There are many types of hosting providers, these offer different technologies and their prices can differ greatly. For example, we can find very cheap shared hosting providers (from $1.50 per month) and dedicated hosting providers that cost hundreds or even thousands of $ per month.

Nowadays, opening a website is doable to anyone. Content managers like WordPress make things very easy for the initiated. Here a good hosting is a crucial component for a website. Therefore, you have to choose well what type of server to use. Either Linux or Windows server, it has to adapt to the needs of the project and your budget. Therefore, we have decided to take a look at the main types of hosting providers that exist in the market.

Table of Contents

1. Shared Hosting

This is usually the most basic and economic service, it seems to share a flat. The hosting provider will host several projects under the same roof (server) and each will have limited portion of the total server resources.

Following the example of the shared flat, this can work very well when the roommates are adequate and compatible with each other. But if, for example, one of the neighborhoods brings many guests and is partying with a lot of people, it can make the rest of the people living and the guests that they bring feel uncomfortable. There will be no place to sit, you will not be able to talk due to noise, the bathroom will always be busy and it will be very hot.

In technical terms, this means having a slow gateway (poor loading speed) or even poor server availability (much downtime) when the server collapses due to excessive visits (guests). That is why it is important to choose good shared hosting that controls periodically the hosted website activities.

Advantages of shared hosting are:

The most economical.
Easy to set up and maintain.
Disadvantages of shared hosting
A problem with one of the hosted projects may affect the rest.
Less flexibility

By sharing resources, the speed and availability (uptime) of your project can be affected.

Most websites can be hosted at one of these hosting providers. However, keep in mind that there are shared hosting providers better than others. For example, HostingRaja offers shared and business class hosting services. They do not to share the server with many other projects. They are also being careful about what type of websites it accepts.

2. VPS Hosting / Virtual Private Server

The idea is to divide a server into several separate virtual entities. This way, independent virtual spaces are created with their own operating system in which to host the projects. Each client will enjoy assigned resources and will have greater access to the server, being able to configure it to their needs.

It is comparable to a block of flats, where there are common elements (eg. the television antenna) but each floor has its own space and complete autonomy when organizing and decorating it.

Advantages of virtual hosting are:

Greater flexibility and access.
Problems with a project do not affect the rest.
Economic alternative to dedicated hosting.

Disadvantages of virtual hosting

You need to have some technical skills to manage a server
More expensive than shared hosting.

They are usually more difficult to configure than shared hosting.

This type of service is suitable for projects with greater resource needs and especially for those that need specific server configurations but cannot afford to buy a dedicated server.

3. Dedicated Hosting

It is an exclusive hosting service for a project, server resources are not shared with other projects. It also offers full access to server hardware and software.

It’s like living in your own house. If you are going well with money and need a lot of space to accommodate your friends and family when they come to visit, the most logical thing is that you live in your own home. This way, you have a better pool and garden!

Advantages of dedicated hosting are:

Greater flexibility and access.
Greater resources
Greater security.

Disadvantages of dedicated hosting

It can be quite expensive.
More Complicated to configure and maintain.

This type of hosting is indicated for large projects that need to have an entire server to host your project. It is possible to organize several dedicated servers and connect them to each other in order to have the full advantages of dedicated hosting server.

4. Cloud Hosting

Your project will not be hosted on a single server, but is distributed on several interconnected servers in the cloud. By being present in more than one server, if one fails the rest would compensate for that loss of resources. This cloud computing service also adapts to the needs in real time. For example, if one day there is a punctual peak of traffic it is possible to increase the bandwidth in order to serve it.

Advantages of cloud hosting are:

More efficient than dedicated hosting, resources are adapted to the needs of the project.
Theoretically, it has better server availability (uptime).

Final Thoughts

If you are thinking of launching a web project, the most normal thing is that you start with a shared hosting provider; you are always on time to hire superior services afterwards. Of course, keep in mind that not all providers offer the same services and the same quality.

Make sure that the availability of the server you hire and its loading speed are satisfactory. You can find detailed analysis and tests for some of the most popular shared hosting providers at HostingRaja.