When Should You Upgrade From Shared Hosting To VPS?

Why does this matter?

Most website owners get started with shared hosting. Later on, as  business grows and demands more resources and functions, they might want to upgrade to a better hosting plan.

Start Simple: Launching a basic web site with simple and cheap shared hosting is the first step to start your online journey. Shared hosting is enough for a small website that has little resource and less traffic.

For example a WordPress site with 200-300 visits per day won’t overload your shared hosting.

As your websites grow, so does your hosting needs.

After some point your site may outgrow and shows signs to upgrade your website hosting. I personally recommend VPS over a shared solution. It really is just better all the way around when it comes to resource management and the ability to run more advanced scripts, plus ROOT access.

When should you consider VPS Hosting

You should consider VPS if:

1. You need full control on the server like root access and custom configurations and installations
2. You need better security, privacy and better performance when compared to shared web hosting
3. Your site experiences high traffic regularly or you start running out of resources.
4. Your site is taking too much time in loading – if your page loads exceed 4-5 seconds, it’s time to switch . You can use Yslow and google webmaster tool to know more about your site’s performance.
5. Your online store  grew out of a few products to large number.
6. Your shared web hosting provider suspends your website due to excessive usage of server resources.
7. You need to install specific software and require higher level permissions than your current shared hosting plan will allow.
8. Your site contains multiple heavy multimedia contents including videos and files to download.
9. Your application uses a LOT of resources.
10. If you receive huge traffic with more uploading and downloading activities and your site is going down

Shared Hosting Vs VPS Hosting Vs Dedicated Hosting

A VPS  is usually a stepping stone between shared hosting accounts and dedicated hosting accounts. Compare shared hosting to living in an Apartment Complex, VPS Hosting to owning a Condo and dedicated hosting as owning a house.

• In shared hosting, all accounts must share the available resources with all the other accounts on the server.
• On a VPS, one server is divided into several virtual compartments and  each account will get portions of those allotted resources (guaranteed fraction of server’s disk space, CPU, bandwidth, and memory) and full root access.
• On a Dedicated server hosting, all resources  on the machine is dedicated  to each account. VPS behave exactly in the same way as a dedicated server but with allocated system resources.

What is VPS Hosting?

VPS hosting is a type of web hosting that uses Virtual Private Servers. i.e. A physical server in a data center is divided into several virtual compartments (which is called server virtualization) and server software is setup on them separately, making each unit capable of functioning independently.

The overall CPU time and memory are shared across all accounts on the machine, but at the same time portions of those resources are always dedicated to each account.

So, even if there is a much bigger website than yours on another VPS, hosted on the same physical machine, that won’t matter. You’re always guaranteed the system resources that you’re paying for.

Thats’s not all…

VPS provides the user with super-user privileges in the operating system and enables the user to install any kind of software that is capable of running on that operating system.

So the bottom line is….

In a VPS,  you’re responsible for running the server yourself. Managing a web server is not a simple task! It involves  server configuration, maintenance, software updates, security patches etc.

Unless you’re a technically expert user, it will be a difficult task.

And that’s why, there are two variations of  VPS hosting – Managed VPS and unmanaged VPS .

Managed VPS

In a managed VPS, experienced IT professionals from your hosting provider will take almost all care of your virtual server and keep your server running correctly.

Your web hosting provider will help you with specific tasks such as:

• Installing an operating system when you first launch your virtual private server, initial server setup, new control panel,Install new server software, install applications etc
• Provide OS updates, application updates, Proactive audits, fine tuning of services etc.
• Install latest security patches and updates for your operating system as well as for all of your core server software.
• Provide monitoring services on vps to identify the earliest warning signs of malicious attack, software misconfiguration, or hardware failure.
• Provide automated backup to restore your site.

UnManaged VPS

In an unmanaged VPS, web-hosting provider will take care of initial Operating System installation and the user will have to take care of management sectors of the server such as:

• Installation of software, software updates, control panel etc
• Server configuration, server maintenance, upgrades etc.
• Install security patches, you fix weird error messages
• In case of any hardware failure and outages, you won’t get much support from your host.
• You are responsible for setting up backup services.

Managed Vs UnManaged VPS Comparison

Here’s the deal:

Cost:

Managed VPS costs are more expensive than unmanaged VPS. But managed VPS hosting lightens your workload and save you hundreds of hours.

This way you can focus on building a successful web presence, attract new visitors, and generate more revenue.

Unmanaged VPS services are significantly cheaper than managed services.

But there’s a catch:

You should  be a technical expert to run or maintain a VPS server and  keeping the server safe from potential attacks.

Flexibility:

Managed VPS: Since the  controlling of server is done by your web-hosting provider, you do not have control on the server you claim to own.

It is not possible to change some applications or OS in-between the process.

Unmanged VPS: You have more control over various aspects including installation of different software, performance usage and storage space offered by host etc.

So after analyzing different aspects of both managed and unmanaged VPS, you might have an idea in choosing between both.

In my opinion:

If you are a  tech savvy and have enough time and expertise to handle technical aspect of the server, go for unmanaged vps. Otherwise go for managed VPS hosting.

Inmotion hosting vps review – Our Managed VPS recommendation based on real experience

Here’s the story..

I was developing an online video editing tool using FFMPEG and after initial research I found that I need root access and so should definitely consider VPS hosting.

Shared hosting packages are  there that offer FFMPEG installed , but since it is shared you are limited to the version what they have installed, and probably old version. And you cannot install additional libraries what you like.

So going for the Best VPS Host(Linux) with root access was the option, so that I can install latest FFMPEG build.

I liked Inmotion VPS for several reasons.. Let us see why….

I instantly liked Inmotion VPS for following reasons:

1> Managed VPS for just @29.99 per month with Free cPanel License: I shopped around for good bargains. While, there are the likes of DigitalOcean, Linode, Amazon etc, they are all unmanaged.

I needed a reliable managed VPS , with cpanel, for an affordable price. If you are used to cpanel in shared hosting, then this is big deal. With other hosts, cpanel costs extra per month.

Here you get managed VPS for a bargain price and that too, with cpanel. With  90-day money-back guarantee, there’s  plenty of time for evaluation. I started playing with cPanel, WHM etc and was more than satisfied.

You get Root Access: This is optional. You have to make s specific request to enable Root Access. There is no extra charge for this.

It is straightforward and after enabling, I got my root password for my SSH access.

Note: For SSH access, you have to add your IP address via WHM so that SSH allows you. It has a firewall for additional protection.

The best part?

Great specs for my plan–> RAM: 4GB, Storage: 60GB, Bandwidth: 2TB, IP Addresses: 2

Awesome 24/7/365 U.S. based support: This is a biggie for me. I could chat with them late nights and waiting period was very less. And I got the answers or issues solved right there.

Impressed.

They also have a vast knowledgebase articles with answers for most common issues   or questions.

Also these articles have good “How to” videos or screenshots that explain steps in detail.

• FREE Server Management – OS security patches and updates, cPanel/WHM updates, and more.
• FREE SSD Drives – Up to 20x Faster Than Spinning Drives
• Free Backups – Instantly revert to a previous stable snapshot of files & processes.
• Reseller Access with WHM

Windows VPS Hosting

IF you are looking for Windows VPS, then InterServer VPS Windows Hosting is a very good option to consider.

Windows vps packages are setup quick and your VPS hosting solution will be ready within 20 minutes of ordering.

Also please note that Windows VPS can be setup under KVM platform only.
Also data centers for Windows VPS are limited to NJ and Equinix NY4 locations only(Los Angeles is not a data center option for windows hosting).

See detailed review of InterServer.

Recommended Reading:Web Hosting Guide: How to choose the right one that suits you?