Most small businesses, including eCommerce sites, tend to start with very low-cost hosting programs. These are typically the top-rated shared hosting services, which not only offer a very competitive price but also offer a good range of features.
However, there are a lot of risks in using a shared hosting service. These include slow page loading, crashes of the system, problems in playing multimedia from the website as well as an increased risk of security problems.
The answer to this problem is to upgrade to VPS web hosting. Think if this as an intermediary between the very low-cost, limited access to root functions found in shared hosting and the high cost and maximum potential available with a dedicated private server.
When to Make the Move
Every company will have different signs or signals that it is time to move up to VPS web hosting from their shared hosting plan.
In general, when website performance starts to lag or there are problems with accessing the sites at peak traffic times, a company needs to quickly make the move to VPS. Failing to do so will drive customers away from your site, which will impact future growth.
Another key issue is if there have been security breaches or issues with the shared server that have impacted your ability to do business. Often spammers or hackers infiltrate shared hosting servers, which can cause your website to be blacklisted.
The Difference
With a VPS web hosting service, you will have a part of the server (or a virtual private server) that is all to your own website or websites. This means you will be able to use all of the allowable resources on your plan without any sharing.
Additionally, if you find your business is expanding, it is easy to upgrade a VPS package to include the resources you need to operate your website to its maximum potential.