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VPS Hosting

When looking for a hosting company for your website, it’s important to know you have options. In fact, there is a range of different types of hosting available, the most common being shared hosting. However, many website owners upgrade to virtual private server (VPS) hosting, as this allows for more customization within the operating system that’s used and offers more dedicated resources within a server.

Once you select a type of web hosting and begin to build your website, you can then monitor your site’s traffic with StatCounter. Of course, in order to install our tracking code, you will first need a hosting provider, be it shared, dedicated, or VPS. So, before you sign up for StatCounter, or upgrade to our Growth Plan, let us explain VPS hosting to help you decide if this is right for your website.

Suggested Reading

If you’d like to move on to further reading with regards to web hosting, be sure to check out the pages provided below:

VPS Hosting Explained

A VPS server is shared, but it is shared differently than a shared hosting server. For example, VPS servers are often limited to between 10 and 20 users, whose sites are hosted on a virtual machine that is connected to the physical server, whereas a shared server can host up to 1,000—and each of those users can have multiple domains. Additionally, a shared server environment has multiple users drawing from the same resources.

For example, everybody within a shared server is drawing from the same pool of RAM. If too many users show up, or any one website experiences too much traffic, they can deplete the RAM and slow everybody’s website to a crawl. With VPS hosting, however, storage and RAM are split evenly between the user’s virtual machines that host the website, which prevents this issue.

Dedicated Server Space

A VPS is a small scale replica of a dedicated server. It gives users their own room within a server that nobody else can enter or use. As mentioned above, a VPS environment partitions a server into equal segments and limits the number of users within a physical server. This ensures that each user has the same amount of bandwidth, processing power, memory, and disk space reserved for their own use. Other tenants within a server cannot access other user’s server space or use any of the resources that have been allocated to their VPS.

Manage Website Growth

VPS hosting is often used to handle higher traffic and growing needs for websites. Businesses who switch to VPS hosting for their website have scalability within their server. A VPS doesn’t require users to use it to its fullest capacity, but can grow their specifications as the needs arise. A business doesn’t need to pay for more resources than they use, and in turn, they have the option to add more features if needed. If a business’s website needs to account for growing traffic, a VPS allows them to make changes to their server immediately. Each user can have multiple domains and the space on the server allows for much more development freedom.

As StatCounter’s trusted domain and web hosting provider, 1&1 offers an array of affordable, yet high-quality, web hosting solutions. Better yet, most of 1&1’s plans come with a free SSL certificate for added security. You can learn more about 1&1's VPS hosting plans here.

Why Choose VPS Hosting

With a shared server, developers can’t make too many changes to the server’s environment, as this would affect the other websites using that server as well. With VPS hosting, however, your website is running on its own operating system. This allows you to download any software or tools without disrupting other websites using the same VPS server.

Dedicated To Your Business

Businesses no longer have to share with others when they utilize a VPS. All resources available in the VPS are reserved for the owner of the server. Users no longer run the risk of depleted resources from a shared environment and they get complete access and control over the server’s processing speed, CPU, RAM, storage, operating system, and bandwidth. Finally, outside users are unable to reach your server and deplete its bandwidth.

Cost-Effective

VPS hosting is a great step up from shared hosting because it is less expensive than a dedicated server. Businesses save from the costs of buying dedicated servers and do not have to commit to more features than they need. A VPS already reserves a certain amount of resources for the business, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is all being used. Users only pay for what they use and they always have the option to upgrade if necessary.

Quick Customization

VPS hosting providers have access to an incredible amount of resources. They have no difficulty customizing servers to a business’s specifications at a moment’s notice, since a VPS is highly scalable and designed to fit the business. These are some options businesses have in customizing their server:

  • Operating System: Choose the OS that runs on the VPS.
  • CPU: Central Processing Unit is where most of the calculations take place.
  • RAM: Random Access Memory. Serves as short term storage to run applications or software.
  • Storage: The space available to store data.
  • Bandwidth: The amount of information that passes through your server per unit of time.
  • Processor: Processes the instructions that drive the computer.

Essential Definition

In essence, a Server is a device that provides data to other computers and functionality for programs and devices. Common servers include: web servers, database servers, and mail servers. These servers grant access to websites, databases, and emails. Server data can be accessed directly through the server using Local Area Network (LAN) or over the Internet using Wide Area Network (WAN).

Added Security

A shared environment can pose a threat to websites because any user can upload a corrupted file and compromise the data on the server. Businesses get more control over the security of their data and can customize firewall rules to fit their needs. Regardless, they are equipped with an external firewall that automatically protects against attacks. Backups of data can also be offered so data can be recovered if worst comes to worst.

Does Your Site Need VPS Hosting?

Many businesses and websites can get by using a shared server for hosting purposes. The trouble begins when your site starts getting more traffic. While some websites will choose to switch over to a dedicated server, VPS hosting is often a cost effective way of avoiding this, as it gives your website the illusion of having a dedicated server without the cost.

Summary

A VPS server is especially needed when you want to add certain applications that aren’t offered by your hosting provider. In short, if you are looking to expand the capabilities of your website without wanting to spend the money on a dedicated server, VPS hosting might be right for your website. VPS hosting is a hybrid solution that maintains the price-efficiency of a shared environment but replicates the benefits of a dedicated server.

Monitor Your Website’s Traffic with StatCounter

As you can see, there’s quite a bit to consider in choosing a type of web hosting for your website, and VPS is a viable option for many. Regardless of how your website is hosted, however, StatCounter can help you track where your traffic is coming from and which pages of your website are most popular. In monitoring such aspects of your site traffic, you’ll then be able to make better decisions in regards to your website’s design, architecture, and more.

Of course, if you are in need of assistance, you can contact StatCounter member support by completing the form below.

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