Web hosting is an essential component to running an online business. A web hosting company operates servers that store and serve your website files. If you have started a new online business, you might be wondering what type of hosting do you need? There are many options to choose from with varying levels of costs and resources. It can become confusing very quickly if you don’t know what hosting features are most important. In this post, we’ll explain what type of hosting your online business needs to perform well today and in the future.
Website Builder Solutions
Website builders are quick and easy solutions for a basic website presence. Sometimes, new business owners need to build a website in a hurry. They only need a splash page or one page website. In these cases, a website builder platform can help you design and develop a website in a matter of hours. This works if your business only needs an informational or static website. While website builders do power more robust sites, most users need a faster and cost-efficient solution. When your new business just needs a simple site, website builders could be the perfect solution to get something online in a short amount of time.
Shared Hosting Plans
For businesses just starting out, a shared hosting server can provide the basics. On a shared hosting server, your website shares resources with many other websites on the server. This brings your costs down dramatically. However, your website performance can suffer as a result too. If one website on the server takes too many resources, then your website could become unresponsive or inaccessible for some time. Certainly, shared hosting is appropriate for you to get started online. When your website has very little traffic, a shared hosting account will do the job until you are ready to handle more visitors.
VPS Hosting Packages
Next, owners who plan to make money online can eventually upgrade to a VPS package by reinvesting into the online business. A VPS stands for Virtual Private Server when your website resources are shared with a limited number of accounts. This gives you a guaranteed amount of resources to run your website. If you have a decent number of daily visitors, a VPS could provide a reliable hosting solution. It can handle a fair amount of traffic with more uptime than a shared account. Since VPS resources are semi-dedicated, there is an increase in cost. However, you do not have to worry about dozens of other sites impacting your website performance.
Cloud Hosting Solutions
For online businesses that generate a lot of traffic, a cloud hosting solution could provide the best of cost and performance. When comparing cloud vs web hosting, the pricing is not far apart. However, the scalability and performance could make a huge difference for the business. With a cloud hosting package, your website is stored on a cluster of servers rather than a single server. The added capacity of system resources allows your website to handle massive amounts of traffic. Best of all, you only pay for the resources that you use. Unlike a VPS or dedicated web hosting account, cloud hosting doesn’t require larger upfront costs for potential traffic. Instead, you pay a base price plus any additional resources you use on a sliding scale. If you are running a serious online business, cloud hosting could be the best type for your business.
Dedicated Hosting Servers
As you grow your business, you may have the need for a dedicate server. These hosting packages allow for total control of your hosting environment. While you have total control over the server resources, the administration could require advanced technical knowledge and skills. If you open an online store on a dedicated server, you can customize all of the server settings as needed, including hardware, software and security too. However, a dedicated hosting account comes at a much higher price for your business. This type of hosting works for businesses who can use the resources and customization features that come with a dedicated server.
Looking at these hosting packages, you can decide what type of hosting account your business needs. If you are just getting started, a website builder or shared hosting can work just fine. As you start to get more traffic, you should look into VPS or cloud hosting to meet your bandwidth and performance requirements. Down the road, you can even look into dedicated hosting if your online business needs the customization. Depending on the needs of your online business, you can grow from one hosting package to another.