When to Upgrade from Shared hosting to a VPS
We want to help you grow your business and have hosting plans every step of the way. At some point, you may wonder if you should upgrade to a Virtual Private Server, referred to as a VPS. If you need significantly more resources, such as storage, RAM, or processing power, a VPS is not the solution. However, a VPS can be the answer in some situations, and this article will cover some of its most common uses.
This article will discuss the following topics.
- What is a Virtual Private Server? ⤵
- Sandbox environment for testing new sites or features ⤵
- Need specialized software or the latest PHP on your site? ⤵
- Secure email ⤵
- Is it time to upgrade to VPS? ⤵
What is a Virtual Private Server?
Our most popular hosting package is the shared server. With a shared server, you have a little piece of a server where many other websites are stored. Your resources, such as RAM, CPU, and disk space, are all unmetered, and you can use as much as you need as long as you don't utilize more than 25% of the entire server’s resources. That restriction is in place because it can cause performance impacts on the other sites on the same server. Granted, our server administrators work hard to make sure this doesn't occur, but it is something that is a possibility.
Now for the alternative. When you get a VPS, you get a private container with a dedicated allotment of resources and root access. While you can still enjoy the ease of use of Shared hosting by choosing to add a cPanel/WHM license when you purchase your VPS, you also have access to WHM. This is where you can create multiple cPanels, manage backups, perform your own restores, and much more. As we will discuss below, you also have the freedom to install custom software. You can choose not to add the cPanel license, use a custom control panel, install a software version we don't currently have available, or even turn your VPS into a game server.
Sandbox environment for testing new sites or features
What is a sandbox when you're talking about servers? Well, it is an environment that is completely isolated from your production server. This is where you get to play and learn! Unlike the sandbox of your childhood, there's no real sand.
Still, there is plenty of room for you to use your imagination, and your only limits are the resources you have to work with (and our ToS, of course). You can develop a game, test out custom software, or stage your site to test out changes before deploying to your production site.
A sandbox is also great to have if you're learning a new program or want to become more familiar with web hosting technologies by having hands-on access. You have the freedom to make mistakes and start from a clean slate without a costly investment or risk. Having root access means that you can create backups and restore the server to default as often as you need to.
Need specialized software or the latest PHP on your site?
Another great thing about having a VPS is that you can install specialized software. This can include custom software that you have developed or different versions of supported software that are not yet supported on our Shared hosting. You also have the freedom to install modules that cannot be installed on our Shared hosting. Please note that the minimum PHP version on our Shared hosting is 8.1. You can also make changes that aren't allowed because our Shared environment has been fine-tuned to be stable and reliable.
Secure email
Our administrators work hard to make sure that our servers are secure for you. They try to minimize the possibilities that you'll receive spam emails or that you will become a victim of spoofing. However, no system is perfect, and you may want to take things into your own hands.
You can do so by setting up your own email gateway.
As with any of our shared hosting, you have access to SpamAssassin settings in your cPanel. Nevertheless, you also have access to additional settings within WHM that you can take advantage of with root access on your VPS.
We still have to follow some rules when it comes to sending emails. Yet, a VPS server gives you more freedom and flexibility, allowing you to send more significant volumes of email than on Shared or Reseller hosting plans. You also have the advantage of setting up your own private name servers, giving you more credibility as a business online.
Is it time to upgrade to VPS?
If any of these reasons are why you've considered making a move, then it is probably time to try. Our VPS hosting plans are affordable and grant you root access so that you can be your own server admin. You'd have the ability to customize the server to your specifications and peace of mind that you can restore it at any time if something doesn't go as planned. And you can do so with no risk because of our 30-day money-back guarantee if you decide it's not the right move.