Types of Website Hosting & What Each Does

 

Website hosting is offered in different types, seeking to meet different needs. 

Obviously, the resources needed for a personal blog and large e-commerce are different, isn't it? Therefore, the following companies offer varied products. Let's check out the main ones:

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Shared Hosting 

With the popularization of the internet, the number of people and companies that want to have a website has grown. What was once a resource used only by large corporations has become accessible to personal pages and businesses of all sizes. 

However, having a dedicated hosting server is expensive: the machines require extensive maintenance, security configuration, operational resources, and software. 

However, a well-configured server can host more than one website, especially those medium or small applications that receive less traffic. Therefore, it is possible for 2 or more different websites to share the same server, which is called shared hosting.

 

WordPress Hosting 

WordPress hosting is a derivative of shared hosting intended for customers using the WordPress application. 

As it is an exclusive type of hosting for WordPress CMS, the entire server is configured and optimized to run WordPress better, with better performance, security, and easier installation. 

It is much simpler to create a WordPress site on this type of hosting, as WP is already pre-configured. It also usually includes additional services that are not included with shared hosting, such as CDN and security applications. 

But beware, this hosting is designed solely and exclusively for WordPress, and generally, access to hosting resources is much more limited than in shared hosting.

 

VPS Hosting 

Roughly speaking, this type of hosting can be defined as an intermediary between shared hosting and dedicated server hosting. Imagine the following: Several virtual servers are created inside a more robust server with more resources. This is possible thanks to a technology known as virtualization. 

In VPS hosting, the website is hosted on a virtual machine that is created inside a VPS server. But how is this different from the shared hosting we saw before? In shared hosting, server resources are divided among websites as they are requested. Thus, if an application demands more memory, the other will be harmed. Not on VPS: a portion of the server's resources is dedicated exclusively to the client's website. 

Because of this, VPS hosting generally provides more performance than shared hosting. However, as with dedicated hosting, the user must know how to configure the server. Otherwise, you need to sign up for a managed service or management plan with your hosting provider.

 

Cloud Computing Hosting 

The concept of cloud computing is becoming more and more popular. Services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Sky Drive have shown users how it is possible to store their files without being on their physical devices. This technology is also used in Web Servers, creating what we call Cloud ComputingHosting. 

In this type, several web servers work interconnectedly, forming what is known as a “cluster”. In short, the client's website is hosted in a distributed manner on more than one server. 

For example, it is possible to have a database server, another one for files, and a third one for e-mail. This division is not noticed by the user and exists to optimize resources and facilitate maintenance, as well as ensure better availability of the site. 

 

Dedicated Server Hosting 

There is also the possibility of you hiring a server just for your website. This form of hosting is known as dedicated server hosting. 

The advantage of this type of service is that all software and hardware resources are dedicated exclusively to your application, which gives more speed and supports more simultaneous visitors. 

However, this type of hosting is much more expensive than shared hosting, since all server maintenance costs must be covered by a single customer. 

In addition, it is necessary that the user has knowledge of the configuration of dedicated servers. Otherwise, he must contract a management plan with the hosting company, which will increase the service values.