Whenever starting a startup, you likely will have to find a hosting solution for it. There are however numerous options to choose from that vary in price, quality, and features. Chicago VPS server, and Hong Kong dedicated server, are some offers that you’ll probably come across when looking for hosting solutions. However, what do all these names mean, and which one of them is better to pick up, that is what we are going to explore in the article below.
Hosting types
The first thing to consider about the hosting you’re looking for is the type of hosting. The essential hosting types include shared hosting, virtual private hosting, dedicated hosting, and cloud hosting.
Dedicated hosting refers to renting a whole physical server. It provides you with all of its resources, has the least vulnerability towards compromising security, and doesn’t limit you in the variety of projects you’d like to develop. However, this power comes with a price, so you have to be actually benefiting from all of these features, otherwise, you are spending your money in vain.
Shared hosting is a basic alternative to a dedicated server. Instead of having an entire server reserved for you, you share it with numerous other tenants, paying only a fraction of what a whole server would cost. However, due to the flawed specificity of sharing resources just like this, your project may potentially experience unstable and unreliable performance, while your freedom customizability is very limited and the security of such hosting is more likely to be compromised.
VPS hosting is a good option if you don’t want to overpay for a dedicated server with the resources you don’t have need for, but still want to benefit from its advantages, including dedicated resources and operating system, root access, and a high level of security. This is made possible by the virtualization technology, which allows to division of one pool of resources on a physical server into separate virtual instances independent from each other. When looking for a VPS, make sure to check and learn more about the underlying virtualization solution since they can offer different features.
Finally, there is cloud hosting.
Similar to VPS hosting, it relies on virtualization. However, it features a different approach to partitioning resources and organizing the server architecture. To make a long story short, cloud hosting is not based on some sort of centralized server. Instead, all the available resources are united into a single pool, from which they can be delivered to end customers. While offering features similar to ones of a VPS, though you can’t install an operating system of your choice, cloud hosting allows for scalability on the go, which can be very valuable for projects that grow at an unpredictable rate.
Some important concepts
Before moving on to the choice of hosting for your startup, it’s important to clarify some other concepts important in hosting that you’ll definitely come across.
Resources: The number of resources is the primary variable when it comes to hosting. They include CPU cores, RAM, and storage space. Shared hosting can’t guarantee a fixed number of resources, VPS hosting and dedicated hosting offer plans with fixed numbers of resources, cloud hosting allows you to adjust the number of resources currently available to you on the go.
Location: To reach the best loading times for your target audience, it’s essential to opt for a server that is as close to them as possible. Here is where the server location comes into play. Make sure the provider you consider offers the appropriate location.
Uptime: Uptime refers to the overall time your hosting should be up. You should look for offers with maximum uptime. Besides paying attention to what the provider says on their website, make sure to study the Service Level Agreement to learn more about the exact conditions on which certain uptime is guaranteed.
Support: Technical support is vital in case of emergency are never to be excluded. Make sure to check what kind of support offers the provider you consider, and look for 24/7/365 expert support.
Which option to choose?
Which one to choose for your startup depends on your needs and the specificity of your start-up. Shared hosting is the weakest solution in terms of the quality of resources provided, but it can be an option if your budget is tight.
Dedicated hosting instead is an option for projects that need a serious amount of computing power, and immediately. In case your demand for resources is lower, but you still need reliability, security, and customizability, go for a VPS. Finally, if need the features of a VPS, but can’t exactly predict, how your project is going to develop, then the cloud might be a great option.
All options are good for some scenarios and are less suitable for others, so it’s all in all up to you what to choose. We have clarified the specificity of each hosting option in the article above. One last thing that remains is to calculate the approximate needs of your project and the specificity of its further development and thus figure out, which option should be the best. Thank you for your attention and good luck!