When you are creating a website for your business, apart from choosing the best web design that you can, one of the other matters you need to address is hosting your website when it goes live. This is often when a degree of confusion exists for the simple reason that there are multiple types of web hosting available. To give you a clearer understanding of the web hosting types available, we have outlined seven of the most popular below along with the pros and cons of each one.
Shared Hosting – An extremely popular option whereby your website is hosted on servers that also host other websites.
Pros
• Very affordable
• Easy to use
• Ideal for beginners
• Servers are pre-configured
Cons
• Limits of bandwidth
• Limits on website file storage space
• Traffic flow to other sites may impact your website’s performance
• Limits on program languages
Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS) – With this, you are sharing a server, but your website is hosted within its own partitioned area of that server.
Pros
• Dedicated space within the server
• Option to install any software you need
• Stable and reliable
• Website should not be impacted by traffic spikes to other sites
Cons
• Technical know-how needed to configure and manage server
• Software security is your responsibility
• Server performance is your responsibility
• Likely to have control and configuration limits
Dedicated Server Hosting – Your website is hosted on a server to which you have exclusive usage and rights.
Pros
• No constraints on configuration or customisation
• Full control over server access
• Optimal security and privacy
• Website performance will be stable
Cons
• Usually the most expensive option
• Technical know-how necessary for server management
• Regular server maintenance required
Cloud Hosting – A recent development where your website is hosted across multiple servers on data centres located across the world.
Pros
• Scalable and customisable
• Downtime is very low
• Usually priced on a pay-per-use basis
• Several additional services are available
Cons
• Few customisation options
• Knowledge of cloud software is necessary
• You are responsible in part for security
• High usage can be costly
Managed Hosting – A hybrid option that is sold as a service rather than a specific hosting plan whereby all your hosting needs are managed for you.
Pros
• Provides multiple hosting options
• All maintenance tasks are taken care of
• Removes the need for any technical knowledge
• Website performance can be optimised
Cons
• An expensive option
• No direct control over your website
• Lots of different package offerings can be confusing
• Reliance on service limits website flexibility
WordPress Hosting – As the name suggests, this is hosting for websites that have been created using WordPress’s CMS.
Pros
• Optimal performance for WordPress websites
• Access to additional WordPress functionality
• Regular security patches and malware scans
• Usually inexpensive
Cons
• Not suitable for websites built using other CMS and site builders
• Not as flexible as other options
• Resources are shared with other websites
Reseller Hosting – Suitable for those who wish to generate income from selling hosting services to other businesses.
Pros
• Can set whatever price you wish for clients
• Creates passive and recurring income
• Options to add other services
• Ability to expand as your business grows
Cons
• Responsibility for billing clients is yours
• Payment collection service is required
• You are responsible for support and customer service
• Sales and marketing are necessary to generate clients