How to choose the right type of hosting

Choosing the right type of hosting is not an easy task. Not only do you have hundreds of hosting companies to choose from but there are also different types of hosting to consider.

To help you avoid the overwhelm, we’ve put together this article that explains different types of hosting and offers tips that will help you decide which hosting is right for your website.

Six Web Hosting Types

There are six different types of web hosting to choose from. Let’s take a look at each one and cover the pros and cons of each.

Shared Hosting

With a shared hosting plan, your website will be hosted on a server alongside many other websites and share server resources including memory and disk space with those other websites.

Hostgator

Pros include:

Cons of shared hosting include:

Shared hosting is suitable for personal sites and small businesses that are just starting out.

Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Virtual private servers use one physical server that acts like multiple servers. The resources are shared between each instance, however, each instance has a dedicated portion of those resources.

GoDaddy

Advantages of VPS:

Disadvantages of VPS:

VPS is best-suited for websites that are growing in popularity and need better performance without the high cost of a dedicated server.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting uses multiple individual servers that work together as one large server.

Siteground

It has a couple of advantages:

As for disadvantages:

That said, cloud hosting is a great choice for website owners that want good performance even during high-traffic times without having to deal with technical details.

Dedicated Server Hosting

When you opt for a dedicated server, you are getting an entire physical server for your website, complete control, and the ability to install any application or script you want.

Bluehost

Pros include:

On the con side, dedicated server hosting:

This type of hosting is best suited for established businesses that need to implement their own security protocols, store large amounts of data or receive a large volume of daily visits.

Colocation Hosting

Colocation hosting is the most advanced type of hosting where you rent space from a data center of your choosing and provide your own server hardware. The hosting company then provides you with power, cooling, and security measures. Rackspace is an example of a colocation hosting provider.

Rackspace

The obvious advantage of colocation hosting is:

The disadvantages are:

Colocation is recommended for enterprise companies who need significant power and availability along with complete control over their infrastructure.

Managed Hosting

The last type of hosting is managed hosting, which means the hosting company will handle all the technical details that are related to software installation and updates as well as server maintenance. Managed hosting can refer to cloud, VPS, or dedicated hosting but it can also refer to managed WordPress hosting which is becoming more and more common.

ManageWP

The main advantage of managed hosting is:

The disadvantages are:

This type of hosting is best suited for website owners that have no desire nor time to deal with the technicalities of owning a website and want reliable performance and uptime.

How to Choose the Right Type of Hosting for Your Site

Here are a few things to consider before making the final choice.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right type of hosting is not a decision that should be rushed. After all, choosing the wrong type of hosting can cause security and performance risks that can negatively impact your brand. Use the tips above to understand which type of hosting would be best suited for your website and to help you make the right decision.

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Ana Amelio

Ana Amelio is a freelance web designer and writer that geeks out about anything WordPress, branding or social media marketing related. When she isn't busy running her design and copywriting business Ley Design, she can be found reading or practicing calligraphy.

1 Comment

  1. Alex

    This is a great article that provides a lot of detail on the different types of hosting services available. It is important to choose the right type of hosting for your website in order to ensure optimum performance. This article provides a lot of useful information on how to choose the right type of hosting for your needs.

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Over 65,000 WordPress professionals are already using ManageWP

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Over 65,000 WordPress professionals are already using ManageWP

Add as many websites as you want for free, no credit card required. Sign up and start saving time!



Have questions? Get in touch!