How to Choose the Best VPS Hosting Provider

Choosing the best VPS hosting solution for your needs requires more technical knowledge. This is especially true if you’re upgrading from a standard shared plan. VPS hosting is more complicated. Therefore, there are more factors to consider. Here are some things to consider when choosing a plan.

processor power

The CPU cores are responsible for processing information and handling the load of content, databases, plugins, applications, etc. More CPU cores mean your virtual server can handle more tasks simultaneously, just like your home computer. With shared hosting plans, you don’t get to choose how many cores you can utilize. This number is predetermined at the server level.

However, VPS hosting providers give you the opportunity to customize the hosting environment to your liking. Like dedicated hosting plans, the number of cores VPS hosts can vary widely.

At the low end, entry-level plans may include one or two cores. This is good enough for small sites that don’t display a lot of content. At the higher end, you can easily find vendors offering eight or more CPU cores. These VPS hosting plans are ideal for sites with large MySQL databases or processor-intensive applications. A higher number of cores ensures that your website runs smoothly for your visitors. Still, it will come at a premium.

RAM Memory

Virtual servers also have their own dedicated RAM. RAM refers to Random Access Memory. Basically, it is responsible for transferring information to accomplish certain tasks. Like CPU cores, RAM contributes to overall performance and user experience. With more gigabytes of RAM at your disposal, you can have a content-heavy website that runs like a well-oiled machine.

At a minimum, we recommend getting a VPS plan with 2 GB of RAM. With 2 GB, you should be able to run a well-designed site with a monitoring script, firewall, and a sizable MySQL database. If you want to rest easy knowing your site doesn’t have any performance issues, increase that RAM allocation to 4 GB just in case.

As your website grows larger and has more traffic, you can upgrade your VPS server’s RAM to 32 GB or more. With more RAM, you can have a huge MySQL database, use a CDN, take advantage of caching plugins, and more.

Bandwidth quota

If you already have some web hosting experience, you should be familiar with the concept of bandwidth. Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred every time someone visits your site. Whether you provide downloads or not, bandwidth will be used up. Some of the best VPS providers will have unlimited or unmetered bandwidth.

No hard data transfer cap is ideal. That’s not to say you shouldn’t choose a provider that enforces caps. After all, you can always add more resources to accommodate your growth. The biggest benefit of having unlimited bandwidth is that you don’t have to worry about performance degradation due to heavy network traffic.

disk space

Generally, hosting companies provide a lot of storage space for VPS plans. The accompanying disk space is where you will store your content, so having a few gigabytes of disk space is ideal. If you’re looking for a future-proof plan, some providers also offer unmetered storage.

When you’re trying to decide which provider to go with, pay attention to the type of storage that the company uses. Solid state drives, or SSDs, are superior to standard hard drives. They are more reliable and can significantly increase connection speeds.

control Panel

Now, let’s talk about the control panel. There are several control panels available. However, the most common is cPanel. cPanel is very user-friendly and easy to understand. Because the vast majority of hosting providers use it, many prefer to stick with it. Other options include Plesk, Webmin, Direct Admin, and more.

It’s important to choose your preferred control panel. Here you will manage all aspects of the site. You can load a content management system like WordPress, install plugins, implement custom scripts, and more. All these tasks are done in one place.

Also, your server management tools will be inside the panel. Remember, VPS hosting gives you more control over how your website runs. You’ll have an extra element to fiddle with. Having a familiar control panel will make figuring out the system a lot easier.

security function

VPS providers often include security features for your peace of mind. Today, the Internet is a minefield when it comes to cybersecurity. Malware, DDoS attacks, identity theft, and hacking have been rampant in recent years. Equipping your virtual machines with some built-in security features can make all the difference in the way you and your guests stay safe. Look out for free SSL certificates, built-in firewall protection, DDoS protection, and malware scanning. Also, if you can, go to a company that performs regular backups. This way, you can minimize downtime and have your site up and running again if something goes wrong.

root access

If you want the deepest possible level of control over your server, you’ll want to use a VPS plan that offers root access. Root access allows you to edit all files on the virtual server. This includes system-critical files. Having this access is useful if you are installing programs or implementing complex coding. But it’s very easy to ruin your website when you have full root access.

Therefore, not every web hosting company offers it. Those only provide an administrative access point to keep your site secure. In general, it is recommended that you avoid the root zone unless you have a dedicated IT team or are very proficient in web hosting techniques.

operating system

VPS hosting plans are available on Windows or Linux-based operating systems. The best VPS solution for you will depend entirely on the framework you want to use. Windows-based virtual servers can only use Microsoft frameworks such as ASP.net. Not every vendor offers Windows servers.

Linux servers are the most popular as they offer greater flexibility. They use more programming languages, databases, and frameworks. If you choose a Linux system, you will need to choose a plan that is compatible with your preferred distribution. You can easily find options for popular distributions like Ubuntu, CentOS, and more.

Managed or unmanaged?

The decision between unmanaged and managed VPS servers comes down to your personal preference and skill level. As we mentioned before, operating a VPS server can get complicated. Many small businesses hire dedicated IT professionals to efficiently manage hosting environments. If you fall into this category or are comfortable with your technical skills, then an unmanaged VPS plan might be for you. Unmanaged VPS services tend to offer more control than managed alternatives.

If you’re not comfortable handling servers yourself, there’s no need to worry. A handful of web hosting providers do offer managed VPS servers. They tend to cost more than unmanaged plans. However, they have the added benefit of professional assistance at any time. Providers will take on important tasks to keep your website up and running.

connection speed

Whether you get a basic shared plan or your own dedicated server, connection speed should always be a top priority. No one will want to visit your website if it takes a long time to load. To ensure your website is performing to its full potential, you need to choose a provider that provides consistently fast speeds to all of your visitors. In addition to high-performance equipment, you also need to consider the location of your data center.

A data center is where your virtual machines reside. It’s a good idea to choose a company that has a data center close to your target audience. If your visitors are very close to the physical server, the connection speed will be greatly reduced. But what if you serve a global audience?

This is where content delivery networks come in. A CDN loads a cached version of your website on a large network of server nodes. Instead of sending pings all the way to distant data centers, users connect to the closest node to load your site. This can drastically reduce loading times.

uptime

Last but not least, you need to think about the reliability of your service as a whole. All hosting providers work hard to keep their equipment up and running. However, accidents do happen. Incidents tend to plague some suppliers more than others, which leads to lower uptime ratings.

An uptime rating refers to the amount of time a server is online. If a power outage or data breach shuts down devices, your visitors won’t be able to access your website. Depending on the content of your website, this can lead to lost revenue and many other problems.

Look for uptime guarantees and strong security systems in data centers. Many providers go to great lengths to ensure that data centers are protected, secure, and secure.