When building their first sites, many web developers use Shared Hosting. It’s quite simply the cheapest option and is largely sufficient for most startups. As the site grows, it will begin to consume more resources. When that happens, most webmasters look at one of two upgrade options: VPS Hosting or a Dedicated Server.
The major benefits of VPS hosting for a WordPress site include more resources, more security, and more control. In addition to the fact that you no longer have to have to share resources with other sites, a VPS (virtual private server) offers scalability. Therefore, website creators can adjust the capacity to meet increased website traffic.
Albeit more expensive than shared website hosting, VPS hosting proves less expensive than a full dedicated server. If a website creator wants more control and security for a website without a huge financial investment, unmanaged VPS web hosting will best serve his or her needs.
However, if a website creator would rather not spend time on maintenance, and simply wants increased resources, the managed VPS hosting option will work best. Ultimately, website owners should pick either VPS hosting option for a clear upgrade from shared hosting that does not require as big of a budget as a dedicated server.
Website creators have to consider that more control over their sites will entail new responsibilities. If the website creator neglects the responsibilities associated with their new resources, the creator will discover that VPS hosting will inhibit him or her from reaping the benefits of upgrading from shared hosting. Therefore, in order to create a website that will show a significant return on investment, a website owner needs to consider the multifaceted benefits of VPS hosting for a WordPress site.
Why you would want to switch to a VPS server in the first place:
- You’ve found your website does have enough resources to facilitate acceptable uptime for your users.
- You’re adding a significant amount of content to your website and do not want to lose quality because of a correlating slow loading speed.
- You want to circumvent relying on shared hosting maintenance to resolve any hacking.
Should you choose unmanaged or managed VPS hosting?
On one hand, a website owner can benefit from not spending money on managed VPS hosting. However, unmanaged hosting will require upkeep, and the website creator will have to pay close attention to the way they use unmanaged VPS hosting. Otherwise, the website owners will invest in a service that will not be notably more effective than shared hosting. If the person running the site can effectively manage the technical aspects of a site independently, the unmanaged option can indeed prove the most beneficial.
Conversely, a website owner can choose managed VPS hosting. Although the service will require the website owner to invest more financially, he or she will receive benefits from not having to manage the technical aspects of the VPS hosting. Moreover, managed hosting will offer website creators more support than unmanaged VPS. Since uptime remains an asset for any website owner, you may want to choose a service provider that will offer the most support. You’ll also want to take preventative measures, in case your website crashes.
Resources tied to VPS hosting for a WordPress site
Website owners will switch to VPS Hosting in order to receive more server root access, more CPU, and more RAM. Additionally, VPS customers will benefit from SSD Storage. More resources mean more customization, control, and independence.
Particularly for WordPress sites, website owners will want to use VPS because website creators use this medium to publish blogs or work with digital content like pictures, gifs, and videos. Website creators will want more storage in order to cater to the increased content. While people use shared hosting for personal blogs, businesses will often upgrade to VPS hosting to prepare for more content, growth and website traffic.
Benefits and associated risks of VPS hosting for WordPress:
Scalable Storage
A major benefit of VPS hosting includes not risking losing website visitors by a sporadic increase in traffic that will affect bandwidth. Likewise, you’ll improve your SEO by optimizing your capacity. For the sake of flexibility, you will want to choose a provider that gives you scalable VPS hosting. In that regard, you’ll cover your bases for bandwidth and storage because you can adjust your resources according to website traffic.
Compatible Servers
First, if you’ve upgraded to a VPS hosting for increased efficiency, you should consider the benefit of choosing a VPS that includes specific amenities such as monitoring, management, and firewall services. If you choose open-source software compatible with WordPress, you’ll capitalize on the benefit of a significant upgrade in performance compared to your old shared hosting. After choosing a VPS, you’ll enjoy not worrying about potential crashes and downtime.
Software Updates
If you want to get the most out of VPS hosting, you should update your query and scripting language, such as the hypertext preprocessor. If you just update the components suggested by WordPress, you will miss the full benefits of having the administrative power associated with VPS hosting. This is important because updating the query and scripting languages will make your site run more efficiently. You’ll also want to continually update in order to keep taking advantage of these benefits.
Caching
It’s important to consider caching your website to optimize speed. Otherwise, your site will likely experience delays, and one of the major reasons for switching to VPS is to accommodate a surge in website traffic. If you do not focus on caching, in general, you’ll inadvertently squander your opportunity to grow your website by ignoring a key facet of website efficiency.
CDN
A CDN (content delivery network) will make your hosting all the more suited to an international audience because you’ll be adding server locations. As such, you’ll reach more people by boosting the website speed for an audience across a large area.
Plus, website owners will choose WordPress for blogging. This will likely include pictures or videos that will experience a buffering hiccup without the benefit of a CDN to increase loading speed. Increased usability will drive people to the website. If a website creator is looking to reach an international audience, they can justify adding a CDN to a VPS hosting. You’ll also have a CDN to support your site if one server undergoes downtime.
