Best VPS Hosting Platforms of 2022

Any business operating today, vitually, needs a website to network with customers, showcase their products and standout from their competition.

When choosing a web hosting service, you need to consider what your needs are in terms of speed, storage, security, and customer service, and the cost.

The scope and specifications of the website hosting platform you choose depends on these needs. Free web hosting services are available for small, single page sites like personal web pages. For complex websites, a company may need to invest in a more inclusive package, including database support and application development platforms, as well as compatible security features to make sure data isn’t compromised.

The 3 main configurations available for website hosting services are:

• Shared Hosting
• VPS Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting

The most affordable option is to host your site on a shared web host, under which the website will be kept on host company’s server along with hundreds of other sites. The downside is that with all those sites sharing resources, your site may suffer some slowdowns. With a scalable hosting plan you can upgrade to a more dedicated platform as and when your business grows.

A step up from a shared hosting service would be a Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS Hosting), a server with specific resources allocated to a client. Though all of the websites kept on the server use the same physical system, each individual VPS website has its own virtual compartment, which means that your website's performance won’t be affected by other websites. A commonly used analogy for Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting comes from the world of real estate.

Using Shared Hosting is like renting an apartment complex with a single landlord, in which everyone uses the same communal properties like the pool or the gym, while VPS Hosting is like a condominium – you own your own individual property, but you still share the communal properties. Just like the apartment vs condo debate, with a VPS you have to pay more. Typically people chose to move from shared to VPS when they need more speed to deal with increased traffic and more control over their web hosting.

The highest level is Dedicated Hosting. It gives you your own space. No other website resides on the server and you won’t suffer any downturns in performance due to other site using the server’s resources. If your traffic increases into the tens of thousands of daily views, switching to a dedicated server is a good way to ensure you maintain speed and performance. One drawback though is that you will be responsible for managing the firewall and maintenance, unless you pay extra for a managed server.

VPS hosting will cost you nearly INR 500-2000 a month while most Dedicated Servers will cost over INR 2000.

On Bluehost for instance, a standard VPS package runs for INR 1,159 a month, while the “Ultimate” package, with 4 times the storage, runs at INR 3,659 per month.

Hostinger offers a cheaper hosting alternative, with its cheapest offering a 2GB VPS hosting at INR 639 a month and a 4GB VPS Hosting option at INR 1,135 a month. With Namecheap, you get even better bang for buck with a 6GB VPS Hosting option at just INR 1,134 a month.

You should be always on the lookout for hidden costs. Some hosts may try to charge you extra to link you with a free website builder and others may try to lock you into a multi-year plan in order to take advantage of a good price offered online. Take your time, and shop around for the best website host for you.

• If you’re setting up a website for your business, the last thing you’re going to want to worry about is running out of data. You should look for plans that offer unlimited data transfers and secure it by way of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL Certificate). This will allow customers to make purchases on your website securely, and will give you the peace of mind that you need to focus on running your business.

• Some hosts also offer security features like free data backups as well as unlimited bandwidth, domain names, and email storage. A common feature today is for to web hosts to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) into your site, to help customers find you in their search results. Flexibility is also important, and many hosts allow users to choose which operating system to use.

• Another crucial factor to examine is site uptime, and how well the website host does ensuring that the sites they host remain up and running, so that customers can find you and your business. iPage touts its 99.9% uptime and so does Hostinger and Hostpapa, all of which back it up with a guarantee. Bluehost our one of the highest-rated host, no longer offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and users have reported problems with page-loading. Our other reviewed hosts have high uptime rates, but do not offer guarantees.

• High traffic websites—with hundreds of thousands of views per month—will need to be on either a VPS or dedicated server to ensure that they can handle the traffic. If you have a low traffic website there is less need to invest in a more expensive dedicated hosting service or VPS. For sites like these, a shared website host probably makes more sense and is more affordable.

• Easy, professional, and responsive 24/7 customer service should be a must when you select your website host. You never know when you could potentially face a problem with your site that calls for professional assistance.

Bottom Line

The bottom line when looking for a website host is to know who you are and what you need. If you’re a small business with relatively low traffic, there’s little sense breaking the bank on a high-octane dedicated server better-suited to a site with far more traffic.

If you’re a bigger business that expects higher traffic, it’s more than worth it to invest in a host that you know has the bandwidth you need and can guarantee the maximum uptime so you don’t go offline and lose customers.

If you’re new at running a website, customer support should be a high priority, along with ease of use. Read our reviews to see which sites are easiest to navigate for novices, and which you think will present the fewest headaches. Try to find a host that includes a trial period or a money-back guarantee so you can take it for a few test drives before making a commitment.