Hosting as a kind of services developed along with the Web and was always the most widely needed specifically for hosting websites in the data center providers.
The later technology of virtualization attracted the attention of hosting providers, as it proved to be a suitable tool for maximizing the use of available physical resources.
The terms VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server) or VPS (Virtual Private Server), denoting a virtual dedicated server, functioning on a physical one, appeared almost a decade ago.
In subsequent years, VDS / VPS as a type of hosting services evolved with virtualization software and today provides users with ample opportunities for flexible resource allocation and changing the parameters of the virtual server, the choice of software platforms and tools, including analytics and protection against DDoS attacks. A virtual dedicated server can support the required number of sites, databases, domain zones, etc. A number of providers offer to host with the option SSD (Solid State Drive).
To each according to the needs
To choose the best variant of web hosting, you need to know the requirements of your project. For this, it is necessary to answer a number of questions.
▍Which type of site is planned to be created?
This can be, for example, a WordPress site for publishing content, Ghost for blogging, or a static HTML site. All of them show different requirements for hosting.
Examples of websites: static (HTML), web applications, content management system.
▍What are the technical requirements of the site?
Having defined the type of site, you need to make a list of technical requirements, including programming languages and database types.
▍What is the level of security required?
Although any site needs at least a minimum level of security, some types of sites need enhanced protection. For example, they can process bank card data or store personal information of users.
▍ Do you need e-mail hosting?
Also Check: GoDaddyHosting
Perhaps you will use e-mail addresses associated with the domain name of your site, such as contact@yourdomain.com . In this case, you can use the mail service of your hosting provider, if it offers it, or you can turn to the services of another company.
▍How many sites do you plan to create?
If there are several of them, is it possible to assign each subdomain of the type myothersite.mydomain.ru, or is it necessary to have a top-level domain of the form myothersite.ru? Do these sites have additional requirements, for example, do they need databases for them?
▍How much data is expected to be stored and maintained?
The capacity of your virtual server is a matter not only of traffic but also the size/number of files. The larger the file size, the greater the storage capacity and network bandwidth required. For example, if high-quality images or video are stored on the site, then these requirements are high.
▍What is the expected initial traffic?
Hosting services are usually segmented by traffic. In fact, most new sites have little traffic. But, if it grows, you need to be sure that the virtual server will cope with it.
▍What traffic is expected in the future?
Do you expect a significant increase in traffic in the future? If yes, then it is necessary to plan in advance the increase in capacity and throughput.
▍What is your hosting budget?
If it is very limited, then some gadgets will have to be abandoned. Conversely, with flexible financing, you can take advantage of additional tools and functions.
Level of your technical training
To create sites of almost any type of deep knowledge is not necessary, but individual management tasks require some preparation. If you feel confident, then you can independently administer the site. If not, then use managed hosting. For you, everything will be done by the hosting provider. Well, or almost everything.
Consider the above mentioned in more detail and give some advice.
▍What does the hosting provider offer?
Most hosting providers provide a complete list of their offers and indicate what exactly is included in a particular tariff plan. Sometimes a table is given for comparing packages and options.
Types of sites and their requirements
If you know the type of the future site, for example, it will be a WordPress site or an e-commerce site, you need to make sure that the services offered by the hosting provider meet its technical requirements. Basic languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript do not present any special requirements to hosting, but separate languages and development environments should be supported by the provider.
You need to know not only the programming languages and development environment required by your site but also their versions. For example, in content management systems, PHP is often used. If your site needs PHP 5, and your hosting provider offers only version 4, then it will not work.
If you have decided on the type of site being created, you know what languages and development environments are needed, then compare them with the offers of the hosting provider.
Do I need a database? If you create a dynamic site, for example, WordPress, rather than static HTML code, then most likely you will need the ability to create a database. In this case, you will need to understand what type of database is actually needed and whether the hosting provider can provide it. As in the case of the language/development environment, one should not forget about the version of the DBMS.
Some providers offer hosting with preinstalled and customized CMS WordPress: there is nothing to install, configure, program. It’s enough just to add your information.
The site may need something else, for example, a specific version of the PHP extension or additional hosting features. So WordPress needs PHP language support and the ability to deploy a MySQL database. At a minimum – PHP 5.2.4 and MySQL 5.0.15, and ideally – PHP 5.6 and MySQL 5.5. In fact, almost all hosting providers are in charge of these requirements, but it’s a good idea to check it out.
Some plug-ins in addition to WordPress make additional demands. For example, the plugin may need additional tools to retrieve information from an external source, such as Amazon, or tools to run the task at a specified time.
If you use additional plug-ins, pay attention to the requirements of the plug-in, for example, cURL, Cron, ImageMagick or Ioncube Loader. Match them with the package offered by the provider.
On sites with static HTML, the requirements are usually very simple, and there is no need for special support from the hosting provider. But if you want to use the feedback form, you need to plan how it will work. Some kinds of e-mail scripts require CGI, in which case you need to make sure that your hosting provider CGI supports. If you do not want to bother with CGI, then it’s probably easier to use a service with built-in forms for entering contact information or send it all for processing to an external server.
