Cloud Hosting vs. Shared Hosting
Creating a website is easier than most people think, but you’ll need web hosting to get it live on the Internet. The most common types of hosting that businesses use for their websites nowadays are shared and cloud hosting.
There has been a long-standing debate about whether cloud hosting is better than shared hosting. So, are there any downsides to shared hosting, and does cloud web hosting outperform it?
Here’s our in-depth guide to help you understand why you should switch to cloud hosting in 2022. Let’s get started!
Understanding Web Hosting
Every website is hosted (stored) on a server, which is a powerful piece of hardware. Your website’s components are all stored on a server and accessed through your web host.
When choosing the right type of hosting, consider how quickly a website loads, how secure it is, and how well it is maintained. All websites are different, which is why there are different servers to meet their needs.
Shared Hosting vs. Cloud Hosting
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the default option for small sites with low to medium traffic. In shared hosting, a server is split among numerous users, with each user sharing a certain amount of bandwidth. It’s usually easy to deploy, reduces the time it takes to get online, and your hosting provider handles most technical responsibilities. Shared hosting is also cheaper than other hosting packages.
However, because shared hosting serves a large number of people, users may experience low speeds and server overloads, leading to outages or crashes. Features are subject to little or no control.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a type of web hosting service that utilizes cloud computing facilities to procure computing resources for hosting data, web services, and solutions. It’s ideal for gaming servers, high concurrency stores, streaming platforms, and HIPAA-compliant hosting data centers.
Why Choose Cloud Hosting Over Shared Hosting
Many people are concerned with the price tag but often overlook important factors such as website performance, security, and support, which are crucial for online success. Both shared and cloud hosting have unique characteristics, but shared hosting has certain shortcomings.
1. Easy Scalability
The best part about cloud web hosting is scalability. For high-performance sites that require a secure and scalable environment, cloud hosting is the best option. Users can easily scale large amounts of data quickly.
2. Enhanced Security
With several levels of recovery options and anti-malware solutions, cloud hosting security is far superior to shared environments.
3. Excellent for Scalable Traffic
Shared hosting websites have finite processing power and storage capacity, limiting the number of visitors they can serve simultaneously. In contrast, cloud hosting can handle a large number of visitors due to significantly larger storage capacity and processing power.
4. Faster Website Speed and Performance
Shared hosting can be slow due to the overwhelming volume and fewer deployed servers. Cloud hosting often beats shared hosting in speed because of the quantity and quality of deployed servers, providing lightning-fast speeds.
5. Control Over Resources and Features
Traditional web hosting plans like shared hosting divide a server’s resources among users. Cloud hosting, however, pools numerous servers to host many websites. You only use the server resources you need at the time, optimizing your resource and data usage and reducing your environmental impact.
6. High Uptime & Availability
With cloud servers, your website will have higher uptime rates and less unexpected downtime due to server errors. Your site will remain fluid and perform at a high level using the resources of multiple servers.
7. Value-Based Pricing
In most other forms of hosting, you pay a monthly subscription regardless of whether you utilize all of the server resources. With cloud hosting, you only pay for what you use. Traditional hosting often requires a trade-off between server resources and cost, but cloud hosting allows for more efficient and cost-effective resource management.
Choosing the Best Hosting Option for Your Website
If you’re just starting out, it’s essential to learn about the different types of web hosting. This will help you determine the best web hosting option for your website. Consider factors such as your monthly budget, daily traffic, expected traffic spikes, technical support needs, security requirements, and performance needs.
Don’t rush this process. Selecting a plan that offers the right level of resources and features is crucial for starting your website on the right foot.
Conclusion
Shared hosting is suitable when you only need to get online with limited resources such as storage space and bandwidth. However, if you want more from your hosting technology, including automatic backups, the ability to host applications, or a large website with multiple resources that need to scale as your online needs grow, cloud hosting is the best option for you.