Hotgator Hosting vs WP Engine: Which One is Better?
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) powering millions of websites around the world. Its openness, extensibility, and community-driven development make it a go-to choice for those looking to build their own site or launch an online shop.
But what happens when your site grows and you need more storage, bandwidth, and resources to keep up with the demand? One answer could be to consider moving to a different web host.
Here we’re going to explore the various options available to you, including popular hosting platforms such as Hotgator Hosting and WP Engine.
Features To Look For In A Web Hosting Plan
When choosing a web host, features like shared hosting, free backups, and domain privacy should be at the top of your list. These are all essential for keeping your content safe and available. Having these features means you don’t have to worry about the infrastructure that keeps your site online.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out our review of the Best Web Hosting Providers. We’ll highlight some of the best features of each one and how you can benefit from them.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is all the rage these days, and for good reason! The reason behind its popularity is its simplicity – with shared hosting, you don’t need to worry about a lot of the technical details involved in running a site. You simply create content, and the server takes care of the rest.
As the name would suggest, your website’s files and databases are placed into shared hosting’s server, making it easier for everyone to access them. This means that as your site gains popularity, so does the workload tied to it. That’s undoubtedly a good thing, especially if you’re running out of resources or just want to free up some space on your own computer.
One of the best things about shared hosting is its price – it’s typically much less expensive than other hosting plans. Unless you need a lot of features, there’s no reason not to go this route. However, shared hosting has its drawbacks – if your site gains a massive amount of traffic, the workload will increase, and you might end up with server overload. This is why it’s best to use this plan as a short-term solution until you can upgrade or find a new hosting provider.
VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting
A virtual private server (VPS) is like shared hosting, but instead of being placed on a physical server, it’s placed on a high-performance virtual machine (VM).
This comes with its perks – aside from the fact that it offers higher performance than a shared hosting plan – it also provides you with better security, more resources, and a dedicated IP. A dedicated IP is a unique identifier that allows you to connect your site to a particular server, much like a real-world IP address. It’s also one of the major perks of this hosting plan. Not having a dedicated IP can make connecting your site to other services (like Google Cloud Print or email marketing platforms) a lot more difficult. A dedicated IP is also what keeps your personal data private – the provider knows that you’re the only one accessing the server, so they don’t have to share any of your data with others.
On the downside, like with shared hosting, VPS hosting is more expensive than a standard plan. It’s also a more complex option, so it takes a bit more to set up. Once you have it running, though, it can prove to be a very valuable option for online shops or other sites facing extraordinary demand.
Cloud (SaaS) Hosting
Cloud hosting is something that just about everyone has heard of, as it’s become ubiquitous in everyday life. It’s also the kind of hosting that’s going to be most relevant to you if you’re reading this, as almost all hosting providers offer some form of cloud hosting as part of their plan.
What is cloud hosting? Essentially, it’s a way of providing computing resources and storage to users who aren’t tied to one computer. With cloud hosting, the user’s computer has no influence over the server – it’s all automated, so while the server may be physically located in a datacenter, the user doesn’t need to know. This makes it perfect for people who want to remain flexible in terms of where they can access the server via the internet.
If you’re interested in learning more, we recommend you read this informative guide to find out everything you need to know about the various forms of cloud hosting.
Managed Hosting
Managed hosting is a type of hosting that provides you with a fully managed server. This means that the server is pre-configured and has all the tools, software, and utilities necessary to run a website. You don’t need to worry about any of this, as it’s all taken care of for you.
The upside to managed hosting is that it saves you a lot of time – you don’t need to worry about any of the technical details related to running a website, as the provider takes care of all of that for you. The downside is that it’s rather expensive, as you’re paying for the service of having a managed server.
We recommend you look into this option if you want to avoid excessive technical stress and spend more time focusing on what you need to be doing to grow your site.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting is, quite simply, what it says it is – you’re getting a dedicated server that’s solely devoted to your website. This means that aside from the standard resources necessary to run a website (bandwidth, storage, and processing power), you get an even bigger box (the dedicated server) that has everything else you need to make your site work efficiently. This makes dedicated hosting very attractive to anyone who’s looking to really pump their site’s performance.
The advantage of dedicated hosting is that it gives you the resources you need to run an extremely high-performing site. However, this comes with its drawbacks – it’s a little more expensive than the other hosting plans mentioned thus far, and it takes a bit more work to set up. Once you have it running, though, it can prove to be a valuable resource for anyone looking to really crank up the performance of their site.
Which Hosting Plan Should You Go For?
The above discussion should give you an idea of the various types of hosting plans available, but as we’ve established, not all shared hosting plans are created equal. You need to consider a number of factors, such as performance, reliability, and price, to come up with a solid understanding of what plan is best suited for your needs.
If you want a fast, snappy site that you can rely on, go with shared hosting. It’s great for people who are just getting started and don’t have a lot of experience, as it gives them the reliability they need when they’re just exploring the internet. For people who are looking for a stable foundation for their site, shared hosting is a great choice.
If you need a bit more storage, go with VPS hosting – it’s perfect for people who want to remain flexible in terms of where they can access their server, as well as large online shops or other sites that need to store a lot of data. For people interested in building a quick site or blog, shared hosting is ideal – it’s still a very affordable option, and you won’t be over or undercharged for the service, unlike with other hosting plans.
If you want the absolute best performance out of your site, you need to go with dedicated hosting – it provides you with an unparalleled level of control and allows you to fully optimize your site for speed and efficiency. You might also consider this option if you’re looking to really crank up the performance of your site.
In the end, it’s all about what you need – if you want a snappy, reliable site that’s easy to use, shared hosting is your answer. If you want to run a bit more expensive site or an e-commerce store that needs to be able to handle a lot of traffic, go with VPS hosting or dedicated hosting.
Don’t forget to use our shared hosting finder to browse through a number of plans and find exactly what you need – it’ll save you a lot of time and effort, and it’ll give you a clear idea of how much you’re supposed to be spending. We hope this article was helpful! Don’t hesitate to leave us a comment if you have any questions. We’re always happy to help out.