When you started your business, you probably began with shared hosting to save money. One server, several clients, and plenty of expertise to help a new site grow in a scalable manner. Your hosting plan should grow along with your business – is it time for you to upgrade your website hosting package from shared hosting to a VPS?
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What is a VPS hosting service?
In VPS hosting, one large server is “partitioned” into several smaller servers, each of which operates autonomously and is able to be rebooted independently. These servers typically are able to handle more users at one time, while preserving the integrity of the online experience. Essentially, a VPS host helps prevent lags and stalls that a shared server might not be able to. To find out more about VPS hosting, you can read the blog we have by clicking here.
Why move my business away from shared hosting?
The biggest reason many small-to-medium businesses move to a virtual private server is to accommodate increased web traffic. For instance, if a blog post goes viral, or a new product becomes a hit, is your shared server able to handle a sudden influx of traffic? VPS hosting is often offered as “unmanaged” hosting. This means each user can monitor and administer their own servers within the limitations of their plans’ bandwidth caps. However, there are managed options that give you a lot less responsibility over the day-to-day technical details.
A second and almost as important reason for VPS hosting (also known as virtual dedicated server hosting) is increased control over the server. Many webmasters find that as their ability to manage their website grows, their desire to fully customize the web experience moves beyond the capabilities of a shared server.
When is the right time to move hosting platforms?
- Your site runs slower. There’s a “loading” circle as you navigate from page to page, and content, especially images or video, takes longer to load.
- You experience a lot of “downtime.” This may mean that another user on your shared server is taking the lion’s share of the bandwidth and server resources.
- You’re concerned about security. It’s easier to protect a private server from incursions.
- You’re running out of space for content. You may get this information from your shared server, or you may notice that load times are longer.There are a few clues that will indicate when you’ve outgrown your current shared server:
What advantages does a VPS have for my business?
A VPS server offers users a higher degree of autonomy and customization. Instead of working within the parameters set by a shared server, VPS hosting allows you to customize your server, adding software and applications that might make your particular site run more smoothly.
You’ll also be able to install your own virus protection and malware prevention software – if you have a particularly sensitive type of business, the built-in protection that a shared server offers all clients might not be enough for you.
Things to consider before you make the switch
Handling a virtual private server can require a strong set of technical skills, training, and expertise. Particularly if you choose an unmanaged package. If you don’t have the necessary experience, you’ll have to hire someone to take care of this for you. Factor these costs into your estimates, if necessary.
VPS hosting will cost more than you’re paying for your shared service. When evaluating the cost, make sure that you have the money in your overhead for the extra outgoings, including any licensing fees you’ll pay for additional software. Don’t forget to calculate switching over to a new platform, if there is any.
We hope this post has helped you in your decision making process, there is a lot to think about, when it’s time for you to make the change from a shared server to a VPS hosting platform. The key is to evaluate your business demands, as well as forecast your increased web traffic. Alongside that, if you begin noticing any of the problems listed above, it’s probably an indication that you’re ready to make the switch. If you are, you can access our VPS hosting plans by clicking on this link.
