Which Type of Hosting Is Best for E-commerce Website?

Are you interested, in setting up your own dream store?  Well, that’s great! So, now let’s discuss an aspect of your e commerce journey; selecting the hosting solution for your website. Based on my experience there is an abundance of options which can be overwhelming. However don’t worry! I’ve got you covered. In this blog post I will delve into the hosting types for e commerce websites and provide some real life examples to make things more interesting. Let’s begin!

Understanding Your Choices;

01. Shared Hosting

There are many different ways which you can choose if you decide that your company needs a website. Shared hosting and cloud hosting are now two of the most common forms of web hosting technology utilized by small enterprises today

Many people usually go for shared hosting. The reason for this is that it is reasonably priced and provides a great deal of value. In shared hosting, if we say that the server consists of 264 gigabytes of RAM in total, that overall 264 gigs of RAM is split among all of the websites hosted on that server. The same can be said true for CPU power and system resources that are available on the server. However, when a large number of smaller websites are hosted on a single server, this strategy is effective since none of the websites simultaneously requires all of the system resources

But wait there are also some drawbacks. For example, if you are using a shared hosting server and another website has a surge in visitors at the same time that you do, the other website may consume all of the available system resources. This always results in your website running more slowly than usual because of the increased traffic on the server it’s hosted on. This is an issue which people usually face in shared hosting.

Google Trends user interest: Individuals and smaller businesses typically go with shared hosting because it is the most cost-effective option. However people’s minds are changing. As we see in the graph below, there is a huge decline in the user’s interest (July-August 2023) for shared hosting. So we can say that people are losing their interest  in shared hosting nowadays and want to opt for better hosting services where response time of the server is relatively faster.

• Server response time – When compared to dedicated servers, it is true that shared hosting usually gives slower response-time which is nearly 250-300 ms for PHP requests. However, it also true that the response time may also vary based on the traffic and website count on that particular server
• Traffic handling capability – Shared accounts can handle a certain amount of traffic based on the resources allocated to them by their hosting provider. There are higher tier plans that can handle 2000,000+ visits per month, while a basic plan may only support 50,000-100,000 visits per month.

• Concurrent connections – This type of server is configured in such a way that it may handle only certain number of Concurrent connections which is usually between 60-200 per account. If in case your site experiences sudden rise in visitors, then you may experience slow internet connection

• CPU/memory resources – Central processing unit and memory are usually shared among all user accounts. If in case there are other websites who are using lots of resources then the performance of your site may slow down

2. Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting:

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting, the main fundamental concept behind VPS is that a physical server is partitioned into numerous virtual servers. This will ensure that your website will have necessary access to additional resources whenever they are required.

Compared to share hosting, VPS hosting provides more resources and more control. It is possible that it will be adequate for medium-sized e-commerce enterprises that receive a moderate amount of traffic. By implementing a shared SSL certificate, shared hosting companies keep their prices low. It indicates that there is not a direct connection between your domain and the certificate. Therefore, it can cause a security warning to be displayed to your visitors, informing them that the connection they are using isn’t safe. However, you won’t face this problem with VPS hosting service. The reason is that here you will be getting a separate dedicated IP address. Also, SSL certificate will be directly connected to your domain. Unlike shared hosting, in VPS, You will receive the number of CPUs, the quantity of RAM, and the amount of disc space that you have specified with the package that you have purchased for your virtual private server (VPS).

Google Trends user interest: The number of users interested in VPS hosting has been steadily increasing as more businesses look for ways to improve the flexibility and dependability of their online retail operations. People usually prefer VPS hosting over shared hosting. For example- Mid-sized e-commerce stores, including WooCommerce-powered websites opt for VPS hosting to address their expanding customer base and product catalogs, with around 4.8 million installations. Therefore, virtual private server hosting is ideal for business owners who want to set up an internet store in a brisk and simple manner

Considering the server response time, it has been noticed that VPS hosting server response time in VPS is 1.5x faster than shared hosting server. Simply switching from shared hosting to virtual private servers (VPS) might result in a performance boost of anywhere between 15 and 35 percent, according to the results of VPS stress test done by elegant theme.

Shared hosting plans offered by company like Siteground, Bluehost and a2hosting can cost anything from a $3.99 up to about $39.99 per month, In VPS hosting, plans from company like AWS, Google Cloud and digital ocean starts from $8 to $1000 per month depending on the number of cores, RAM, Type and storage capacity and bandwidth.

If I compare between shared hosting and VPS hosting, then definitely VPS hosting is the winner.

Measuring VPS Performance

The performance of a VPS (Virtual Private Server) configuration depends on two main factors.

Server response rate

The server response rate is the time in milliseconds that it takes for the VPS to respond to a request. The goal is to lessen the response time less than 200ms. An acceptable time is under 500ms. If it’s over 1s that indicates delays.

A server with a higher response rate will have slower page loads. Hosting providers aim to consistently achieve response times of less than 200ms. If it’s over 500ms often your site may seem sluggish. It is crucial to monitor your server response rate. Utilize tools like ping tests or speed test websites for this. Measure metrics from different areas to identify latency issues

Traffic Handling Capabilities

The second factor in VPS performance is the traffic handling capabilities. This means how much concurrent traffic the VPS can deal with. The number of CPU cores influences this. The amount of RAM is another factor. Finally the available network bandwidth also plays a role. Adding computing resources to a VPS allows it to handle more visitors

Optimizing VPS for Speed and Stability

To find out how much traffic your VPS can handle use stress testing tools. They simulate sudden influxes of visitors. If you are over your VPS’s capacity upgrade quickly to avoid slowing down your site.

Optimizing a VPS for speed stability is crucial. There are ways to improve the performance of VPS configurations. Some methods include:

When selecting your initial VPS configuration:

• Ensure that the VPS specs align with the expected site traffic. Avoid over-provisioning or under-provisioning.
• Opt for more CPU cores. Also consider choosing more RAM capacity or bandwidth. These enhancements can help handle traffic spikes.
• Pick a data center location that’s close to your main visitor base. This can reduce site latency.

When optimizing software:

• Craft your OS for performance. Steps may include disabling services that aren’t necessary or enabling caching.
• Consider a lightweight web server. Good options can be Nginx or LiteSpeed.
• Make use of a content delivery network (CDN). This network can cache static assets.
• Cache database queries when applicable.

When monitoring performance:

Monitoring performance is one of the keys which plays vital role. The image below of website monitoring performance is grabbed from “Site24x7” which showcases each parameters involved in it.

• Keep an eye on performance metrics. Also review log files to proactively identify possible issues.
• Increase CPU capacity when necessary. The same goes for RAM or bandwidth if traffic exceeds current capacity.
• Transition to a dedicated server if it is critical for your site to have more resources.
• Regular optimization ensures a smooth hosting experience. The ideal balance between resources is necessary for optimal performance. Early identification of faults through metrics monitoring aids problem-solving.
• With effective optimization; affordable VPS plans can meet the needs of small to medium sites at an affordable price point. Proactive monitoring helps prevent any slowdowns as traffic increases gradually over time.

03. Dedicated Hosting:

As we progress, dedicated hosting represents a level of exclusivity, much like having a personal residence. You are granted a dedicated server for your website alone. Total control over resources and configurations enables dedicated hosting to cater to high-traffic and large-scale online stores with ease.

Dedicated cloud hosting is the most demanding hosting server today. It provides dedicated VPS within a cloud infrastructure. Additionally, it has a good performance and scalability rating. Because of the rising need for cloud-based services, there is a possibility that user interest in dedicated cloud hosting will show signs of an upward trend

The pricing are no doubt more but it’s worth the price since it offers good performance and features.

While there’s typically more expense involved with dedicated hosting compared to shared or VPS options. Evaluate the benefits if your company needs top-notch operations.

Cloud Dedicated Hosting

Cloud dedicated hosting offers accessibility to a server from a renowned cloud infrastructure like AWS or Google Cloud or Azure. Benefits include:

• You will get more spinning scalability in servers from cloud provider
• The billing model is based on usage rather than fixed monthly charges
• Availability of additional cloud infrastructure services in the event that they are required.
• You will have less control over hardware as you have not rent rack-space in the data centre.

Hybrid Dedicated Hosting

This type of server gives the benefits of both physical and cloud based servers-

• It gives users the option to handle unexpected traffic spikes by transferring data to cloud resources
• It gives users the control of cloud serves and also dedicated hardware servers.
• This type of hosting that is bit difficult to create and administer

You may get the benefits of both dedicated hosting and cloud computing in one convenient package with hybrid dedicated hosting.

When to Use Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting has more resource overhead than shared or VPS hosting. It is suited for certain use cases:

• Websites or apps that experience high traffic volumes will benefit. The same goes for sites that have high resource demands
• Sites that require maximum uptime will also benefit. A few minutes of downtime could cost millions.
• Dedicated hosting is also ideal for complex app architectures. These may require things like firewalls or load balancers.
•  Dedicated hosting suits companies under regulatory compliance regimes including HIPAA. These companies often have strict data security standards.
• The customization of this type of server is extremely important to completely tune the stack.

High traffic production sites would benefit from this service because of its exclusivity.

Dedicated hosting provides exclusive access to resources on a physical server. This allows for better performance security as well as reliability. There are lots of dedicated hosting options available including managed unmanaged cloud or hybrid ones. You need to consider control versus convenience when choosing an option. If your website experiences heavy traffic dedicated hosting is the best choice. The same goes for applications that require maximum uptime or organizations with strict security needs. Comprehend your needs before selecting any hosting service. A thorough understanding of dedicated hosting options can aid in decision making. Choose the right deployment model for your needs by considering all factors carefully

Comparison Table: Shared vs. VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting

Conclusion:

My suggestion is always to be sure about needs and requirements before selecting a hosting server. In this blog, I have delved into additional details about various e-commerce hosting possibilities. Also in order to ensure that your digital shop runs smoothly, you should always select the appropriate hosting option. To ensure wise decisions, evaluate market needs, financial constraints, and prospective expansion. Each type of hosting – shared, VPS, or dedicated – possesses unique advantages that cater best to distinct scales of operations.

It can be difficult to figure out which hosting service would provide your small business with the finest results. If you are only looking for a simple way to host your website, dedicated cloud hosting is most likely going to be the most suitable choice for you.

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