Your business’s website is the cornerstone of your digital marketing and operation, so when it goes down, your brand and revenue suffer greatly. In order to avoid this situation with a less invasive effort and expense, you should consider web hosting services. There are many types including virtual private servers (VPS) and standard shared hosting. 

Both shared and cloud web hosting offer similar basic functions, but they’re different processes altogether.  

The type of hosting you need depends on the business needs and the kind of traffic your website will be experiencing – and it really varies from one person to another. You can always switch or upgrade if shared hosting doesn’t provide as many resources or speeds that you wish to have. 

What is Cloud Hosting?

When exploring hosting a website or app, you’ll come across the phrase cloud hosting.  

In contrast with hosting your website or app on a single machine, the cloud lets you share and distribute the information across several machines that work together. These servers can exist in different geographical locations.

The servers exist only virtually, hence the term “cloud.” 

Because cloud hosting uses the services of numerous machines, you have an increased potential and access to those services. 

Shared hosting explained  

Web hosts use servers that have multiple sites on them, which is referred to as a shared server. This can occupy your browser’s CPU cycles and compete with other websites’ resources, which will reduce the speed of your site. Some web hosts pack too many sites onto each server, limiting security options by increasing vulnerability. 

Who uses cloud hosting?

Cloud hosting is an ideal option if you currently experience high traffic or spikes in visits to your website. If you are concerned with your site’s bandwidth usage or need access to an always-on computer, you may want to use cloud hosting services. 

Who uses shared hosting? 

Shared hosting is a traditional way to host, and in many cases, it can be cost-effective. It may also suit smaller businesses with fewer feature needs. 

Advantages of Cloud Hosting and Shared Hosting

Cloud hosting advantages:

• Increased uptime for our servers:

Your website performs better when the server, it relies on is online and functioning. 

If any single server goes down, the rest of them will ensure your app, the website doesn’t go offline. With traditional hosting, a failure on only one server could result in a greater downtime that may last for hours or days, depending on how close it is to its next maintenance/update window.

• Cost-effectiveness:

With cloud hosting, you do not need to invest in infrastructure. You only pay for resources and services that you use – the providers handle this directly. On the flip side, normally with traditional hosting, you have to invest in infrastructure and also pay a fixed amount even if you’re not using those resources or services. 

• Security: 

Previously, websites would share services on a single server, which could slow down site loading time. This poses a security issue and makes it difficult to securely store private information. There are many things you have to do in order to secure your information, including hiring dedicated server hosting. 

Cloud hosting has an established infrastructure and is tough to destroy. It provides multiple levels of security through data, network, application, and physical options. Cloud service providers offer firewalls, identity management, backup recovery and data isolation. 

• Scalability:

Cloud hosting makes it incredibly easy to allocate resources in accordance with the needs of your website or application. You can add and reduce resources such as storage, bandwidth, and RAM from an available pool of servers in the cloud. 

A traditional hosting setup has inflexible specifications and limited resources. You cannot instantly increase your server’s capacity if demand for storage or bandwidth arises. 

• Location free:

Traditional hosting servers are unavailable in certain locations. For this reason, you need to choose a server that is nearby so as not to compromise your website’s loading speed. 

Cloud hosting servers, on the other hand, are more accessible than physical servers because they are available almost anywhere via the internet and with any computer or mobile device. 

• Collaboration:

With cloud hosting, employees can work remotely. This increases flexibility in work and productivity. 

Cloud hosting increases flexibility in work practices and productivity by allowing employees to access the same documents or applications from any location around the world. 

This feature is not included in traditional hosting services. 

• Backup and Disaster Recovery:

Cloud hosting through a multi-server setup provides for automatic data backups, and these backups provide a fast recovery feature. 

In traditional hosting, the single-server setup makes disaster recovery impossible. 

• Technology: 

Cloud-based hosting uses the latest technology to give your business the advantage it needs in today’s global marketplace. You can customize your software and server configuration through automation, without having to maintain on-site hardware. 

Traditional hosting does not allow you to upgrade as your needs change. 

• Environment friendly:

Cloud hosting can help organizations reduce their energy consumption by providing an on-demand infrastructure. 

Shared hosting advantages:

• Cost Effective:

Shared hosting options may be cheaper than dedicated and VPS hosting, yet are just as effective. Typically, these plans range between $3-$10 per month, so they are much more affordable for smaller businesses and personal entrepreneurs. 

• No in-depth Knowledge Required:

The hosting provider is responsible for maintaining its server, which means that you don’t need to worry about the server’s technical issues or administrative tasks. 

• Easy to Manage:

Many hosting providers offer cPanel, a user-friendly website management interface that is easy to use. 

The low cost and easy availability of shared hosting mean that anyone can set up a website quickly. This kind of hosting is typically offered by general web hosts but may be unavailable from providers who focus on other needs and specific niches. A new shared hosting account typically includes basic tools for a small site, such as one-click installs of content management systems and website builders. 

Advantages of Cloud Hosting and Shared Hosting

Cloud hosting disadvantages:

• Security:

If you and your cloud hosting service follow best practices, the risks of being hacked should be minimal. Still, some companies prefer to keep all their data in a metal box they can touch rather than using a public option like the cloud as their storage area. 

• Downtime:

Choosing a hosting service can be an overwhelming process. No two providers are exactly alike and some will experience downtime. The downtime depends on whether or not the cloud hosting platform is an in-house structure, but for companies that are resellers hosting and aren’t particularly careful about initial setup, there will be a greater risk of any downtime issues. 

• Accessibilty: 

Though your web hosting infrastructure is in the cloud, you need to make sure you have access to the internet. Internet access can be found around most areas but it could limit how reliably you can update and maintain your data. 

• Limited Control:

One downside to cloud computing is that you don’t have as much control over service, depending on which particular service you are using.  

You can’t perform any advanced business activities with your virtual machines or servers unless it’s expressly allowed in the cloud provider’s terms and management policies. 

Customers, though they retain control over their applications and data, have reduced autonomy when it comes to the backend infrastructure. 

• Technical Difficulties:

Cloud providers are always susceptible to an outage. Even the best providers experience this, even if they maintain high standards of maintenance. 

• Support Issue: 

Companies that provide cloud computing have difficulty providing support to customers. They rely on FAQs or online help, which can be frustrating for non-technical people. A few companies are working to solve this problem and create automated customer service available 24/7. 

Shared hosting disadvantage:

• Limited Resources:

When you use shared hosting, your website has very few resources available to it. So if you try to add any resource-intensive features like streaming video or a live chat system, those additions will likely be out of the question. 

• Low Performance:

Small business owners often complain that their website feels sluggish. This is usually due to a shared hosting plan not having enough resources for websites to work at their best. 

• Security Issues:

One of the main disadvantages of shared hosting is that any website on a server can be hacked, which also means others are at risk. If the web server itself gets attacked and compromised, then every site will go down with it. 

Despite the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Hosting, it is becoming the fastest-growing network-based computing. To all customers: simple users, developers, enterprises and organizations alike; this technology offers a great opportunity to save money while getting more done than ever before. 

Anika Hosting provides web hosting services that can be customized to the user’s specifications. We provide quality web hosting service at various packages based on what your needs are. For more information, check out https://anikahosting.com or contact us here.