Website Building: Understanding Different Types of Website Hosting (Servers)

 

If you are looking for a website hosting space service provider on the Internet, you will quickly find that there are many service providers on the Internet, and they provide various types of website hosting servers. The more common ones are:

Shared (Virtual) Hosting ( Shared Virtual Hosting )

Cloud Virtual Hosting ( Cloud Virtual Hosting )

VPS (Virtual Private Server)

Cloud Server ( Cloud Hosting / Cloud VPS Hosting )

Managed WordPress Hosting ( Managed WordPress Hosting )

Managed Cloud Hosting

Dedicated Server ( Dedicated Server )

Different web hosting types have obvious differences in price, features and technical specifications. If you are new to the hosting space, these different types of hosting servers can easily confuse you.

In this article we will discuss the most popular types of web hosting (servers) available today. After reading it, you will have a basic understanding and judgment of all kinds of website hosts, and you will know which type of website host is suitable for your website.

What is a web host?

A web host is the computer hardware resource that powers your website and makes it accessible to visitors from around the world. In other words, it is the web space where your website files and content are stored and managed.

Today, almost every website uses some type of web host (server) behind it, whether it's a large site like Linkedin.com or a small site like tigress.cc.

When you buy a website host, you are actually renting space on the server to store and manage your website programs, website files, website SSL security certificates, etc. on this space. This "space" may be a part of the space on a server shared by you and other users, or it may be a space on the server network (also called "cloud"), or it may even be a server in the computer room of the entire service provider.

As long as you are not using a dedicated server (Dedicated Server), the host server space you use is the disk space and resource configuration that the service provider divides on a network server through virtualization technology for multiple users to maximize efficiently utilize the resources of a single server.

The web host's servers are connected to the Internet. These are not just servers, but web servers. This means that these servers are able to receive http requests, process them and send responses back to website visitor browser clients. These servers run special web server software that enables them to respond to http requests. Apache and Nginx are two popular web server software used by many web hosts.

After you purchase a web host from a web host, you can access the web host (server) configured for you by the service provider. On the website host (server), you can install/upload website programs and website files in a certain location. These files can be images, HTML, Javascript, CSS style sheets, and dynamic code like PHP.

Usually purchased website hosts (servers) come with an IP address. After doing domain name resolution and pointing the website domain name to this IP, people can use this domain name to visit your website. Some web hosting service providers will ask you to fill in your website domain name when purchasing, and will automatically do website domain name resolution for you after the service is activated. Once you have a web hosting space, you can use it, just like installing software on your computer, you can also install website building programs and other application software on your web hosting.

For example, if you want to make a website, you first need a web host (hardware). Then, you can install WordPress (the software) on your web hosting.

Usually, a high-traffic, high-resource website needs a powerful virtual host or even a VPS to handle the workload, while a low-traffic website can use a low-configuration virtual host.

6 Best Green Web Hosting Services – Most Reliable in 2023

An Introduction to the Different Types of Web Hosting (Servers) 

 1. Shared Web Hosting (Shared Web Hosting), that is, virtual hosting

 Shared hosting, also known as virtual hosting (Virtual hosting), as the name suggests, shared hosting means that you share the resources of a single server with other customers. The web server that shared hosting is attached to is similar to a computer with hard drive space, CPU and memory. The resources of these servers are shared with other users.

In a shared hosting environment, it's a bit like driving a car and sharing a highway with many other cars. Hundreds or even thousands of users share the same server, which means they also share the cost. This "collective" platform makes shared web hosting the cheapest option of all web hosting types. Because it's also easy to get started, many individual bloggers, startups, and small businesses use shared web hosting to host and manage their websites.

For the convenience of understanding, I will call it a virtual host below. SiteGround is still the first choice for website building virtual host recommended by tigress.cc.

The most basic website host/server on the Internet is this Shared Hosting. Almost most websites use this type of hosting. Why?

Because the biggest advantage of virtual hosting is that it is cheap and relatively easy to use.

Features of virtual hosting:

Multiple user accounts on the same physical server

One user account can have multiple websites

same underlying operating system

Shared CPU, memory, and other resources (fixed allocation of bandwidth and storage space)

Sites are isolated between different users 

While the low price of web hosting is attractive, there can be some downsides when it comes to performance, reliability, and security. If other user sites that share the same server resources as you are consuming a lot of resources, it may negatively affect your site's performance because there are not enough resources available.

You should probably understand by now that when you buy a web hosting plan, what you actually get is a hosting account, not an entire web server. In a web hosting account, you can create websites, users, set up databases, and more. In order to meet the various management needs of users, web hosting service providers will provide user management panels to facilitate user operations. cPanel is a classic hosting resource management panel with a long history.

How much does web hosting cost?

Depending on the configuration of the plan, usually users need to pay $3/month to $15/month for the virtual hosting space, and the prices vary.

The price of a good web hosting service provider is indeed much more expensive than a cheap service provider.

Pay attention to the discount price period when purchasing

When purchasing a host from a virtual hosting provider, it is usually found that the package price of the hosting provider is greatly discounted when the first purchase is the first purchase. The main purpose of hosting companies to provide large discounts to new customers is to seize market share and give potential customers the opportunity to experience and feel host products and services at a lower initial cost.
In order to enjoy the ultra-low discount price for a long time, most users will try to choose a longer period of time, usually 3 years, so that the lock-in discount time is longer and the overall discount rate is the largest.

If you only choose one year, the price will return to the normal price after the one-year first-buyer discount period, which is usually 4-5 times the discounted price. Many users can't accept the price increase so much, and many users will choose to buy other alternative virtual hosts and enjoy the preferential prices of other hosts for the first purchase.

Basically, all web hosting service providers only provide substantial discounts and low prices for the first purchase, and there is no discount for renewal after the first purchase discount period expires. Other companies, including SiteGround, Bluehost, GreekGeeeks, Hostinger, etc., do not offer renewal discounts, because new customers have already provided substantial discounts for the first purchase, so there is usually no discount for renewals.

Misleading propaganda by virtual hosts

The price package of virtual hosting is introduced there, and some foreign virtual hosting merchants will also promote:

Unlimited Websites (the number of websites is not limited)

Unlimited website space / Unlimited Storage (unlimited host space)

Unmetered bandwidth (no extra charge even if you use high bandwidth)

Unlimited sub domains (support unlimited sub domain names)

Of course, these are just propaganda means, not really unlimited. The usage per web host is still monitored by the web host and subject to the "fair use" policy. In fact, nothing in this world is infinite, and everything that is advertised as infinite is "finite".
Generally, the number of files of a virtual host company is limited to 50,000-200,000. Of course, generally speaking, the files of a enterprise website will not exceed this order of magnitude.

So-called WordPress Hosting

In fact, it is a virtual host with pre-installed WordPress and some common WordPress tools, just like a general Web Hosting virtual host.

Generally, when you open a host, you will be given an installation wizard. In addition to pre-installing WordPress, you can choose some WordPress tools. 

Disadvantages of web hosting

Con 1: Virtual hosting uses shared IP addresses

 1) If attacked by hackers, the websites with the same IP on the entire server will be affected. If a domestic website stores illegal information on a certain server site and is detected by the Internet, the IP will be blocked, and all sites sharing the IP will be affected at the same time.

2) If you build a foreign trade B2B display enterprise website, it is usually still a small website. For small websites, there is really no need to pursue independent IP. For the reason, see: Does a virtual host still need an independent IP? In-depth analysis (including the difference between independent IP and shared IP)

However, if the website you build has an e-commerce website like an online mall built by WooCommerce or Big Commerce, usually involving a payment gateway, then the higher requirements for data security and online payment of the website require the use of an independent IP. Or your website is marketing-oriented, and you are very concerned about the brand image, or you plan to use the email provided by the host provider as a corporate email to send emails (this choice is actually not very wise), then it is still necessary to use a dedicated IP.

Some hosting providers provide additional dedicated IP (dedicated ip), while others do not provide dedicated IP. If you buy a virtual host and need an independent IP, you should choose those virtual hosting service providers that can provide independent IP. Examples include SiteGround and ChemiCloud.

Con 2: Some configurations and parameters are limited

In order to maintain security, the server configuration of the virtual host is locked, and users cannot modify and adjust it through the user panel. This means that if some website building tools need to use more resources, or exceed certain usage limits (such as uploaded file size), you need to send a ticket to contact customer service personnel to see if they can help you make changes and adjustments. At this point, there are some unfreedoms, not as good as VPS Hosting, Cloud Hosting and dedicated servers.

But this is also understandable. After all, a virtual host is like you live in an apartment in a well-decorated apartment building. After you check in, you find that the windows can only be opened halfway for easy ventilation. If you don't think it's enough, ask the service provider if you can open all the windows so that the air can circulate better. It depends on whether the service provider will allow to meet the user's request. If possible, a professional will be arranged to help you set it up. If not, there is no way.
The package configuration of the virtual host is fixed, and it is impossible to freely customize resource utilization like a cloud server. After all, the virtual host is limited by the resource allocation of the virtualization server. 

Is web hosting safe?

It depends on the service provider running the web hosting. A good web host will take the necessary steps to isolate one account from another so that one user cannot access another user's files. However, if someone gains root access to the operating system, all accounts could be compromised, even if your site is secure.

Therefore, you need to trust your web hosting provider's ability to provide a secure environment. Relatively speaking, Some web hosts have security concerns, while service providers such as SiteGround, Cloudways, and Kinsta generally do a very good job in this regard.

What kind of users are virtual hosts suitable for?

Web hosting is best suited for people or businesses that:

    Have limited background knowledge of web hosting
    Want to save the cost of building a website
    Not very familiar with website building technology and want to worry less about website management
    Need a simple website for small business or personal use
    New to learning web design, programming code or WordPress

In general, web hosting (shared hosting) is the most economical option for small websites. Usually, for a business showcase website or a personal blog website, most of the visits are low, so web hosting is a good choice because it is affordable and relatively convenient.

Our B2B website is more suitable for using web hosting to build a website, because most foreign trade people have little contact with website building technology and tools, business work is also busy, need an easy to get started with the hosting space to run websites with maximum efficiency and minimum technical knowledge. Then SiteGround, a web host with global coverage, is perfect.

SiteGround has also implemented server isolation technology on their web hosts. This means that an infected or hacked website will not affect other websites on the same server.

Upgrade or change web hosting type

Once a website experiences a significant increase in traffic, it is time to choose to upgrade the corresponding web hosting plan to provide more stable access based on the website traffic monitoring data. Some users may choose a more advanced type of web hosting service in order to upgrade the performance and reliability of the website.

2. Cloud Virtual Hosting – CVH

Cloud web hosting is the web hosting product equivalent of web hosting plus cloud computing.

Cloud Web Hosting (CVH) is a product that combines the simplicity and ease of use of web hosting with the flexibility and power of cloud computing. It is fully comparable to regular web hosting in terms of usage and has no technical requirements for the user, with virtually all installation and configuration and update activities performed by the hosting provider's technical staff.

There are limitations when using web hosting package plans, as users cannot customize PHP, Apache, MySQL, etc. This is where the freedom and scalability of cloud web hosting is a bit higher. The scalability of the cloud allows users to change server capacity at any time, add processors, memory RAM, expand hard drive capacity, etc. The entry-level package configuration of a cloud web hosting product can support businesses and personal sites of significant size and traffic.

The cloud web hosting provider isolates each user in a Lightweight Virtualized Environment (LVE), providing each user with a set of pre-allocated resources that cannot be over-used. This invisible fencing of each user's site resource usage increases the reliability of the entire server. A user can no longer abuse the server resources, and it is no longer possible to have any negative impact on your site.

Simply put, each cloud web hosting service is completely isolated from other users' services by virtualization technology. Each cloud web host has its own operating system, which users can choose to customize in the configuration backend. Some cloud web hosting providers may also have a separate site backup system, which makes it easy to back up the hosting server and database. 

3. VPS Hosting

A VPS (or Virtual Private Server) is a virtual machine that provides virtualized server resources on a physical server that is shared with other users. As with virtual hosting, multiple users can be on the same physical server.

With a VPS, you get dedicated server space with reserved resources, providing better control and customization than a shared resource web host. Simply put, VPS acts as an isolated virtual environment on a physical server and uses virtualization technology to split a physical machine into multiple private server environments with shared resources, enabling the creation and management of multiple virtual machines.

Each virtual machine runs a separate instance of the operating system, usually a Linux system such as Ubuntu or CentOs, and the VPS configuration generally has a higher resource allocation, both in terms of CPU and memory, than a virtual host. And you can always use a predefined amount of resources - you don't have to share memory, CPU, hard disk space or bandwidth with any other user.

VPS offers more data isolation than web hosting. As a result, another VPS on the same server will not affect your VPS, ensuring better performance consistency. In addition, you get more server-level control, including root access.

 Features of VPS

    Full control of your virtual server with root access
    Freedom to configure the system environment and install custom software
    Guaranteed 100% exclusive access to system-related resources
    Separate operating system instance
    Better isolation from other users

VPS pricing is based on the amount of memory, CPU cores and cores, and type of hard drive (currently SSDs are common) provided, and it is generally more expensive than web hosting.

In addition, the responsibility of maintaining the server falls on you, and you must take care of the server security and updates. If you don't have certain operation and maintenance skills, then this can be a difficult and headache inducing task. You need to set up and manage the server environment, understand Linux, SSH, and how to take security precautions. Either you need to learn and practice your Ops skills to become a VPS administrator, or you should outsource to someone with sufficient technical skills.

What kind of user is VPS for?

VPS is ideal for people who are more hands-on, have some technical foundation in website building, are not satisfied with the web hosting, and are unable to meet the performance and configuration needs of their website. It is not very suitable for novice website builders.

Is a VPS faster than a web host?

All things being equal, a quality VPS provider will be faster and more reliable than a web host. And for the same performance, VPS is usually cheaper than web hosting, but you will need some technical knowledge to use VPS.

Is a VPS the same as a Cloud (VPS) Server, i.e. Cloud (VPS) Hosting?

They are very similar. The main difference is that a traditional VPS uses a single physical server, while a cloud server uses a cloud-based, multi-server cluster network. In either case, you get full dedicated access to the server package resources through virtual isolation by the service provider.
Is VPS beginner friendly?

Although VPS is almost as easy to use as web hosting for the technically savvy. However, they are not the best choice for beginners in building websites and for those who do not have any technical background, as they are more complicated. Web hosting is usually very beginner friendly and has a low learning curve, and is the type of hosting most people will choose when creating a website.

Can you give me an example of the difference between VPS and web hosting?

It's kind of like the difference between sharing an apartment with roommates (web hosting) and having your own apartment in an apartment building (VPS). Or, it's the difference between a furnished apartment that is ready to live in (web hosting) and a large, rough apartment that needs to be furnished and designed and connected to utilities (VPS).

4. Cloud Hosting (Cloud VPS)

 While the traditional VPS Hosting service was once very popular, it has taken a bit of a backseat with the development of cloud servers.

Cloud Hosting (Cloud VPS Hosting) is a lot like VPS, but the main difference is that VPS uses physical servers, which allows your site to get its dedicated resources from a single physical server rather than a "cloud". Cloud Hosting, on the other hand, uses a network of servers that make up a "cloud" of a superb number of servers, ready to respond to the needs of users to add servers and modify configurations, so we sometimes call it a "cloud VPS".

The more common cloud servers, foreign ones are Linode, DigitalOcean, Vultr and so on. In China, there is the well-known AliCloud ECS, which is essentially a cloud server.

Advantage: Compared to traditional VPS, virtual servers can be created, deleted or expanded faster. There is also less downtime because there is no dependence on individual physical machines.

When comparing VPS and cloud servers alone, most people choose cloud servers because they offer more flexible scalability. In other words, if you need to upgrade or downgrade your configuration easily, you can easily upgrade or downgrade or add or remove resource services on your own. This is why providers of cloud servers are able to offer pay-as-you-go pricing. For example, if you have a Linode instance with 1GB of memory, you can scale it up to 2GB or more in seconds.

Cloud servers also have excellent reliability, as there is a network of servers that provide security and support without a single point of server failure affecting other users. Also, like VPS, cloud servers have 100% exclusive access to the resources you purchase for your hosting configuration, rather than shared resources. This will improve the performance of your website and you won't have to worry about other people's websites affecting yours.

Features of a cloud (VPS) server:

    With all the benefits of VPS
    Better scalability and reliability
    Pay-as-you-go pricing
    Cheaper pricing than traditional VPS
    The maintenance and updating of the server is basically done by the user

Cloud Hosting is one of the fastest growing types of web hosting in recent years. Many cloud servers are growing rapidly, with Google Cloud Platform, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean, Linode, etc. being some of the popular cloud server providers on the market. 

5. Managed WordPress Hosting

Hosted WordPress hosting is mainly for those WordPress users who do not want to think too much about the technology of building a website and have a large budget for building a website. Since it is a premium service, the price is also significantly more expensive than the general web hosting.

Hosted WordPress hosting service providers are generally responsible for handling hosting-related issues and provide special services, such as: regular website backups, security checks, automatic backups, core WordPress updates, preset WordPress-specific features, performance optimization tools, better reliability, access to professional WordPress expert team service support, etc., to ensure that the user's website is both secure and fast.

The underlying infrastructure of such hosting can be anything from web hosting, cloud servers, VPS or dedicated servers, depending on the service provider.

Well-known hosting providers for WordPress hosting services include Kinsta and WP Engine, both hosted on Google Cloud. Many other web hosting providers also have similar hosting services, such as SiteGround, which sells not only web hosting but also VPS, but Kinsta and WP Engine are the two providers that are more professional in hosted WordPress hosting.

The main point that distinguishes hosted WordPress hosting from regular web hosting is that it provides users with a set of "concierge services" customized for WordPress websites. The main benefit is to save your mind, hosted hosting package provides a lot of value-added services can save your time to maintain your website. But the price is quite expensive compared to ordinary WordPress web hosting, because users need to pay for these additional services. 

6. Managed Cloud Hosting

With a hosted cloud server, users still get the benefits of a cloud server without having to worry about server security and maintenance.

The more common service providers of hosted cloud servers build their hosting services on top of other cloud infrastructure providers, such as Cloudways.

Cloudways allows users to choose between Google Cloud, AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr as the leading cloud servers. In addition to providing service support, they manage everything, including server configuration, software installation and maintenance.

The price of a hosted cloud server is a bit higher than a self-maintained and managed cloud server because of the configuration maintenance and management services provided on top of that.

In addition to Cloudways, there is also Liquid Web, which has a very detailed and in-depth service, offering many types of web servers and hosted servers. But the price is too expensive, and there are too many options for the same price to choose this one. 

7. Dedicated Server

Also known as a standalone server. The actual physical server that you have full control over, you do not need to share the server with any other users. You are free to configure the server and install applications as you wish.

A dedicated server is generally only considered when a website requires more configuration resources than VPS and cloud servers can provide. A dedicated server means that the entire server is dedicated to your website only, and it only contributes to your efforts. This means your website has a higher level of privacy, security, bandwidth, storage space and speed.

But the downside of a dedicated server is that it is super expensive. It is the most expensive type of web hosting (server) and requires a lot of IT skills to manage.

Generally as a large website or online service platform, dedicated servers are used. For example, game providers, popular social platforms, film and entertainment platforms, large portals, etc.

8. Reseller Hosting

Reseller web hosting is not complicated and it is usually of more interest to website builders and web developers who create and manage numerous client websites. If you are a website builder or agency, you can earn an additional source of income by reselling the hosting (servers) and domain names of one of the popular web hosting service providers.

After applying to become a reseller, the web hosting provider sells the reseller hosting packages at wholesale prices. The reseller can then set a certain profit and sell to the group of customers they serve, and the reseller makes a profit in this way. If the reseller has the marketing skills to attract potential customers to sign up and buy, then this business can make a good profit.

If you are a reseller, you can set up multiple cPanel accounts under one reseller account and give it to your customers, or you can manage it yourself. Usually resellers can also white label their customers' accounts through WHM (Web Hosting Manager) - the equivalent of removing the trademark, copyright and logo information of the hosting or domain name provider, which is simply equivalent to rebranding. This way, the reseller's users will only see the reseller's own logo and not the web hosting company's logo.

Many of the major web hosting providers in the market today offer Reseller Hosting Plans.

 Finally: the common choice of website building

(1) as a business site, the first choice for new builders of web hosting. For example, SiteGround, ChemiCloud and FastComet.

Reasons: simple and easy to start, relatively easy to operate, relatively inexpensive.

(2) When the web host for various reasons can not meet the use of demand, or site visits increase rapidly, or you want to experience the high performance of the cloud VPS, or your site has a profitable effect can bring a lot of customers very high importance, the need to upgrade the web host. Then it is a wise choice to choose Managed Cloud Hosting. One provider that has been very popular and has a good reputation over the past few years is Cloudways.

Reason: Since there are technical requirements for the use of VPS and cloud servers, it cannot be recommended to everyone. The managed cloud (VPS) server, or managed cloud VPS, solves this problem by offering more services and a slightly higher price. Compared to traditional VPS and cloud servers, the technical requirements needed to maintain and manage a website are drastically reduced. Users are also able to enjoy better performance and reliability than web hosting.

(3) The budget is more adequate or the tycoon choose foreign trade website hosting, you can choose the managed WordPress hosting (Managed WordPress Hosting) - this is to the technical experts team hosting WordPres hosting.

For users whose budget is not a problem, Kinsta, a well-known managed WordPress hosting provider, is a reliable choice.

Additional Notes

For all the above web hosting types, if the name is preceded by Managed, the price will be 5 - 10 times more expensive than regular hosting because of the extra services and costs.