It’s no secret that every business needs an online presence. Most often, that means having a website. That, in turn, means hosting the website.
You can find shared hosting plans for around $200 a year, but shared hosts may not provide the speed you need. Managed hosting costs more, and dedicated servers are even pricier.
Enter a new option for savvy business owners like yourself. The virtual private server could be the answer you’re looking for.
These seven quick facts will help you define VPS and see why it might be the right choice for your business.
1. Define VPS by Technology
Before we dive into the benefits of VPS hosting, let’s define what it is.
A virtual private server is a way of sharing a server between many accounts. Each account is served by its own operating system, disk space, and so on.
It’s like having a private server all to yourself. You’re still getting the benefits of shared hosting though. It’s a bit like having the best of both worlds.
2. Anyone Can Use VPS Hosting
The next question you probably have is, who uses VPS web hosting? The answer is anyone and everyone.
Many business owners can’t justify the high costs of a dedicated server. They may need the speed and service of one, though, especially as the business grows. With Google putting more emphasis on website speed, your business website has to keep up.
VPS is the perfect solution to this problem. It provides the speed of a dedicated server. Since you’re sharing the physical server, you can still take advantage of lower pricing. The costs of running the server are divided up between you and the others using it.
This fact makes VPS hosting an ideal solution for almost anyone. Whether you’re starting out or your business is growing, VPS could be the right fit.
You also don’t need to have the same skills and technological know-how you need with a dedicated server.
3. Control and Customization with VPS
Another great thing about VPS is the fact it provides more control over your server.
With shared hosting, you’re at the mercy of your web host. If they decide to run a particular operating system on the server, you’re stuck with that server.
VPS allows for a larger degree of control and customization. You’ll receive access to the root server. You can install custom software and more.
You can even bolster security beyond what your web host provides. This is great for businesses that provide specialized services through their website. It’s also an advantage for eCommerce business owners, who need to protect their customers.
4. VPS Is Scalable
One of the major problems with both shared and dedicated hosting is the issue of scalability. While it’s possible to scale either package, it’s sometimes very costly to do so.
In the case of dedicated servers, scaling could mean buying one or more servers. You then assume the extra costs.
Many shared hosting plans, by contrast, have limitations on bandwidth or traffic. If your traffic is growing rapidly, what was an affordable option might now be quite expensive.
VPS provides a balance of the two extremes. While a VPS hosting plan will cost you more to start, it also offers the unlimited traffic of a dedicated plan. You also aren’t going to assume all the costs of extra dedicated servers each time you need to expand.
Using VPS also minimizes downtime when you do need to upgrade.
5. Increased Security and Reliability
Other VPS benefits include better security and reliability when compared to shared hosting.
In a shared hosting situation, there’s truth to the saying that one bad apple can ruin the bushel. All it takes is one “bad” user on your server to compromise it.
Web hosts do their very best to protect their servers. Individual users aren't as reliable. A user who doesn’t invest in security can allow cybercriminals to hack websites or steal data from the server.
There’s also the issue of overcrowding on shared servers. The more users sharing a server, the slower the speed will be. The server has to divide up its resources to serve each user, which results in a slowdown.
Since the average user spends just seconds on your site, shared server slowdowns are bad news. Too much traffic on a server can even cause the server to go down.
With VPS, this isn’t a risk. Your server will serve up your website every time.
6. The Data Backups You Need
VPS hosting should include automatic data backups as part of any plan. You should always look for a service that will let you manually back up your information as well.
A virtual private server improves the security of your site as well. If your site does happen to be compromised, you or your provider can restore it from a backup.
Manually creating backups can also give you more peace of mind. If something happens to the physical server, you have another copy in another location.
7. Get the Same Great Service
One of the biggest benefits of VPS hosting is that you can access the same great customer service as you’d get with a shared plan.
This is great for people who may not be ready to take over the reins on a dedicated server. Running your own server often takes more technological know-how.
You can get unmanaged VPS services, which are usually a little less expensive. They require you to do more, though, since you’ll be handling the server on your own.
Managed services let your web host’s expert team handle the technological stuff. You can learn more about management options so you can be sure to pick the right plan.
Get Better Hosting for Your Website
Now you can define VPS, and you’ve reviewed some of the benefits. Virtual private servers might be the right choice for your business.
If you’re still looking for website hosting, check out our blog for more tips. We have plenty of informative articles covering every aspect of running a business website.
