The Different Types of Servers: A Detailed Tech Guide

Are you confused with all the different types of servers out there? That isn’t surprising. There are many options out there and not many resources on web hosts to help you understand the differences.

If you’re ready to get your site online, knowing the types of servers is essential to the process. Below are the server types you’ll have when picking a host for your site.

Shared Hosting

For people looking at a starting point for their website, shared hosting is a perfect choice. It’s low cost and provides a bare-bones configuration for anyone who needs a basic website.

You can find shared hosting everywhere for a few dollars every month. Entry-level accounts typically provide you a small amount of disc space, domain name, and one database.

Keep in mind that you won’t get many resources when you buy shared hosting. However, this isn’t a problem if you’re just getting started. You can always upgrade in the future once you begin receiving more traffic and need more resources.

Most shared accounts have installers for any software platform you can think of. This software includes WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento.

VPS Host

While shared hosting is affordable, it does have drawbacks. The biggest problem is that you share resources with other sites on the server. Your site will always be at their mercy.

The biggest issue here is security. Even if you do everything correctly, there’s always the chance that another site on your account becomes compromised. Depending on the hack, your site will end up compromised as well.

The other problem is spam. Many webmasters use the free email that comes with shared hosting.

If a compromised account has spam scripts loaded, they’ll spend the day sending thousands of spam emails. The number of emails sent will eventually cause your server to be blacklisted by email providers.

A VPS solves this by isolating your website from others on a server. You’ll still share a server with other webmasters, but you’ll get your own IP address and operating system in a virtual machine.

This isolation also means you have more configuration options available. Your hosting provider will give you root access to your server. Root access provides you the ability to install and change any software you want.

Dedicated Hosting

While a VPS provides you more control and resources than a shared host, it still has problems. You’re still sharing resources with other accounts on a server. A VPS isn’t going to be as powerful as a dedicated machine.

This is where the physical vs virtual servers debate comes into play. Do you save money and optimize your VPS configuration or pay the money for a dedicated server? If you need the resources, then dedicated computer servers are the answer.

Keep in mind, though, that this will come at a cost. A dedicated server is one of the most expensive options you have.

You’ll need to have enough revenue from your website and business to afford this option. If you don’t, it’s smart to stick with a VPS host and optimize that server to handle your traffic better.

Cloud Hosting

If you’re looking for a bleeding-edge hosting option, cloud hosting is where you need to look. It’s a newer technology that has taken off over the past several years.

You can think of cloud hosting as a network of computers. Instead of one server containing all your website files, databases, and software, your website is distributed across several computers on the internet. Cloud hosting splits this work up between all your servers.

Doing this is useful because it helps you minimize the total amount of resources you use. You can think of it as resource-on-demand hosting. You only pay for the resources you use at the end of the day.

Cloud hosting is also helpful for providing faster response times for your users. The distance from a visitor to your website server impacts the load time of your website. With a cloud server, your visitors will connect to the cloud server closest to their physical location, so they won’t spend as much time in transit to download your site to their internet device.

Another advantage of cloud hosting is uptime. With a shared, VPS, or dedicated server, your website will go down if your server does. Since cloud hosting is distributed, another server will handle the load if one of your servers goes down.

The biggest downside to cloud hosting is customization. Each server is designed for a specific task, so there are limited options.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress is the clear leader on the internet. Reports show that 39.0% of all websites online use it as their website software. This popularity opens the doors for hosting companies to provide hosting dedicated to the software.

While shared hosting accounts provide installers for WordPress, dedicated WordPress hosting goes a step further.

The first configuration change WordPress hosting comes with is caching. Caching is the process of serving static pages instead of dynamic ones to visitors. Static files mean faster load times for your visitors.

The next upgrade is backups. Even with a good WordPress setup, theme and plugin updates can break websites. A backup will allow you to get up and running again in no-time.

You’ll also get a more secure website with a dedicated WordPress platform. Since WordPress is so popular, it’s a big target for hackers. A WordPress host will harden their platform to avoid common hacking attempts.

Now You Know the Types of Servers for Hosting

The last thing you want to do is pick the wrong server options when finding a host for your website. However, now that you know the types of servers out there, you’re in a better position to make your choice. Do your research to make sure you find the option that meets all your needs.

Once you choose your server, come back to read through our articles for more helpful business and tech tips.