Whether you’re redesigning your website or setting it up for the first time, you’ll want to find the hosting service that offers the best chance of making your site a success. One of the decisions you’ll need to make is whether to choose shared hosting or a virtual private server (VPS).

None is inherently better than the other – it all depends on the specific requirements of your website. You may need rock-solid security, lightning-fast speeds, low prices or scalable resources. However, if you carefully weigh up the pros and cons of each option, you can have your cake and eat it too.

In this post, we’ll explain what a VPS and shared hosting are, and what the main differences between them are. We’ll then show you how to choose the right one for your website. Let’s get started!

What is shared hosting?

With shared hosting, your website shares the same physical server with many other websites. It’s like a block of flats: you’re allocated a flat within a larger building. Whilst you all have your own individual homes, you can also share communal resources with your neighbours, such as the courtyard, the garden or the swimming pool.

However, there is no cause for concern. No one using the server can see what others are storing on it. With a shared hosting plan, you are simply sharing a portion of the physical resources with other users.

This option is usually the cheapest, as providers can serve many customers from a single machine. Shared servers offer customers less bandwidth, management flexibility and performance, but the hosting providers take care of all technical configuration, maintenance and security.

What is VPS hosting?

Compared to shared servers, virtual private server (VPS) hosting represents a step up, offering greater scope for growth and fewer restrictions. This type of online hosting is similar to a flat in a block of flats. You still share the physical server with a few other users, but the resources are separated and dedicated to each individual user.

When you own a flat in a block of flats, you can make changes to your living space, such as knocking down a wall. Similarly, virtual private servers allow you to customise the server to suit your own preferences. The level of customisation lies somewhere between a shared plan and a dedicated server.

As mentioned earlier, it shares server space but has its own resources. As it does not have to compete for computing power, you need not worry so much about other websites using up too much bandwidth or storage space and slowing down your website.

If your website handles sensitive data or resource-intensive applications, VPS hosting may be the right solution. These packages are typically more expensive than shared hosting, but are still reasonably priced.

7 key differences between VPS and shared hosting

If you’re setting up a website for the first time, it can be difficult to choose the right hosting. To help you decide between VPS and shared hosting, let’s discuss a few key differences. Both options have their pros and cons, so let’s take a closer look at exactly what this means.

1. Performance

As a website owner, it is important to create a website that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. However, if your web pages are not optimised for fast loading, these factors may not matter.

47 per cent of online visitors expect websites to load in less than two seconds. This means that if your website takes longer to load, these users are likely to be dissatisfied and will quickly leave the site.

If you run an e-commerce website, you’re probably already aware of how important it is to retain customers. If your visitors experience poor loading times, 79 per cent of them are unlikely to return to your website.

Ultimately, this isn’t time to be wasted. Choosing the right hosting plan is a major business decision, given that mere milliseconds can determine whether people do business with you.

A VPS hosting plan will almost always be faster than a shared hosting plan, simply because users do not have to queue alongside visitors to other websites to access yours.

To illustrate the difference, let’s imagine a carnival with various food stalls. If everyone had to queue in the same line to reach the stalls, the wait would be longer than if each food stall had its own queue.

Put simply, if your website is relatively small, a shared hosting plan will probably suit you perfectly. However, if your website is larger, or if you rely on it for business and revenue growth, you’ll probably notice the difference.

VPS hosting offers greater computing resources and processing power, which can result in faster website speeds and, consequently, an increase in conversions. Numerous VPS reviews highlight performance and reliability when comparing DreamHost with our competitors.

2. Reliability and stability

When we talk about the availability of a web hosting service, we aren’t checking its calendar or contact status. Rather, we’re looking at how often you can expect your website to function properly. This also includes loading issues caused by server or network problems.

This is directly linked to server uptime, i.e. how often the server is available. Uptime is expressed as a percentage, and figures of 99.9 per cent and above are generally considered excellent.

Uptime is important for every website, as it determines whether your online presence is accessible and available to visitors whenever they visit. This can be particularly important for professional portfolios, business websites and e-commerce shops.

Please bear in mind that issues may arise with the servers used for both shared and VPS hosting plans. This depends largely on the quality of the server’s hardware and software, as well as the provider’s expertise, support and management practices.

With VPS hosting plans, however, there are fewer customers per server. Each partition can be configured and tailored to the requirements of a specific website or application. This extra attention to detail means that individual VPS servers are typically more secure and stable.

In a shared hosting environment, there are many websites that could potentially overload the server. A VPS is located in an independent hosting environment, so you don’t need to worry about other accounts affecting access to your website.

3. Security

In a shared hosting environment, the risk of security breaches is typically higher. Simply because there are multiple websites on a single server, attackers have more opportunities to gain access. Furthermore, customers using shared hosting are generally the least experienced when it comes to security precautions for web hosting, which means that the server’s vulnerability can be caused by neighbouring sites on the same server.

If one of the customers sharing a server forgets to update WordPress, or if a site becomes compromised, this can affect other websites on the same machine. However, just as with performance and reliability, the risks can vary greatly depending on how much the hosting provider has invested in the security of its servers.

For example, aWh offers Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates for every domain it hosts. This means that data transmitted via each website is always securely encrypted.

For websites that handle large amounts of user data or payment information, choosing VPS hosting can be beneficial. This option offers robust security features, which are usually managed by experienced professionals, so you have less to worry about when it comes to protecting sensitive information.

To understand this, think about what it would be like to buy a home security system. The basic options come with a few sensors and signs to deter people from breaking in. The more sophisticated options, however, include cameras and other monitoring devices that provide additional protection – this is more akin to a VPS hosting environment.

4. Price

With shared hosting, the costs are split amongst the many users of the shared server. For this reason, you can generally expect these packages to be more affordable. The VPS plan provides more resources and is generally more reliable, which is why it often costs more.

Therefore, in terms of pricing, shared hosting is generally the most cost-effective solution overall. At DreamHost, shared hosting plans start from $2.59 per month and increase depending on the features selected and the billing cycle.

The VPS plans offer a range of premium features, such as enhanced performance and customisation options for online businesses.

5. Managed services

We’ve already discussed what shared servers and virtual private servers are, but we haven’t yet talked about who manages them. It’s important to know that shared servers are usually managed, which means that the hosting provider’s expert staff take care of server updates and security. Shared hosting specialists also provide assistance with tasks such as migration, backups, monitoring, updates and maintenance.

A VPS can be managed or unmanaged; the latter refers to a service where the company only provides assistance in the event of server or network-related issues. For example, the customer would be responsible for installing and maintaining software and configurations.

When choosing a VPS host, you can expect more features and support with managed plans. To decide between a managed and an unmanaged VPS, you need to assess how much time you are willing to invest in maintaining your website’s reliability and performance, as well as your technical capabilities in this regard.

6. Scalability

Scalability refers to the extent to which a hosting plan will be able to accommodate the growth of a website. This feature is often the deciding factor when choosing between shared and VPS hosting. Scalability has many aspects, including storage capacity and server capabilities.

The shared hosting plan is well suited to low- and medium-traffic websites, particularly if visits are spread out over the course of the month. If your website is growing, or if you experience high volumes of traffic, a shared server may not be able to keep up with the increased workload. The VPS hosting plan offers greater guaranteed flexibility, as the resources are dedicated exclusively to your website.

Resources can often be configured to adapt to different traffic trends. For example, e-commerce shops are likely to need more bandwidth to cope with the rush of customers on Black Friday. Therefore, if you expect to add significantly more content and traffic, a VPS hosting plan is generally a good investment.

Some website owners initially opt for an affordable shared hosting plan. This allows them to test out an idea and then switch to a VPS plan later on. However, if you’re expecting rapid growth, it’s worth considering starting with a VPS plan straight away. When user demand begins to exceed the server’s resources, there is no alternative but to upgrade your plan.

7. Customisations

With a shared hosting plan, the server will be pre-configured and optimised for the majority of users. If you’re a beginner, you might not want to make any changes to your server environment at all. In that case, shared hosting could be the right choice for you.

To optimise your website’s performance, you may want more control over the software installed. With a virtual private server, you generally have fewer restrictions when it comes to customising and installing applications on the server. Unlike shared hosting, you can install new software and customise it to suit your needs.

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. As you have access to the server’s software and settings, you wouldn’t want to accidentally delete the wrong file or misconfigure a critical component. If you’re new to web development, it’s worth starting with a shared hosting plan until you’ve mastered these skills.

How should you choose between a VPS and shared hosting?

With shared hosting, you don’t need to worry about updates, as most of them happen automatically. As you don’t have to maintain your own server, no technical expertise is required.

What’s more, shared hosting can be an excellent choice if you have minimal traffic or are simply looking for hosting that’s easy to maintain. This type of hosting plan is well suited to:

• Blogs and personal websites
• Small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-commerce sites that expect a maximum of 500 visitors per day
• People planning to set up a business

Like shared hosting, VPS hosting also offers numerous advantages. As you have complete control over the server, you can configure it as you see fit. This can be extremely useful for experienced WordPress developers.

You can also enjoy huge amounts of bandwidth and hosting, all of which is entirely yours. VPS hosting provides easy backups and scalability, and you can run numerous batch files using your shell access.

Here are a few common scenarios where a virtual private server is likely to be the right choice:

• Businesses that are rapidly expanding beyond shared hosting
• Companies that are expecting a significant increase in traffic within the next few months.
• Businesses that are planning to host a number of websites in the near future.
• High-traffic websites requiring exceptional bandwidth and security

In short, VPS hosting is great if your website is experiencing rapid growth and expansion, as it can keep pace with your success. Meanwhile, shared web hosting is an excellent entry point into web hosting, allowing you to enjoy affordable hosting whilst your business grows.

When is it worth switching from shared hosting to VPS hosting?

If you’re currently using shared hosting, you might want to consider whether it’s time to switch to VPS hosting. Fortunately, there are a few warning signs that may indicate your website is ready for this change.

It’s probably time to start thinking seriously about switching if:

• Your website receives a large number of visitors every day
• You need additional resources, such as RAM, CPU, disk space or bandwidth.
• The website takes longer than 3 seconds to load
• Experiencing many unexpected outages

If you notice any of the above factors, it’s time to switch to a VPS. Shared hosting is ideal for smaller websites that require fewer resources, so it’s worth upgrading if your website needs more.

It’s also worth considering scalability. If you’re planning to host multiple websites for your businesses, you can upgrade to a VPS to accommodate this growth. In general, think about what your website needs right now, as well as what it will need to support future growth.

Choose the right web hosting plan

Ultimately, choosing the wrong type of server can result in a lack of resources. This could be in terms of hosting, scalability or affordability. However, you can easily avoid this by selecting the hosting plan that best suits your website.

Make sure you assess your website’s current needs as well as your plans for the future. Shared hosting can be a beginner-friendly and cost-effective solution for smaller websites. Meanwhile, virtual private servers can offer better security, reliability and customisation options, making them ideal for larger, higher-traffic websites.

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