VPS vs Dedicated Server – Which to Choose for Your WordPress Site
When choosing a hosting provider for your WordPress website, the types of hosting packages should be among the top things you pay attention to. The way hosting usually works is that packages are, at least broadly, tied with the type of server your website will be hosted on. Servers matter a lot for your website. A difference like the one between VPS and dedicated servers might be bigger than the pricing gap would suggest.
So when you’re facing the prospects of going for a new hosting plan, how do you know which one to choose? Neither VPS nor dedicated servers are the entry-level option. Both give plenty of reasons to choose them over the other lot. Usually, one of the options might be clearly better than the other, even though it doesn’t have to be obvious to you.
That’s where we might help. In this article, we’ll clear out some things and help you go into the dilemma with useful information. We’ll cover:
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When you choose a hosting provider, you choose a company whose computer will act as a home for your website, or the server. A server comes with certain resources, just like any other computer. It has a CPU, an amount of RAM, a disk for storage, and bandwidth to connect with the internet, again, just like any other computer.
One of the things different hosting packages dictate is how many websites, besides yours, will share a single computer. This is important for a couple of reasons, with the allotment of resources being the most prominent one. If you have to share RAM, storage, or bandwidth, your website might experience performance issues because of it.
These issues don’t have to be noticeable, as many websites use the least-favorable hosting option and they’re thriving. The bigger the website and the more resources it needs, however, the more it becomes obvious that some hosting solutions are better than others. The entry-level hosting option, shared hosting, has your website sharing the server and its resources with other websites. Both VPS and dedicated are a step up from that, although in different ways and to a different extent.
The “VPS” in “VPS hosting” stands for “virtual private server.” It means that, if you choose this type of hosting for your website, it will be hosted on a virtual private server. “Virtual” is the key word here, as your website will actually share the server with other websites. Still, it will have some of the comforts of having a private server.
With VPS hosting, every website on a server gets allocated its own chunk of resources from the server. Sharing is kept to the minimum and balanced very carefully so that your website’s resource pool never dips below what’s guaranteed in your package. The hosting provider does that by employing an emulator – also known as hypervisor or the virtual machine monitor – which creates a virtual machine for each user on the server and maintains the balance.
This type of hosting has the following pros:
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Less expensive than dedicated hosting
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Highly customizable to specific needs, with scalability options
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Better security, especially when compared with shared hosting
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Root access, on a similar level as dedicated hosting
There are also a couple of cons:
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Requires some technical knowledge
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More expensive than shared hosting
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Limitations to resources might become noticeable
As a hosting option, VPS hosting is smack in the middle between the entry-level shared hosting and the coveted dedicated server hosting.
A dedicated server means exactly what it says – one server and all of its resources dedicated to your website and your website alone. It’s like having a house all for yourself, and you don’t have to share the bathroom, the kitchen, or any other amenity with anyone else. You’ll know what resources the server has, and they will be allotted to your website alone.
The fact that you’re not sharing will not only give you access to all the resources from a single server, it will also allow you to make certain choices you wouldn’t be able to if your website had server mates. You might switch to a different brand of CPU or a different operating system.
This isn’t the end to the list of pros that come with dedicated server hosting:
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Highly secure option
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Great performance and high reliability
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A flexible type of hosting in terms of meeting your hardware or software needs
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Often comes with dedicated support
As for the cons:
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It requires more technical knowledge than VPS
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It’s more expensive than VPS
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Scalability might hit a wall
Even the top-notch option has its cons, with price being the biggest turn-off for regular users. Should you still choose one? Let’s see which solution is better suited for which situation.
While dedicated servers are obviously superior in terms of performance and reliability, the real question that needs answering is at which point will that superiority start to show? Even something as simple as regular shared hosting can be the perfect choice for your WordPress website – a virtual private server can be a great choice for an even bigger pool of websites. And your website can go for years without ever giving you cause to think that you might need an upgrade.
To say it bluntly, a VPS is the better choice in most cases. If you have a small or medium business, a blog, or you want to build an online portfolio, there’s no need to look for dedicated hosting.
There are two points where it becomes necessary to look for dedicated hosting. One is when the demands of your website outgrow what you can manage with VPS. If you have a really big website that gets lots and lots of traffic – VPS might not cut it anymore.
The other point that warrants a switch to dedicated hosting is if you have some awfully specific needs for your website hosting. If you need a specific type of hardware or software in your hosting setup, it’s much more likely that you’ll satisfy those needs with a dedicated server than a VPS.
Just keep in mind that you’ll always have to balance the benefit with the cost of a dedicated server. Also, if you’re switching from shared hosting, you should strongly consider going step by step instead of switching straight to dedicated hosting – unless you really know what you’re doing and that you absolutely need dedicated server hosting.
Let’s Wrap It Up!
When choosing the type of server you want to host your website, you should do your best to make a choice that matches your needs. If you choose an underpowered option, your website will have performance issues. If you choose an option that’s overpowered, you’ll be spending money for no reason.
The difference between VPS and dedicated server is just that – one is the less expensive and powerful option, the other packs a bigger punch but comes with a higher cost. Ultimately, it will be up to you to make the choice – no one knows your budget and your website’s needs better.
