There are many forms of hosting companies available. And there are many offering similar services, but with better or worse quality. The quality difference comes in the speed and reliability as well as customer service of the companies.
Hosting comes in multiple flavors:
- Shared
- VPS (Virtual Private Server)
- Cloud
- Dedicated Server
Shared servers are physical machines shared by many customers and websites. The problem with shared servers is that the performance and security of one site on the server directly impacts all others on the same server.
Virtual Private Servers are physical machines partitioned into multiple servers. It’s similar to shared servers in the way that multiple customers are on the same machine. However, the partitions keep each customer and site separated. And each VPS gets its own RAM delegation instead of the RAM being shared among all customers.
Cloud sites are similar to VPS, except they are cloud based. Typically cloud hosting is run on popular cloud networks like Amazon AWS and Google Cloud, or others. They’re reliable, fast and secure. However, cloud hosting can have its quirks as there are advanced components needed to be implemented and considered which don’t have to be when using other hosting servers.
Dedicated servers are physical machines that are solely used by one customer and its sites. The advantage of dedicated servers is the speed you can achieve. However, there is a hefty price tag that comes with it. Usually dedicated servers start around $150 a month.
Shared hosting, on the other hand, is extremely inexpensive, starting at $3 a month typically.
Quality hosting matters because on a poor quality server, like shared hosting, your site can run slow. It can crash easily. It can’t have too many plugins or plugins that use a decent amount of resources. It’s impacted by other sites on the server. And it’s simply not good.
That’s why we recommend a quality host at any level above shared. Cloud and VPS hosts are well optimized for WordPress sites and will ensure your site is up, safe and helping you make money. Better yet, go with a managed WordPress host to guarantee that your host has your back.
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