expensive than Dedicated hosting
- Because of the high level of customization, you only pay for those features you need
- Hosting plans are easily scalable depending on what you need
- You can choose between semi or fully managed services in terms of maintenance
- More control of your virtual server than shared hosting
Cons
- Significantly more expensive than shared hosting
- Some web hosts over sell their server space and therefore there may be down the line problems during peak times
Should You Use A VPS?
So you’ve read all about how VPS works, you know who needs it and the benefits and drawbacks; you also got all the way to the end of this article.
You are probably wondering what our final take away will be, well here it is.
If improving the scalability of your website, the security, speed and integrating complex features is what you need, then VPS hosting is for you.
Shared hosting may be cheaper, yet the functionality is only beneficial for websites with low traffic volumes and those that don’t need lots of customizing.
Being the middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting; you’re really going to get your moneys’ worth when subscribing to a good VPS hosting service.
About the Author Devon Ramages
Devon is our resident online business and social media guru. With a background in digital marketing, Devon has worked in a consulting capacity helping small business scale their reach and engagement online. When not consulting or writing about online business, Devon can be found surfing in his hometown, Cape Town, South Africa.