Capital Hosting

So you're ready to start your website. You've done your research. You've picked your domain name. You know what template you're going to use. And you even have the content lined up. All you need now is a web host to get the site online. So you make your way over to your favourite search engine, type in 'best web host', hit enter and... are hit with a true labyrinth of confusing terms: Shared Hosting, VPS and Dedicated Servers, Shared Hosting. The list goes on.

It can be daunting, but it's not as complicated as it seems at first. I'll explain the key terms and the differences between them below, which will let you make the right choice of hosting plan to make your site come alive.

Shared, VPS and Dedicated?

The most important thing to be aware of when picking a web host is that there are three types of hosting plans: Those offering Shared Hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS) or Dedicated Servers.

Shared Hosting means that your website will be hosted on a server alongside many other sites. You can actually see who your neighbors are by entering your domain in what is called a Reverse IP Check service. This has the advantage that costs are kept down, but you do not have the same resources at your disposal as with a Dedicated Server.

Dedicated Servers are specific servers that have been allocated to your site alone. If you were to visit the data center, you could see them sitting there physically. This means a high level of flexibility. You can often choose the exact hardware configuration - CPU, number of cores and RAM for example - which allows you to optimize the server for the needs of your website. The downside is a much higher cost.

Virtual Private Servers fall somewhere in the middle. Instead of allocating a physical server to your website, you will be allocated specific resources on a virtual server. In other words, even though there's not one piece of hardware that you can point at where your site lives, a virtual space will be blocked off for you on the hosting company's servers. You can generally select the amount of Disk Space, Traffic and RAM that your site will need. It is cheaper than a Dedicated Server, but there is less flexibility in picking the hardware.

Still confused? Let's use a real world metaphor.

Let's say you live in the suburbs and have a daily commute into the city center. Shared Hosting is like the public bus or shuttle service that stops in front of your house. There's enough space for you to ride it, but you share it with other passengers. If one day, you have your family over and take them along as well, that's usually not a problem. But if some other passengers on the bus start bringing friends and family along as well, the bus will get full, and you'll have to wait for the next one. Shared Hosting works the same way. It works fine under most circumstances, but there's always a risk of slowdown if your site gets a lot of traffic, or if other sites on the same server do.

A Dedicated Server is like having your own car and driver. You will always know in advance how much space you have in your car, so there are no surprises. And you can select a car that fits your needs. Are you in the moving business? Get a van. Are you an investment banker? Get a limo. Of course, if you suddenly need a lot more space you will have to buy a different car, which makes it quite a bit more expensive.

Lastly, to keep the metaphor going, Virtual Private Servers are like lease cars. You don't actually own them like you do a private car, but you don't have to share them with anyone else. Of course, when leasing you can normally only pick from a small set of different cars, and so it is with the hosting plans. You don't have the same flexibility as with Dedicated Hosting.

So what type of hosting should you go for?

In summary, out of the three main types of hosting, Shared Hosting is the cheapest, but you have to share the resources with others; VPS is a step up, offering more resources that are solely at your disposal; and Dedicated Hosting gets you the greatest flexibility and control, but it comes at a price. Armed with this knowledge you should be able to compare web hosting plans and find one to your liking. Enjoy the Search!

After having spent seven years at Google, Peter Otzen founded CompareAnyHost.com to make sense of the confusing world of web hosting. Continuously scouring hundreds of different hosting plans, he has found the best deals for both beginner and advanced hosting customers. A Buying Guide and in-depth articles are frequently updated to help newbies find their feet.

Go find your best hosting deal now at: http://www.compareanyhost.com