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The Beginner’s Guide to VPS: What Is It, Why Do You Need It, and When Should You Upgrade?

The Beginner’s Guide to VPS: What Is It, Why Do You Need It, and When Should You Upgrade?

The Beginner’s Guide to VPS: What Is It, Why Do You Need It, and When Should You Upgrade? thumbnail

If you are finally ready to get your website up and running, it’s probably safe to say you’re looking into purchasing web hosting. And it’s a battlefield out here for beginners. There’s a glossary of new terms — what the fetch is a kernel?! — and acronyms seemingly dropping from the sky. One that you’ll hear a lot: VPS.

But fret not, beginner. This guide will walk you through what VPS hosting is, why it can be beneficial for your website, and even give you a run-down of when you should sign up.

Let’s get started!

What is a Virtual Private Server?

First, let’s define what VPS actually stands for — virtual private server.

Let’s first focus on server. In layman’s terms, a server is a powerful computer that stores all of the data and files that make up your website. When someone types your domain name into their web browser, that powerful computer “serves up” your website to the searcher’s screen.

Now for the virtual aspect: VPS uses virtualization technology to split that one powerful server we just talked about into multiple virtual servers. Think of it this way: it’s one piece of physical hardware that functions like several separate servers.

The word private means just what it implies. Your virtual server is reserved for you, so you won’t have to share RAM, CPU, or any data with other users.

How VPS Stacks Up Against Other Common Hosting Plans

To truly understand how VPS works, it’s important to get familiar with some of the basics of web hosting, including other common plans. Here’s a brief breakdown of the differences between shared, dedicated, and VPS hosting.

1. Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most common form of web hosting and works well for many new website owners. When you purchase a shared hosting account, you’re sharing key resources like CPU, RAM, and hard drive space with all of the other website owners using that shared server.

Let’s use an analogy to make understanding this concept a little easier.

Think of a shared server as a large apartment complex, and all of the individual apartments are rented by other website owners. All of you need a place to live — just like your website’s files — but going out to buy a huge family home would be too expensive for your needs. Sharing common areas and utilities in an apartment block helps keep costs down. And the same is true for shared hosting.

Another shared plus: your panel will be fairly easy to navigate since most web hosts pre-configure and maintain the server for their shared customers.

There are a few downsides to shared hosting, though, mostly because you’re sharing. For instance, if someone else on your shared server has a huge spike in traffic, that could affect your website’s performance. However, if you’re just getting your website off the ground and don’t have huge traffic volume, shared hosting is a great way to get online!

2. Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is the opposite of shared hosting. Rather than pooling resources (and sharing the costs) with other website owners, you have one system that is reserved for your website only.

Sounds great, right? The catch is that it’s more expensive, but you get 100 percent control over your resources and you can customize software to meet your individual needs. This type of hosting package is best for websites with robust technical demands. For example, dedicated hosting could be right for you if:

  • you are getting large amounts of traffic each day.
  • you need to install your own operating system.
  • you are handling thousands of financial transactions.
  • your website requires custom software.

3. VPS Hosting

VPS hosting sits squarely between shared and dedicated. When you choose VPS, there will be other websites hosted on the same hardware as yours (remember that powerful server we talked about earlier?).

But — and it’s a big one — your website is the only domain allocated to your particular virtual compartment. And that means you get your own operating system, dedicated storage, powerful CPU, scalable RAM, and unlimited bandwidth.

With a VPS, you are getting many of the benefits of a dedicated server — for an affordable price. In short, VPS hosting can give you more bang for your buck.

DreamHost’s Shared, Dedicated, and VPS Hosting Plans

Feature Shared Hosting VPS Hosting Dedicated Hosting
IP Address Shared with hundreds of other websites hosted on the server Only shared with websites hosted on your VPS Only shared with websites hosted on your dedicated server
Custom OS Nope Yes Yes
Hosting Control Limited Control Full Control Full Control
Isolated RAM Nope Yes Yes
Isolated CPU Nope Nope Yes
Root Access to MySQL Server Nope Nope Yes
Custom Software Nope Yes Yes
Server Resources Limited Use Full Use Full Use
Free Domain Included Yes Nope Nope
Cost Starting at $7.95/mo Starting at $15/mo Starting at $149/mo

Should You Upgrade to VPS?

The best way to evaluate whether or not you need to upgrade to VPS is to take stock of your website. Here are eight tell-tale signs it’s time to go virtual.

1. You’re Worried About Security

If you need enhanced security features, advanced monitoring capabilities, more backup space, improved website reliability, or plan on taking any form of online payment, then you may want to consider VPS. With VPS, you get reliable resources and can count on top-notch security features.

2. You Start to Experience High Traffic Volumes

If you are just starting your website and don’t receive very much traffic, then shared hosting is the ideal solution. However, if your website’s audience is consistently growing, you’ll want to consider upgrading. You don’t want to run the risk of your website running slowly or, even worse, your server crashing because it can’t handle the traffic. If you anticipate an increase in visitors, do yourself a favor and switch to VPS.

3. Your Website is Consistently Running Slowly

Shared hosting is not meant for websites that use large amounts of RAM. As your website grows and you add more and more content, you will start to see a decrease in your website’s load times. As soon as this happens, it’s an indication that you are maxing out your limits. Upgrading to a VPS will enable you to scale your website without having to worry about slow load times.

4. You Have An Online Store

The moment you plan on running an online store is the moment you should upgrade your hosting plan. Why? Because with VPS, you have a secure and dedicated virtual server where you are more likely to pass a PCI compliance test. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was established by major credit card brands to protect against cardholder data theft.

If you are accepting credit cards on your website, you want to do everything you can to ensure the safety of your consumers’ financial information. Since VPS is more secure than shared hosting, it’s the better option for ecommerce websites.

5. You Need To Install Custom Software

Shared hosting is great for website owners that build their site with standard WordPress plugins and other standard programs. However, if you reach the point where you need to install custom software, use a custom server configuration, or engage in any other advanced programming, then you’ll want a hosting option that affords you more control.

Similarly, several standard tax, billing, bookkeeping, and other integrative programs require around-the-clock server availability as well as high-speed internet. To run these applications successfully, you’ll need either a VPS or dedicated hosting plan.

If you operate on a shared server, you’ll only run into frustration when you learn advanced actions are forbidden or that apps don’t have the support needed to function properly. Instead of dealing with this potential problem, upgrade to VPS hosting and immediately gain more control over your programming actions.

6. You Run Into Server Errors

Do you encounter “Service Unavailable” errors, any 50X errors, or the “Internal Server Error” often? When you see errors, it’s likely that your potential customers are too. While you can troubleshoot downtime issues, there is simply no room for server errors if you’re running an online business. Pre-empt this problem by upgrading to VPS.

7. You’re on a Budget

It’s true that a dedicated hosting package can also solve these problems. However, it’s important to note that dedicated servers are a pricier option. If you need to improve your bandwidth, increase your security, and get more RAM, then the most affordable option is to opt for VPS hosting.

8. You Build Websites For Your Clients

Is it part of your job to build websites for your clients? If so, it can get expensive to purchase individual shared plans over and over again. Additionally, it would be difficult to manage each domain from separate accounts. With a VPS, you can host an unlimited amount of domains all while making sure you have enough RAM for each site to function properly.

How To Choose The Best VPS Hosting Plan For Your Website

Now that you know what a VPS is and when you should upgrade, let’s talk about what makes a great VPS plan and how to find the best web hosting provider. After all, you wouldn’t trust your website with just anybody, right?

Self-Managed Versus Managed Services

When selecting VPS hosting, you usually have two plan options: self-managed service or managed service.

You need to be familiar with server administration, troubleshooting, and managing the applications, software, and services installed on your VPS if you choose a self-managed service. If you are either unfamiliar with these admin skills or you just want your hosting provider to take care of it for you, then opting for a managed service is the way to go.

Linux/Windows

You might think this tip falls into the “No Duh” category, but it bears sharing: make sure the hosting package you select is compatible with your operating system. DreamHost, for instance, doesn’t offer Windows hosting since most of our users prefer to run Linux.

Reliability

The VPS hosting service you select should have uptime ratings of 99.5% and above. Anything lower is simply unacceptable. For the record, DreamHost boasts the industry’s highest uptime at 99.98%. Stop it, we’re blushing.

Hardware

When purchasing a VPS hosting package, make sure your service provider offers the latest and greatest in hardware, including solid state drives (SSD) — the fastest storage technology. SSD makes running high-speed applications easier thanks, in part, to the lack of moving parts.

24/7 Customer Support

When it comes down to it, you simply don’t know when you’ll experience a site meltdown. So make sure you purchase a VPS hosting package from a company that offers 24/7 customer support.

Backup Service

Imagine you are revamping your site when something goes wrong and you lose everything because you forgot to backup your site. Shivers. This is an all-too-common occurrence, and it can cost you money, time, and more than a few gray hairs. Make sure when you purchase VPS service, you choose a provider that makes backups easy.

Conclusion

Made it all the way to the end of this guide? Well, pat yourself on the back because you are a VPS beginner no more!

What it boils down to is this: if your website is growing and beginning to attract some well-deserved attention, you’ll want its performance to keep pace. And that means it’s time to increase your site’s resources by upgrading.

While VPS hosting is more expensive than a shared plan, the benefits of a VPS give you a lot of bang for your buck — without having to spring for the much-pricier dedicated hosting plans.