Many businesses start with a shared hosting plan. This is because it’s the most affordable. However, as your business evolves, so do your needs, and with that, there will come a time when you need to switch to a different type of hosting. VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a popular choice among the several hosting options available. The reason for this is because VPS hosting is the ideal mix of shared and dedicated hosting.
VPS hosting comes in managed and unmanaged forms, and in this article, we’re going to explore the advantages of VPS hosting and the difference between these two types. We’ll also look at which is the best option for your business.
Advantages of VPS Hosting
Regardless of whether you choose to go with Managed or Unmanaged VPS hosting, the benefits are the same. The top benefits of VPS hosting include:
● Root Access
VPS hosting includes features of both shared and dedicated hosting. However, unlike shared and dedicated hosting, with VPS hosting, your account is isolated from other accounts on the server through a virtual partition. Your account is your own, and you have root access to the operating system and its resources.
● Performance
VPS hosting plans will offer either SSD or HDD hard drives. However, most businesses will opt for an SSD drive as it is superior to HDD. Using an SSD hard drive will improve your website’s loading speed and consequently enhance your website’s performance and your Google search engine ranking.
● Security
Even though there are multiple accounts on a single physical server, VPS hosting offers websites top-notch security. This is because each account is isolated from the others, so they can’t affect your site.
● Provisioning of Resources
With VPS hosting, you get resources like CPU, RAM, and OS as soon as your account is up and running. These resources can also be scaled easily to accommodate higher amounts of visitor traffic.
Managed VPS Hosting
It takes time, effort, and technical expertise to manage a server. With managed VPS solutions, your service provider takes care of all server-related responsibilities. This includes things like core updates, maintenance, software installation, etc. This allows you, the business owner, to concentrate entirely on growing your business.
Unmanaged VPS Hosting
As the name suggests, unmanaged VPS hosting is the opposite of managed hostings. This means that you have to take care of all server responsibilities and maintenance tasks. Your hosting provider will only take care of the physical server and its availability.
If you choose this option, you need to have the technical expertise or dedicated in-house resources to manage your server, operating system, and other server-related resources.
Summary of the Core Differences between Managed and Unmanaged VPS Hosting
- With managed VPS hosting, your provider takes care of server maintenance and upgrades.
- By contrast, with unmanaged VPS hosting, your provider only takes care of physical server maintenance and managing the server’s uptime.
- Managed VPS hosting costs more than unmanaged VPS.
- Managed VPS is best for inexperienced site owners, and unmanaged VPS is ideal for experienced site owners with technical expertise.
Conclusion – Which Should You Choose?
Now that you understand what differentiates managed VPS hosting from unmanaged hosting, it’s time to figure out which one is right for you.
You should choose managed VPS hosting if:
- You want to ensure you can focus on growing your business.
- You don’t have the technical expertise or the technical resources to manage a server yourself.
- You want the guarantee that your site will run flawlessly.
- You want to ensure the highest level of security for your website.
You should choose unmanaged VPS hosting if:
- You want to take an active role in your website’s hosting.
- Your current duties give you the time to take on server maintenance and upgrades.
- You have the technical expertise or technical resources to manage a server yourself.
- You can’t afford the cost of managed VPS hosting.
- You want the freedom to do as you please with the server.
In addition to choosing the right hosting type, you should also make sure you choose a good web host. A hosting provider can greatly affect your site. This is because no matter which hosting type you choose, your website’s availability and uptime depend on the quality of your hosting provider.
