September 26th, 2016
If you conduct a large portion of your daily business via the Internet, you may already be familiar with more traditional types of hosting services, like shared hosting. But did you know that many businesses are choosing to switch over to a cloud hosted server? A staggering 87% of businesses are now operating in the cloud. Many people aren't familiar with the main differences between shared hosting and the newer technology of the cloud, so we've compiled the main differences between the two types.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is commonly found in small- and mid-sized businesses. The client pays for a set amount of space or storage on one of the host's servers, and that one server's resources are shared by several other websites. Shared hosting tends to be relatively inexpensive, and because the hosting company is responsible for maintenance, the client doesn't have to manage anything themselves.
However, because the server is shared by several different clients, your own website can suffer when other websites on the server are experiencing spikes in traffic. If your own site experiences a rapid growth in traffic, you may max out the storage you've paid for, and you'll have to purchase more to accommodate for the increased web site visits. If an unrelated site on the same server experiences a security breach, your site can also be affected. Above all, if the server itself has technical difficulties, it impacts every site that server hosts; if the host server is down, then your website goes down, too.
Cloud Web Hosting
Even though shared hosting is viewed as a cost-effective option, it's been reported that 82% of businesses have saved money by moving to a cloud hosting server. In lieu of paying for a set amount of storage up front, you pay for only what you need in terms of resources and maintenance, much like how utilities work. In contrast to shared hosting, which uses one server for many sites, cloud hosting uses multiple servers for one client. This means that if one of your servers goes down, the information is mirrored on the other servers, and there is no downtime for your site. In addition, because different websites do not share storage, it's far more secure than other types of hosting. It's generally a much more resilient, flexible and reliable method for hosting.
Although both types of servers can help your company, the improved features of cloud storage may be of interest to you. Choosing to switch to a cloud hosted server can benefit your organization in countless ways. From increased flexibility to heightened security, cloud based storage has a lot of pros. If you're interested in moving to a cloud hosted server, contact us today.