Every website owner needs a service to host your website files so that he can publish his website on the Internet, and VPS is one of the hosting solutions used that is widely talked about and recommended. You may have heard the term (VPS) before, which some website owners recommend, and then asked: What is a VPS? How does it work? What are its advantages? What is the benefit of relying on it to build my own website? And other questions that come to your mind.
Therefore, if you are looking for a comprehensive explanation of VPS, this article we have dedicated to you, to know the difference between VPS and popular shared hosting and when VPS is suitable for you according to your site’s needs.
What is a VPS?
Most small website owners prefer to start by purchasing the cheapest possible web hosting , in order to save money in the beginning, and many people neglect to keep the site at the maximum levels of security, speed, and performance. Indeed, sometimes modest hosting of the type (shared hosting) may suffice, but it remains a weak and incorrect option for those who want more efficiency and security options, as well as for those who want to obtain a greater degree of privacy for their entire site data.
VPS is an abbreviation for virtual private server, which means virtual private server. When you purchase a VPS from any of the hosting companies, a virtual server is allocated that acts as your own server. You can control it as you wish, where you can install the operating system you want, and you can also install the security programs you prefer and customize it completely as if it were a server. Customized for you.
To simplify the concept of VPS hosting and know the difference between shared hosting and shared hosting, let us assume that you went to a hotel, chose a room on one of the hotel floors, and shared the resources of this floor with the rest of the other rooms. In this case, you are like the owner of shared hosting, who shares The company’s main server resources along with many other small website owners.
But if you choose a residential suite in the hotel that has all its own resources and they are yours and not shared by anyone else, then in this case you are like the owner of a VPS hosting who has a lot of resources that are not shared by anyone else and are allocated to him only by the hosting service provider. Thus you have more control over your hosting plan resources.
VPS hosting is a good option for owners of medium-sized websites, which are not suitable for the limited resources provided by shared hosting due to it receiving more visitors and consuming many hosting resources. Hosting companies customize VPS hosting to make it easier for you to facilitate the required applications and benefit from the resources you obtain for your site.
Therefore, the virtual server (VPS) is considered part of the primary server (server with great capabilities) provided by the hosting company, so it is not the highest and largest hosting you can get, as hosting companies have dedicated servers called (Dedicated servers), which have huge resources and an integrated server. Real, rented and managed to suit
large website owners.
VPS features and why should it be your next choice?
Unlike small hosts such as Shared hosting, which you do not have much control over and its various resources, but by selecting a VPS you have many options for controlling private hosting, to the point that you can use it to create an integrated project based on selling hosts to customers who want to obtain hosts. Limited resources for their sites.
Let us tell you that the advantages you get with a VPS hosting service include:
- VPS hosting provides you with many control options. For example, you can install the protection programs that you trust yourself and other applications on the service. You can also choose the operating system that you prefer, which you cannot control if you work on hosting with limited resources, which forces you to The services provided by the company.
- VPS hosting is fast and flexible because you allocate the RAM, processor, and other hosting resources yourself, unlike shared hosting, which has limited resources and you do not know exactly the amount of resources you are getting from the service provider.
- In VPS hosting, you get your own resources such as RAM, CPU, and storage space allocated to you, which you have the freedom to control and increase at any time you want in cooperation with the hosting service provider, and you can request an increase in your server resources if the size of your site and the number of its visitors increases according to their price plans. .
- VPS hosting saves time and money for owners of large websites who want to have their own server, and at the same time do not want to buy an entire server. In this case, the VPS works as a full server, but at a lower price, and you can request to increase its resources and capabilities from the hosting company at any time.
- VPS hosting owners benefit from the resources of the large server on which the VPS is located, and thus its performance is significantly higher compared to other hosting with limited resources.
- With VPS hosting, the hosting company does not force you to install any programs that you do not need. Rather, you are the one who controls the programs and systems that you want to run on your hosting.
- You can customize the server’s capabilities, such as RAM and processor, and divide them by the number of sites on your same server as you wish.
Disadvantages of VPS hosting and vulnerabilities
Despite the many advantages and many options that VPS hosting owners get, sometimes some weak points appear that a certain segment of website or application owners faces that have reached a state of great pressure due to the increase in the number of visits to millions of daily visits and the site started. It consumes a huge amount of server resources, and other cases in which some of the weaknesses of VPS hosting appear, including the following:
- When working on VPS hosting, you are responsible for securing your site files as well as making the necessary updates, and the hosting company does not bear that responsibility for you, unless you request a Managed VPS that is completely managed by the hosting company. In general, beginners may face some challenges in managing their own virtual server (VPS).
- If your VPS is unmanaged, that is, not managed by the hosting company, then in this case you are responsible for installing the necessary software to run and launch your websites or applications via the VPS, and this matter requires many of your technical skills to do it perfectly. Therefore, if you do not have sufficient experience to do this, the Managed type will be the perfect choice for you.
- The price of a VPS is high and usually starts at $20 per month, which is a high price that small website owners cannot afford in the beginning
Types of VPS
When you purchase a VPS from any of the hosting companies, you will be asked whether you want a Managed VPS or the other unmanaged type with different features as follows:
Managed VPS
- In this type, the hosting company takes responsibility for software and operating system updates for you
- The hosting company is responsible for periodic server maintenance
- The hosting company provides the software and systems necessary to run the VPS
- This type saves you a lot of time in customizing the server, maintaining it, and carrying out the necessary updates
- It is a good choice if you do not have the experience and knowledge to deal with servers, maintain them, and carry out the necessary updates from time to time
- The price is significantly higher compared to an unmanaged VPS.
Unmanaged VPS
- You are responsible for updating the operating systems on the server as well as software updates
- You yourself carry out maintenance work for the server whenever necessary
- You yourself install the programs and operating systems necessary to launch the server
- It takes you more time to launch and maintain the server, verify operating systems, and provide the necessary updates for various programs
- It requires you to have experience and knowledge in dealing with servers, maintaining them, and making the necessary updates
- This type is less expensive when compared to Unmanaged VPS.
Are VPS hosting right for you?
Depending on the size of your site and the services it provides, as well as the amount of visits and practices that take place within the site, you can determine the type of hosting suitable for your site.
For example, if your site contains some internal pages that contain textual content, images, and a few videos, like simple blogs, and you receive some visitors at first, then in this case, choosing shared hosting may be sufficient for your use.
If you are one of the owners of medium-sized websites whose operation requires more resources, you may need a VPS. Here are some possibilities in which a VPS is the best choice to host your website:
- If you are working to expand the site’s activity in the future, and have a large and huge base of visitors and users, then you need a VPS that helps you control the server and increase its resources at any time you want.
- If you own a site on a hosting with limited resources, and the site suffers from extreme slowness and instability due to reaching the maximum resources allowed on small hosts, and therefore you need to upgrade to a VPS.
- If you want to launch more than one site, let it be 3 or 5 sites on the same server, in this case a VPS is an ideal choice for you so that your sites get large and stable resources.
- If you want more privacy and stability, a VPS is a better option than limited hosting that many other website owners share with you on the same server.
- If you want to customize hosting however you want without any restrictions, such as installing desired programs, security applications, and even operating systems, you can control them with a VPS.
Conclusion
You may not have to choose VPS or Dedicated server hosting at a high price and with high resources if your site does not contain many internal components or receives large numbers of visitors on a daily basis. If you own a startup website, a shared hosting with limited resources can do the trick.
On the other hand, the VPS option is an ideal option if your site is large and needs significant resources to maintain it in a state of stability and security. You can choose a VPS if you have a website with a large number of visitors, an online store that displays a number of products, or another type of custom site that is looking for greater capabilities
