Not Sure if You Need a VPS?

New here? Please allow me, Scott Buehler, to introduce myself by visiting my main VPS review page here. This page explains why this site was made, why VPS plans are one of my passions, and things to watch out for in other VPS review sites.

The last thing you want to do is purchase a VPS web hosting account and not even need that much power! On this page, I plan to discuss the reasons for and against the needs of a Virtual Private Server.

Reasons Why You Don't Need a Virtual Private Server

Below, I offer you a checklist that you should look through for the main reasons why you should not get a VPS plan. If you find you don't need a VPS, I highly urge your to get one of the top web hosting services instead.

• This is my first site - Chances are, if you are launching your first website, it will have low traffic and won't need that much power to function to start with. A VPS plan is a step up from shared hosting for those needing additional power and reliability.
• I don't have a lot of money - VPS plans are always more expensive than shared hosting. Because of this, if your budget is tight, you should probably consider looking for shared business hosting instead. Instead of paying around $30+ a month for a VPS, shared hosting is around $5-8 a month, which is quite the difference.
• I don't mind that my site runs slower - Virtual Private Servers often give you faster response times because they aren't shared by hundreds (even thousands) of websites. However, those that need a simple personal blog or something non-business related, then you definitely should go the shared hosting route.

Reasons Why VPS Hosting is a Good Choice

Good! You made it this far. This likely means you might need a VPS for your next hosting service. There are actually a lot of benefits and pros to a VPS plan that you may, or may not, be aware of. Here are some of those reasons:

• More Reliable - Many web hosts place VPS plans on better hardware that is often more reliable than shared hosting. Beyond the hardware, as mentioned previously, your website won't be sharing the server with a potential thousands of other domains and websites.
• Isolated Environment - Most VPS plans use Virtuozzo, a software by Parallels, that isolates a server's processor, RAM, and disk space. In layman's terms, this means that your section of the server is not used to other customers on that server. The VPS resources are yours to use however you see fit and another customer cannot use them at any time.

• More Control - Even if you purchase reseller hosting, which allows you to have your own environment to launch new cPanel or Plesk accounts, the WHM (Web Host Manager) is limited. With a virtual private server, you'll have full root access to the server along with full access to the WHM features. There are a lot of tweaks to security, performance, and other features that are only available to you with a VPS. Beyond the software end of this, many services allow you to install your own server software, your own control panel, and run the VPS as you see fit (optional).

• Scalable - Another great advantage with starting out using a VPS plan is that you can easily scale your VPS to larger resources such as memory and disk space. All you need to do is authorize the additional cost involved with the upgrade, the technician makes the upgrade, and it's finished. There's no complicated transfer process! If you start with a shared web hosting account and need more resources because you find your site's performance lacking, you'll have to undergo a transfer to a new server which can be complicated, messy, and stressful.
• More Choice - If you have a preference for another control panel, a VPS host like KnownHost can setup cPanel, Plesk, or DirectAdmin on your VPS during the setup process. Another host like Liquid Web can go a step further and let you setup anything you want, automatically (if you have an account already).
• Affordable - Yes, price is a pro and con with VPS plans! A virtual private server is known as the middle ground in the web hosting industry. The step up from a VPS plan is to go with a full dedicated server which can run from $150 - $1,000+ depending on the resources you need. If your website needs more power but you can't afford an expensive dedicated server, then a VPS is your affordable middle-ground solution.
• Fast Support - If you go with a company that focuses primarily on their VPS plans like Liquid Web or KnownHost, than you'll have access to much faster support than going with a shared host where you'll compete with thousands of other customers submitting their own problems to support help desks.
• Backups - Most shared hosting do offer backups, but they are usually on a weekly basis and can be found unreliable. Do not depend on your shared host to make backups of your data, trust me! Check out my backup story on the article Why it is important to back up your VPS. With a VPS, most VPS services I've used offer free 24-36 hour backups of your VPS. This is a nice feature if something bad should happen like your root password getting into the wrong hands.

By Scott Buehler
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