As many of you are probably aware, I have switched hosting companies twice in the last month. It has been a stressful and extremely time consuming thing to have to do.
I can finally say that The Niche Store Journey (and many of my other sites) have finally found their permanent home!
I signed up for a VPS (Virtual Private Server) from KnownHost about a week and a half ago.
Let me briefly explain what a VPS is and how it is different from shared hosting (Hostgator baby plan, etc) and dedicated hosting.
As you may be familiar with, shared hosting companies like Hostgator put many different customers on each individual server they have. So if you are using a shared host, you are essentially “sharing” your bandwidth and CPU power/memory with a number of other users. This can lead to many problems!
For example: if another user on your server is running a very memory intensive script on a website they are hosting, your websites may very well all feel the bog-down effect, because your server load is linked to theirs.
Dedicated hosting is when you own a server and 100% of its resources are dedicated to you and you alone. This is obviously the best type of hosting you can get, and the advantages are great. However, there are downfalls as well. The price is often prohibitive unless you are running an already successful internet business, and if you plan on using dedicated hosting often times you must learn a great deal about server administration in order to effectively run your dedicated server. Unlike Hostgator and other companies, if you have a minor problem with some obscure setting in your server, there is no support team who can quickly fix it for you. This is because most dedicated server companies do not offer “Managed Hosting”.
Managed Hosting is what you would expect from a company like Hostgator. If you have a question or problem, you open a support ticket and their technicians help you fix the issue. Dedicated server companies often charge large fees for manged hosting services, making the already high costs even higher!
KnownHost is a great alternative to this, because they offer fully Managed Hosting VPS servers!!! Not only do you get the benefits of a dedicated server, but you also get SUPERB tech support 24/7. In the week and a half I have been with KnownHost, I have filed over a dozen support tickets getting everything set up correctly. My average response time is under 30 minutes!!!
So where do we turn when our internet hosting needs have outgrown shared hosting, but we are not quite ready for a dedicated server yet?
You got it, VPS!
A Virtual Private Server is basically the best of both worlds. It is technically shared hosting, but also dedicated hosting. How you ask?
A VPS provider will guarantee each customer on a server a certain portion of system resources 24/7. So even if another person on your server is running a ridiculous script that takes up a huge memory load, the server itself still allots you your guaranteed portion of CPU power and RAM. All the while, you still maintain access to the root directory of your “virtual” server, meaning you can install complex scripts and applications, which Hostgator and other shared hosts do not allow.
With KnownHost, there are a variety of different VPS packages available. I recommend taking a look at the v3 plan, which I use. It guarantees you 512 MB of dedicated RAM, 30GB of hard disk space, and 550GB of data transfer (which is HUGE!). Another great aspect of KnownHost is that if you find that you outgrow your current VPS plan, you can instantly upgrade to a higher plan without having to do all the work of backing up and restoring your data!
If you have been with a shared hosting company like Hostgator and find that it suits your needs perfectly, then by all means continue using them. They are a reputable company with a good service. But myself personally, I found that my sites simply were not performing up to expectations anymore, and I needed more firepower behind my server. I am extremely happy with KnownHost and recommend them without a second thought!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I have heard that VPS are somewhat frowned upon when it comes to SEO and ranking well in the engines. Have you heard this and if so how has your result been with their VPS service?
I’ve heard conflicting reports regarding the SEO ramifications of VPS. I have not encountered any obvious issues, and their VPS is pretty good. There are some issues, but many of them are more-so because of my lack of server administration.
I would recommend them!
Tyler´s last blog ..Win a Profitable Niche Site For FREE!
I recently moved to my first managed VPS with Knownhost and have to agree that their service and support has been beyond reproach. Reliability and speed also excellent.
Look for coupons when signing up as they often offer some great deals too – value for money is excellent already however.
Maurice | TheCaymanHost´s last blog ..Best Web Hosting Support – Knownhost