What types of web hosting are there?

  • Shared Hosting
    Shared hosting is when a web hosting provider hosts a number of different websites on the same server. It is the most affordable form of hosting because you share the same server, so you split costs. If you are looking to start a blog or have a business that’s just starting up, then shared hosting is a good option.

In the past, sharing a server could lead to problems where a spike in traffic or resource usage from a single site would slow down its “neighbouring” websites. However, these days web hosting subscriptions come with a generous amount of resources that ensure good performance.

  • WordPress Hosting
    WordPress Hosting simply means hosting that has been optimised for WordPress on a server level to ensure smooth sailing.
    How is WordPress different from regular hosting? While details vary by provider, most WordPress hosting packages offer these common traits:

  • VPS Hosting
    VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. Like shared hosting, websites that run on VPS share a physical server with other websites. However, each VPS tenant has its own partition with guaranteed dedicated resources. There’s often more memory, storage and processing power available – with a price tag to match.
    VPS hosting is recommended for highly experienced users with server management skills. VPS customers have root access to their partition and can configure their server software, for example Ubuntu, CentOS or Windows Server. This provides a high level of customization to run web apps built for those systems.

  • Dedicated Hosting
    Dedicated hosting means you have the entire server to yourself. It gives you access like a VPS, but you don’t have to share the server with other sites or apps. Effectively, you are leasing a physical web server housed at your service provider’s facility. You also have professional support and expertise on hand when needed.

This top-end web hosting is only warranted for highly demanding enterprise-grade websites. Small and medium-sized businesses do not need to spend thousands each month to rent a dedicated web server for their business.