If you’re thinking of starting a business online, or you simply want to increase your web presence, one of the first things you’ll need to do, is choose the hosting solution you’re going to use. From a beginner’s perspective, hosting can be very complicated. After all, you have a range of options to choose from like VPS, dedicated hosting, shared, and cloud hosting.

The two options that we’ll be looking at today are virtual private servers, and cloud servers. Both solutions come with the fair share of positives and negatives to think about. However, if you want to make an informed decision, the first thing you’ll need to do is learn the basics about both VPS hosting and cloud hosting.

What is a Virtual Private Server?

A virtual private server, or VPS, is essentially a single physical server that has been divided into multiple smaller servers on a virtual platform. You can read more about the specifics at HostPresto but essentially, each virtual server behaves as a unique, and separate environment. Since you have a dedicated section on the server for your website, you also get your own specific set of allocated resources, and you’ll be able to configure and customize partitions exactly as you like.

However, virtual private servers aren’t perfect. They can be somewhat less reliable than cloud hosting solutions because when one physical server fails, every VPS using that server will fail too. Additionally, the performance of your server can vary depending on whether another company is hogging the resources available on your network.

The Positives and Negatives of VPS Hosting

Virtual private server hosting is best for users who are hoping to get more control over their website. They might have unique technical skills that allow them to set up a more convenience customized environment. Some of the benefits of a VPS include:

• They’re cost-effective, and often much less expensive than cloud servers.
• There’s no file or data access between VPS clients on a shared server, and these options are often kept separate and private.
• If necessary, a single VPS can be completely rebooted without the need to affect any other VPS solutions on the server.

However, virtual private servers have their problems too. If a physical server fails, then you’re in trouble, and if a customer on your server doesn’t take security seriously, then your VPS could be negatively affected too. Additionally, only one operating system can be used at a time by each physical server, and VPS options are difficult to use when you’re hoping to scale.

What is a Cloud Server?

Cloud servers are known by a range of different titles, including virtual machines, or VMs. Though these solutions are similar to VPS hosting environments in that they use virtual technology, the key difference is that the resources available to you have been spread across a collection of physical machines.

When you choose to host with a cloud platform, you access multiple servers at once, which means that there are more resources at your disposal. You can also increase the power of your server at your leisure to meet your varying traffic needs.

However, a cloud hosting provider can’t always offer the same degree of customization that you would otherwise get from a VPS.

The Positives and Negatives of Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is an ideal choice for website owners who need the flexibility of a cloud platform, to help them enable a more scalable solution for website growth. Because you can access unlimited storage and bandwidth, you don’t have to worry about your website growing too big, or too popular for your server to handle. Some of the benefits of cloud hosting include:

• Scalability: You can add more power to your server in an instant with cloud hosting, and include custom solutions too, like personalized firewalls, architecture, and load balancing.
• High availability: Because cloud servers are distributed across a range of servers, if one physical server fails, other servers will be migrated without significant downtime or outages.
• Security: Since you basically have your own server, you don’t have to worry about safety issues. If a client on your shared cloud is hacked or gets a virus, your server will not take on any risk.
• You can select the operating system that suits you, and store as much data as you like without any restrictions.

However, as mentioned above, cloud hosting solutions aren’t always as versatile as their VPS counterparts. At the same time, if you have a very small budget, then you might struggle to afford this hosting option, which often more expensive than a virtual private network.