Shared vs. Cloud Hosting Review

The cloud is commonly used to refer to several servers connected to the internet that can be leased as part of a software or application service. Cloud-based services can include web hosting, data hosting and sharing, and software or application use.

Shared hosting are servers with multiple websites on them that are are setup and maintained by web hosting companies. Websites hosted on the same server share the server's resources and this can affect the performance and security of these websites. Usually, there is no fair allocation of server's resources for websites hosted on the same server, hence if one website received a lot of traffic, other websites hosted on the same server will suffer. Shared hosting is meant for small businesses starting their online presence.

Cloud hosting is a service that exists on multiple servers, which pool resources together to host a large number of websites. It is characterized by more security, better performance and scalability but it is more expensive than shared web hosting. Cloud hosting services are meant for e-commerce websites and websites with high traffic.

A virtual private server (VPS) or virtual dedicated server (VDS) is a virtual machine sold as a service by an Internet hosting company. They are functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server, but at a lower price. Being software-based, VPS/VDS are able to be much more easily created and configured. However, as they share the underlying physical hardware with other VPSes, performance may be lower than that of a dedicated physical server, depending on the workload of other virtual machines hosted on the same hardware.

Dedicated hosting is a website hosting environment that provides the highest level of resource allocation, privacy, and control. Dedicated servers are completely isolated from one another, so users get full access to configure their hardware server anyway they want without affecting another user or being affected by the actions of other users.

Cloud servers basically are more cost effective than dedicated servers, however, cloud servers tend to lose this advantage as a business scales and requires more resources.

WordPress is the easiest web publishing and content management system (CMS) you can use to create a website or blog.

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that adds e-commerce functionality to your WordPress website with just a few clicks and allows you to quickly have an online store.

General web hosting is typically a shared hosting service, in which multiple sites share space on a single physical server. Like general web hosting services, WordPress hosting often happens in a shared server environment, and plans are offered at a variety of levels and prices.

CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a platform of distributed servers that helps minimize delays in loading web page content by reducing the physical distance between the server and the user. This helps reduce the variances in loading times for websites with high quality content for users around the world.

CDN helps e-commerce websites deliver content quickly and efficiently even during peak traffic times. Content-heavy websites can deliver vital information to the audience much more quickly and efficiently by using a CDN.

• Cloudways: Flexible data center options.

• DigitalOcean: Offers larger packages.

• Vultr: A better option for price to CPU power.

• Linode: Known for high performance.

• A2 Hosting: Best Overall for Cloud Hosting.

• Kamatera: Best for Customization.

• Bluehost: Best for business websites.

• SiteGround: Best features.

• Hostwinds: Best for Those on a Budget.

• InMotion: Best Help & Support.

• HostGator: Unmetered Storage.

• DreamHost: Cheapest Cloud Hosting.

• Hostinger: Best Control Panel.

Azure is a public cloud computing platform - with solutions including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) that can be used for services such as analytics, virtual computing, storage, networking, and much more.

Azure Stack can be used as a private cloud. Data collected on the private cloud can later be uploaded for processing in the Azure public cloud. With Azure Stack, customers can bring the cloud to the data, allowing users to run an Azure front-end that can access sensitive back-end data.

There are few free web hosting providers like 000WebHost, AwardSpace, InfinityFree, FreeHostingNoAds, and some of these may also offer a free sub-domain and cPanel. However, most of these are slow to load your website and they have different limitations on storage space, file size and/or CPU usage and they may also suspend your website at any moment if you exceeded any of these limitations or if they decided to go out of business.

Cloudways provides a console that helps you manage applications hosted on cloud servers such as Amazon cloud, Google cloud, Vultr, Linode, DigitalOcean.

It acts as an intermediary between website owners and cloud hosting providers and leverages the resources of several clustered servers to balance your website load.

It is a powerful managed hosting platform with an emphasis on choice, simplicity of use and freedom to manage servers and sites the way you want.

Here are the key features that users of Cloudways love:

• 1-Click launch for multiple apps (including WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento).

• Unlimited apps per server.

• A choice of 5 top-notch cloud providers (AWS. Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode & Vultr), all ready to launch in a single click.

• Free SSL certificates.

• Built-in Cloudways CDN

• High-performance stack for WordPress, WooCommerce and Magento

• Pay-as-you-go pricing.

• Built-in, free cache plugins for WordPress and Magento

• 1-Click operations including server launch, server/app cloning, monitoring, and many more.

• Dev-friendly staging environment.

• Managed security and backups.

• Effective team collaboration features.

• Easy Github automation for developers.

• Flexibility to scale server size.

• Easily transfer servers and billing to your agency clients.

Cloudways provides a 3-day free trial. Once your account is upgraded from trial to Full, all their plans are pay-as-you-go. They have hourly cloud hosting packages that only charge you for the amount of time you've used.

Cloudways pricing starts at $10.00 per month. For more details, please click here.

Bluehost is considered as the best overall web hosting provider, the best value for money and it is the hosting platform recommended by WordPress. They offer shared hosting, WordPress hosting, managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, domain registration and free website migration.

Their shared hosting is the easiest and most economical way to get your website on the Internet and its plans start from just $3.95/mo for one website up to $13.95/mo for multiple websites with additional power, optimization, privacy, and security features. Their ultimate service under this category includes free domain for one year, free CDN, free SSL certificate, free dedicated IP address, automated backups and 24/7 Customer Support.

Their WordPress hosting includes automatic WordPress install and updates and its plans start from $3.95/mo up to $6.95/mo for unlimited websites, free SSL certificate, free domain name for 1st year, $200 Marketing Credit, and basic backup.

Their managed WordPress hosting provides dynamic scalability, security, speed, and support. Its plans start from $19.95/mo up to $49.95 for running a professional online store featuring 1 WP Website, free SSL, high availability, staging environment, unlimited backups and restore, PayPal integration, elastic search, and live chat support.

Their ecommerce hosting lets you build, promote and start selling from a secure online store backed by the powerful tools of WooCommerce and its plans start from $15.95/mo up to $24.95/mo for the following features: online store (website + blog), unlimited products, WooCommerce installed, store-front theme installed, payment processing, manual order creation, discount codes, online bookings & appointment scheduling, subscriptions, product customization, website traffic analytics, customer product reviews, local & country tax management, 24/7 customer support, and basic backup.

Their VPS hosting offers increased power, flexibility, and control over your websites and its plans start from $19.95/mo up to $59.95/mo depending on CPU power, RAM, storage, bandwidth, and number of dedicated IP Addresses.

Their dedicated hosting offers the ultimate level in performance, security, and control and its plans start from $79.95/mo up to $119.95/mo depending on CPU power, RAM, storage, bandwidth, and number of dedicated IP addresses.

They also provide a custom (@yourdomain) email hosting and access to Microsoft 365 apps starting from just $2.95/mo per license to $9.95/mo per license for the following services: emails and calendars, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Online, Microsoft 365 for desktop, Access + Publisher for desktop, bookings and invoicing tools, and Outlook customer manager.

They can also help you with designing, building, and marketing your website so you can stay focused on your business.

For more details, please click here.

Hostinger is one of the cheapest web hosting providers on the market and it is great for those starting their online presence. They also offer a free version of their web hosting service called 000WebHost. They paid version offers shared web hosting, cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, Windows VPS, Minecraft hosting, domain registration and free website migration. All their services come with 30 days money back guarantee and 24/7/365 Support.

Their shared web hosting is the easiest way to start your online presence and its plans start from just $0.99/mo for one website up to $3.99/mo for 100 websites. Their ultimate service under this category includes free domain, SSL, and CDN, unlimited bandwidth and FTP, managed and accelerated WordPress, daily backups, DNS management, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and 24/7 support.

Their cloud hosting gives you the power of cloud computing with the simplicity of shared hosting. Its plans start from $9.99/mo up to $56.99/mo. The highest plan is powered by Google Cloud and provides up to 300 websites on multiple data centers, dedicated server resources, free domain, email, SSL and CDN, daily backups, unlimited bandwidth, dedicated IP address, free website migration, and managed and accelerated WordPress.

Their WordPress hosting provides quick, secure, 99.99% uptime guaranteed, feature-rich WordPress hosting solution. Its plans start from $1.99/mo for one website up to $11.59/mo for 300 websites on multiple data centers, free domain, SSL, email and CDN, unlimited bandwidth, multisite managed and accelerated WordPress, WP-CLI install, and daily backups.

Their VPS hosting provides cheap VPS cloud hosting with the highest virtual server reliability and performance. Its plans start from $3.95/mo up to $38.99/mo depending on the virtual server resources acquired. Its highest plan includes the following features: 8GB RAM, 160GB SSD, 8TB bandwidth, dedicated IP, and full root access.

Their Windows VPS hosting allows you to have a Windows server on the cloud. Its plans start from $26/mo up to $250/mo depending on the server resources acquired. Its highest plan includes the following features: 16GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 7TB bandwidth, 4-core CPU, and dedicated IP.

Their Minecraft hosting allows you to start your Minecraft server in a few clicks. Its plans start from $8.95/mo up to $29.95/mo depending on the server resources acquired. Its highest plan includes the following features: 8GB RAM, 8-core vCPU, Mod support, full root access, free MySQL, DDos protection, PCI-DSS compliance, auto off-site backups, and 99.99% uptime SLA.

Their ecommerce hosting is the fast and easy way to build an online store. It allows you to use Zyro to launch, manage, and grow your online store. Its plans start from $8.99/mo up to $13.99/mo which gives you the following features: unlimited bandwidth, acceptance of online payments, unlimited products, coupons and gift cards, full order, inventory, shipping, tax management, abandoned cart recovery, multiple languages, and sell on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon.

They also provide a custom (@yourdomain) email hosting for $6/mo and includes the following features: unlimited mail filters, 30 email aliases, antivirus check, robust integrations with Meet, Calendar, Docs, Slides & more, smart Reply/Compose, grammar suggestions, access email, chat, voice, and video calling from one place, connect third-party applications using Google Workspace add-ons.

They can also help you with designing, building, and marketing your website so you can stay focused on your business.

For more details, please click here.

DreamHost is a hosting platform characterized with fair prices, solid support and a very generous resource policy. They use a custom built panel for managing your website which have the same functionality as cPanel. They offer shared web hosting, managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated hosting. All their plans come with 97-Day Money-Back Guarantee!

Their shared web hosting gives you everything you need to launch fast, secure and always up website with 1-click WordPress install. Its plans start from $2.49/mo for one website up to $3.95/mo for unlimited websites, traffic, and email, free domain and SSL, WP website migration, WP pre-installed, WP website builder, and SSD Storage.

Their managed WordPress hosting called DreamPress is optimized for speed, caching and growth. Its plans start $16.95/mo for one website up to $71.95/mo for 1M+ monthly visitors, unlimited CDN and email, 120GB SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, 1-click staging, SSL pre-installed, on-demand + daily backups, 24/7 priority WP support, Jetpack Pro included, free WP migrations, WP website builder.

Their VPS hosting gives you control over high-performing isolated server resources and its plans start from $10/mo for small websites up to $80/mo for resource intensive websites. All plans under this category include unlimited websites, traffic, and email, and free SSL.

Their cloud hosting allows you to launch cloud servers fast with full root access, full control, scalability, and unparalleled speed. Its plans start from max of $4.50/mo for 1 vCPU up to max of $48.00/mo for 4 vCPU. All plans come with 100 GB of block storage and free bandwidth and have a charge cap of 600 hours (25 days) in a given month.

Their dedicated hosting gives you fully-managed dedicated server resources at an affordable price. Its plans start from $149.00/mo for 4-core CPU, $GB RAM, and 1TB HDD up to $379.00/mo for 12-core CPU, 64GB RAM, and 240GB SSD. All plans come with root access, local MySQL database server, Ubuntu, 100% network uptime guarantee, 24x7 tech support & server monitoring, and DDoS Protection.

They also provide custom (@yourdomain) email hosting for just $1.67/mo per mailbox, which includes 25GB storage per mailbox, mobile and desktop sync, ad-free webmail, and spam, virus, and phishing filters.

They can also help you with designing, building, and marketing your website so you can stay focused on your business.

For more details, please click here.