In this digital day and age, having an online presence is more important than ever before and when they don’t have a website, businesses will be hindering their own success. In order to have a website that is ‘live’ and visible to anyone using the internet, you will require web hosting services and whilst there are various hosting solutions available, the vast majority of businesses will opt for Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting. 

Simply put, VPS hosting is a cross between shared hosting and dedicated hosting and it provides businesses with a reliable and secure hosting environment that is still affordable and cost-effective. VPS hosting essentially splits a server into multiple different virtual servers, providing businesses with their own dedicated server that they don’t have to share with other users. This type of hosting really is considered to be ‘the best of both worlds’ and it is easy to see why it is a popular choice amongst businesses. 

When it comes to choosing your virtual server hosting, you will have a number of different web hosting providers and VPS packages available to choose from, and navigating the vast market isn’t always easy. So, to help any business owners who are trying to make the right decision in this regard, below we have looked into some of the most important things to take into consideration when choosing your virtual server hosting. 

How familiar you are with virtual servers 

There are two different types of VPS hosting; self-managed VPS / unmanaged VPS and managed VPS. Ultimately, how much you know about the backend operation of a server and what technical skills you have in this regard will influence which type of VPS hosting package you should choose for your website.

Generally speaking, the majority of businesses don’t want the responsibility of having to deal with extra tasks like server administration, software updates, troubleshooting and managing applications, and they will choose to pay a web host provider to handle this for them. When you opt for managed VPS, you won’t have to worry yourself about all of the technical details and you can focus on other aspects of your website.

The type of technologies your website needs

You always need to ensure that the VPS hosting package you choose is compatible with your operating system. Usually, the two most common operating systems are Windows and Linux, and depending on whether you require Windows hosting or Linux hosting will make a difference to which web hosting provider you choose. 

When you’re making your website, the technologies that you need will play a role in which operating system you should use. For example, if you’re creating a website that uses Microsoft technologies, you’re going to require Windows VPS hosting. Always double-check that a web hosting provider offers the type of hosting that you need for your operating system as whilst most provide Linux hosting, not everyone will offer Windows hosting too. 

Whether you’d like full root access

The amount of control you want to have over your server will also affect the virtual server hosting that you choose. You will find that not all providers offer ‘root access’ and this access essentially gives you the power to do anything that you’d like on a Dedicated Server, a Cloud Server or a Virtual Private Server.

Unless you have a specific reason for wanting full root access, it is likely that this is something you won’t need. The majority of businesses don’t tend to require this administrator-level log in and they aren’t worried about having the ability to take full control of their server. If you’re choosing managed VPS hosting because you don’t know much about the backend operation of a server, you’re unlikely to need a VPS package that offers root access. 

The resources you require

When your website is on a VPS, you will be using a certain amount of resources on this server and your needs in this regard are essential to take into consideration when choosing a VSP package. Factors such as bandwidth allowance, disk space, virtual CPU computing power and RAM are all something that you shouldn’t overlook. 

You will likely find that different packages offer different gigabytes of RAM, disk space and bandwidth, for example, and you need to ensure that you’re opting for the package that best accommodates your website’s needs. The last thing you want is for your website to have slow loading times or to frequently crash because it can’t handle the traffic that it receives and having the right resources can help you to avoid this. 

How much support you need

This may seem like a given and almost all businesses will require 24/7 support when it comes to their website, but it is still worthwhile taking into consideration. You simply can’t predict when something is going to go wrong with your website, so having a support team on hand to help whenever you may require them is incredibly important. 

In order to ensure that your website is running as it should be at all times, it is vital to choose a web hosting provider that is responsive and able to support you whenever your website is down or something seems to be wrong. Customer service is undeniably important and before you make up your mind about a web hosting provider, always check that they can offer the comprehensive around the clock support you need. 

The amount you have to spend 

You may not be surprised that budget is always something to take into consideration when choosing both a web hosting provider and a VPS package. Even though VPS hosting is known for being more affordable than dedicated hosting and this is what makes it a popular choice, you shouldn’t focus solely on price when choosing your virtual server hosting.

Now that you know more about your requirements in relation to things like operating systems, CPU, RAM, disk space and bandwidth, carefully look at what is offered in different packages to check which will be most suitable for your website. Ultimately, choosing a cheaper package solely based on price won’t result in the high performance that you’re wanting for your website. Take a look at both monthly and yearly prices offered as well, this may provide you with more suitable yet still budget-friendly options. 

Choosing your virtual server hosting

Hopefully, when choosing your virtual server hosting, the information above will be beneficial. Taking all of these different points into consideration will help you to ensure that you’re choosing the right web hosting provider and VPS package for your business’ website. Should you require any assistance making the right decisions in this regard, please feel free to contact our team here at Catalyst2. We can provide you with a variety of different hosting solutions and we will gladly discuss them with you in much more detail, answering any questions that you may have. 

With over two decades of experience behind us and tens of thousands of websites on our servers, you can trust that we know everything there is to know about web hosting. We are incredibly proud to be one of the most trusted web hosting providers in the UK and you can rely on our team to help you make the very best decisions about your website. 

Should you wish to go ahead and host your website with us, we will gladly arrange this for you too. All of our VPSs are fully managed and set up individually for each of our customers allowing them to be completely tailored to your specific application, so you can trust that we will be able to provide you with a server that meets all of your needs. Our technicians will ensure that your VPS hosting runs at optimum performance too and any outages are dealt with immediately. With support teams available 24/7, you will always receive expert assistance should any issue arise. So, there is no one better to turn to for your virtual server hosting.