Before coming to our main topic, let us have an idea about what is meant by web hosting and what it is used for. Web hosting is the process of making your website accessible to the public through the internet. For that you need a domain space and domain name. The companies that provide such service are called web hosting providers.
There are different types of web hosting – the most common types are shared hosting, dedicated hosting and cloud hosting. While shared hosting and dedicated hosting belongs to traditional hosting, cloud hosting is more advanced than the other two.
Let us see how these hosting differ from each other and which one is better for your business.
Shared hostingIt is a simple hosting solution where a single server is shared by multiple users or websites. All physical resources of the server such as disc space, memory and bandwidth get shared between different users. This is a viable option for startups and small businesses as the cost is low compared to other options. As the resources get shared, speed and security will be lower with regard to other types of hosting.
Dedicated HostingAs the name suggests, dedicated hosting relies on a server entirely dedicated to a single client. The specified user or website has complete freedom to use the resources of the server as per need. This is more chosen by large companies and businesses that handle multiple domains and huge data. It gives high security and total user control, but demands some technical knowledge from the user end to manage the server. It is also highly expensive and affordable only by companies with huge budget at their disposal. Small companies can begin by availing shared hosting at the initial stage and later migrate to dedicated hosting as there is a growth in website traffic.
Cloud hostingCloud hosting combines the benefits of both shared and dedicated hosting. The term ‘cloud’ stands as a metaphor for the internet. In cloud computing, instead of storing your website files on a single server, it gets distributed into a centralized pool of multiple servers across different locations via internet. Thus, even if there is a failure in one server, website files get transferred to another server keeping your business safe.
Cloud hosting has become extremely popular during recent years with many companies and organizations migrating to the cloud. It’s a highly flexible, scalable, and reliable hosting solution that offers a wide range of features for your business. There are many hosting providers offering unlimited cloud hosting for various businesses.
Here, we shall explore the major benefits of cloud hosting over traditional hosting, so you can decide which one is the best hosting solution for your business.
Flexible Pricing Cloud computing allows a flexible pricing model compared to other types of hosting. In cloud hosting, you follow a pay as you go strategy in which payment is done only for those resources used. The package can be scaled up or down as per growth or decline in your website traffic. For dedicated hosting and shared hosting, a fixed payment is done on a monthly or annual basis regardless of whether you use the resources or not.
Intuitive control panelCloud hosting allows easy managing of sever resources.
Cloud servers will provide the customers with an intuitive control panel that helps the users to manage their resources by themselves without having to depend on the cloud hosting provider for every simple change. An effective cpanel helps the user to customize website preferences without any technical knowledge.
High uptimeIf your website remains down for a long time, it can affect your business considerably, especially with ecommerce websites. With traditional hosting, your website uptime is dependent on the server used. If the server experiences any failure it will get reflected in your website performance. But, with an unlimited cloud hosting solution there are multiple servers to back your website from experiencing any failures.
Better Website Speed High loading time is a major issue faced by most of the websites. It is the key reason behind a low ranking website. Cloud hosting offers enhanced website performance as there are multiple servers available for load balancing. You can scale up your resources as per need and thus there is never an issue of poor loading speed for the website.
Improved website trafficThis is a major upshot of having a website with enhanced functioning. If your website gets loaded in 2-3 seconds, it starts to get ranked higher in search results and thus enjoys more traffic. Increased website traffic will result in higher leads and ROI for your business in the long run.
SustainabilityIt is a globally known fact that datacenters cause a high amount of environmental pollution on a daily basis. By choosing a cloud hosting solution, you are helping to reduce the pollution caused by too many datacenters by using only the required server resources. With cloud hosting, there is optimum utilization of all resources like infrastructure, money, work force, time and space that has made it the preferred hosting solution of top companies.
ConclusionWith so many web hosting options available in the market, it would be confusing for non-technical people to choose the best hosting option from the given choices. It would be always better to analyze the pros and cons of each type and select the suitable choice for your business. For startups and personal websites, it would be better to have shared hosting. While big companies and organizations either can rely on a dedicated server or else migrate to an unlimited cloud hosting solution that provides many exciting features. Even for startups cloud hosting is feasible, as it offers a
flexible pricing structure.