Nozak Consulting

Is a VPS or Dedicated Server Best?

Scott Emigh

For SMBs & Enterprise Companies

If you’re trying to work out the best type of web hosting service for your company website, you may have seen a number of different choices and not been absolutely certain about what the differences are between a VPS and a dedicated server?

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about VPS and Dedicated Servers; and help you find out what is the best type of hosting service for your website and your business.

VPS Hosting vs. Dedicated Server

What is a Virtual Private Server?

Also referred to as VPS, a Virtual Private Server is a virtual machine or server, with its own resources and operating system, and is set within a larger server. A VPS hosting service will offer clients their own virtual machine, that is functionally equal to a dedicated server.

Now that we’ve covered the VPS definition let’s explain a little more about what the nearest alternative offers.

What is a Dedicated Server?

dedicated server or dedicated hosting service is where a client will have a complete server for their own, without it being shared by or with anyone else. When compared with shared hosting, a dedicated server provides a greater level of adaptability, as the person who is leasing the server gets complete control over things such as hardware and operating system. Usually with a dedicated server there is a dedicated administrator or an IT company managing the updates/changes and environment.

The Benefits of a VPS Server

If you’ve ever heard of VMWare before, the underpinning technology behind VPS Server hosting is very similar. Essentially, you can run multiple virtualized operating systems on a singular machine. For instance, you might have desktops that run on Windows 10, but you can also utilize and run different operating systems, such as Linux or Windows X, without needing to completely restart your computer.

With a VPS Server, you benefit from the affordability factor that shared hosting is popular for, but you get more control and more power. Additionally, the company you have the VPS with will have more accessibility to your account and allowed to help you if something goes majorly wrong.

Here is a quick summary of the benefits of a Virtual Private Server:

  1. More Control

If you need to install any server applications that need you to restart the system, you will be able to do this at any time. While you’re still technically sharing server space with other VPS Servers, your own VPS can be restarted without impact upon others.

  1. Customization Capabilities

If you get a VPS server for your business, you will have your own Operating System. Alongside this, you will also have various VPS Server applications such as PHP, MySQL, and Apache. When the time comes that you need to have any of these services customized for your business; you are free to make any alterations that you might need.

  1. Privacy

With a VPS Server, privacy is one of the most appealing factors when looking at shared hosting Vs. VPS hosting.  Because your operating system is not shared with anyone else, and there is no chance of anyone else being able to access or view your files.

  1. Completely Dedicated Resources

When you use a VPS server, you will benefit from dedicated RAM that is only available to you. When VPS and Shared hosting solutions are compared, this is a standout factor supporting the use of VPS, as there will be wholly dedicated resources for you, that are available when you need them. Nobody else can use that RAM, only you.

A VPS Hosting provider offers the perfect balance of performance, affordability, privacy, and security. In addition to the above benefits of using a VPS, you will also benefit from:

  • Rapid Set-up of a Server
  • Sharing the Cost of Any Services
  • A Better Level of Access
  • Same or Equivalent Services as a Dedicated Server, Without the Bigger Price tag and need for a network administrator.

The Benefits of Dedicated Servers

If you’re trying to establish whether you need a VPS or a Dedicated server, this section explains the specific advantages you will benefit from if you opt to go down the dedicated server route for your business.

  1. Adaptability and Customization

When you compare shared hosting Vs. dedicated hosting, one of the biggest advantages of dedicated hosting is the flexibility you get from being able to manage the entire configurations of the server. It can quickly and easily meet the changing needs of the business as it grows and adapts.

  1. Dependability

When you choose shared hosting, you need to share the resources of a single server with other websites. If these websites have a big impact on the bandwidth or peak during certain times, this can limit the reliability of the server and slow down your website.

One of the major features of a dedicated server is that you do not need to share those resources with anyone outside of your organization. It means the likelihood of a website crashing is significantly decreased and means your site will be able to handle greater traffic volumes.

  1. Security

Similar to a VPS hosting environment, Dedicated servers offer better security than shared hosting. Nobody else will be able to access your files or your own servers, with the exception of the company that provides your Dedicated or VPS hosting services.

If your company needs to be PCI compliant or is required to meet with any other regulatory requirements, then choosing a VPS or a dedicated server is going to more suitable than shared hosting.

  1. Performance

For the same reasons you get better reliability from a dedicated server vs. a shared hosting server, you also get higher levels of performance. If you have lots of content on your website, whether its video content, large files or lots of images; you need a performant server to ensure that your clients aren’t kept waiting for the content to load.

Slow running websites can frustrate visitors and lose your money. This is a key consideration when you are looking for the best type of hosting service for your website.

VPS vs. Shared vs. Dedicated Web Hosting

If you’ve found this post because you want to know the differences between a VPS and a Dedicated server, then you will also want to know how these two stack up against the third choice which is shared hosting services.

If you take a read through this next section, you will be able to establish the best hosting services for your website.

While there are lots of different hosting companies, and indeed, lots of choices for hosting a website; this quick comparison of VPS vs. Shared vs. Dedicated Web Hosting will outline everything you need to know.

VPS Hosting Explained

The easiest way to explain the VPS meaning and what to expect from a managed VPS host is to liken it to renting a serviced office. Other companies will be based in the same building, but you each have your own highly-secured space, which cannot be accessed by the other tenant.

There are more room and fewer restrictions that if you were working in a co-working space. Plus, if any of the other tenants aren’t following the rules, it is the problem of the landlord, and not yours.

With VPS hosting, there are other companies which will use the same VPS server. However, every instance is completely isolated from the next. You do not have to share any resources, and you will not be impacted by their use of their own resources. In terms of performance, you get security and speed.

In summary, we believe using a VPS server is the best type of hosting service because you get the perfect balance of dedicated resources, performance, security, and affordability.

VPS hosting will not cost as much as dedicated hosting, yet you get an almost like-for-like service in terms of having isolation from other using the same VPS server, better flexibility than a shared hosting service, and you have complete access to your own resources.

Shared Hosting Explained

Following the theme of explaining the different types of hosting services, shared hosting is just like bunking together in a dormitory.

You share the same space, you split all of the bills, and it is the cheapest way to survive. However, resources are tight, there are lots of restrictions in place, and you depend on everyone to behave in the right way.

When looking at VPS Vs. Shared hosting, businesses get far greater privacy, greater speed, and greater performance from a VPS server.

While shared hosting is the cheapest type of hosting service, there are lots of websites that require the extra performance and privacy in order to secure a dependable and stable website.

Because shared hosting services are somewhat unpredictable in terms of the reliability of the service they are able to offer; if one website is overloaded with demand, it can instantly put the performance of another website on the same server at risk.

For many businesses who depend on their website, this is often too much of a gamble to take.

Dedicated Hosting

With a dedicated hosting service, this can be compared to owning your office space entirely. You can go wherever you like, whenever you like, and you are free to make changes at your leisure. However, because you are paying for everything, it can get a little bit pricey.

When comparing a Dedicated Server Vs. VPS, the price is a major consideration. Because a VPS server tends to offer the same privacy, performance, and flexibility as a dedicated server at a far lower cost, this often tips the decision in favor of choosing to use a VPS server for website hosting.

How VPS Hosting Works

A Virtual Private Server operates in a completely virtualized manner. Essentially, a very powerful server is split into individual servers. Despite the fact that the core physical server is shared, the dedicated virtual server is reserved for a single client, and you will not need to share your RAM, CPU, or any other data with anybody else.

The main difference between VPS and Shared hosting services is in the way the resources on the server are shared.

VPS Hosting gives you more benefits that a shared hosting environment, and while it does cost a little bit more, a VPS hosting service costs a lot less than a dedicated server, while still delivering most of the same features and benefits. 

A managed VPS host offers better security than shared hosting; it offers complete server access, better flexibility and above all else, it provides an assured performance for your business.

When Is the Right Time to Upgrade Your Hosting Plan?

As you’re reading this post, you’ll probably be looking at your choices for hosting a website. There are lots of reasons why people decide to upgrade their hosting or switch website hosting services for their business.

Knowing the right time to change your hosting provider is key for the continued success of your business and the proper ability for your website to adequately service the needs of your customers.

You Need Better Security for Your Website

Whether you need to meet with new regulations or compliance needs, or perhaps you’ve fallen victim to a compromise shared hosting server, switching to a VPS hosting service can help you meet those requirements, and offer you better security than you get with your current hosting service.

You Need More Speed or Better Performance

If your website contains lots of images, videos, or content, then it is likely the speed of service will start to slow down and drag a little.

This can cause the slow loading of pages on the site, and where customers are concerned, it can completely destroy their browsing experience and in many cases, result in them becoming frustrated and looking elsewhere.

For a website that is dependent on database-driven operations, this can also result in lag. Longer processing times could well indicate that you need to change move from shared to a VPS hosting service.

As your business grows, and traffic numbers to your site improve, this can also mean that a shared hosting service will no longer be able to cope well with the increased demand. In order to ensure a continued and performant website, switching to a VPS hosting service is probably the best course of action.

Issues with Resources

If you don’t have an adequate amount of memory of your shared hosting server, you might be faced with 503-Server Errors which basically means your customers and website visitors won’t be able to use your website properly.

When you look at the way a shared hosting service operates and consider that other people’s website can impact the availability of your own, it makes sense to move over to a VPS hosting service.

Choosing the best VPS Hosting Provider in 2019

With so many different VPS service providers to choose from, choosing the best VPS host can be a challenge. Regardless of whom you choose, we wanted to give you a couple of pointers to consider when you try to find the best VPS hosting service online.

Customer Support

This takes top place, and for a good reason. When something goes wrong, you need help or simply have a question to ask, you need a highly-responsive customer support function whom you can speak to there and then. Look for a VPS hosting company that offers 24/7 live chat support.

Pricing for VPS Hosting Services

If you are moving from a shared hosting service, then you can expect to pay a little more for VPS website hosting. Price is a deciding factor for most people and as such, it’s important to shop around to ensure you’re getting a comparatively good deal.

Typically speaking, the available VPS hosting resources are scalable, so it’s important to make sure you are comparing like-for-like VPS hosting services.

Performance and Reliability

The very first thing you need to know when looking for the best VPS hosting service online is the guaranteed uptime. With shared hosting services, you will get a significantly lower level of performance than a VPS host.

Because you are paying a higher price for VPS hosting Vs. shared hosting, you can expect a better level of performance.

The minimum assurance you should be looking for when trying to find the best online VPS hosting service is 99.9%.

Why VPS Is Best for WordPress Hosting

If you’ve been looking for the best WordPress hosting service online, and have read the contents of this post, you’ll probably know that a VPS hosting service is best.

There are quite literally thousands of WordPress hosting services to choose from, and we hope that you have found some useful tips to help you get the best VPS WordPress hosting service in this post.

Whether you have a new website, or you want to move your existing WordPress website to a new hosting provider, getting the right VPS hosting for WordPress is key.

There is no one-size fits all approach you can deploy. However, when you compare the benefits of shared hosting Vs. VPS Vs. Dedicating Server hosting, a VPS host will usually provide you with everything you need, and more.

  • VPS hosting is secure
  • VPS hosting is performant
  • VPS hosting is affordable
  • VPS hosting requires no technical configurations on your part
  • VPS hosting is flexible

There are also lots of different VPS hosting plans to choose from. The specific plan you choose to host your WordPress site will impact the performance and its potential for growth. VPS provides a robust and solid option for WordPress website hosting and offers an ideal solution at an affordable cost. 

VPS hosting enables you to grow your business and know that you have the right infrastructure in place to grow as your business and your demands evolve.

About The Author:

Elizabeth is a Master of the English language with a relentless passion for research and an eye
for detail that surpasses normality.

Having worked within the private sector for many well-known corporations, she gained direct
experience within finance, insurance, education, eCommerce, and the IT sector. Communication
has always been fundamental to her success in roles that spanned sales, marketing, support,
product, business, and channel management.

For the past five years, she has committed herself fully to the role of lead copywriter and
researcher; combining a plethora of skills and experience from her past, to deliver word-perfect,
well-researched professional content that compels readers and inspires them to take action.
Her words make an impact and leave a lasting impression.

Based in the beautiful City of Cambridge, England; Elizabeth is a devoted mum, a life-long F1
enthusiast, and loves to spend time outdoors.