Introduction:
Well what can I say about shared hosting?
Shared Hosting is for newbies and for startups. When you are new to the Internet world, you use shared hosting for hosting your site. A handful of people share the same physical server where it only takes few heavy sites to eat up all the provided resources making your site suffer.
Moving to VPS Hosting is logical once you have outgrown as a company or as a community on the Internet. VPS Hosting are ‘expensive’ and ‘very difficult to manage’ are some of the common myths. One can acquire VPS Hosting services for as minimum as $6 per month from vendors like Interserver.
VPS hosting—Virtual Private Server Hosting—is a virtual space on a very powerful machine. It is like a small computer inside a supercomputer dedicated to your site. Unlike Shared Hosting, here you get full access to the promised resources. No other Webmaster with a heavy site can use your resources. Your site is going to run to the best of its potential until and unless you overload your VPS Hosting by hosting more and more sites on it.
How to Choose VPS hosting:
When selecting a VPS Hosting, one should always keep these things in mind:
RAM(Random Access Memory): The foremost important thing you should look for when buying a VPS Hosting is RAM. A minimum of 1GB is important. 1GB RAM ensures faster loading of site and keeps the possibilities of expansion open.
Uptime: Though most of the service providers claim to have an uptime of 99.99 percent but it is advised to read a lot of genuine reviews before acquiring the services.
Managed or unmanaged: These are the two most popular VPS Hosting plans in the contemporary market. Managed plan has got everything sorted;the provider manages all the software, updates, patches and plugin installations. Unmanaged plan requires the user to establish the Cpanel and also manage other software installation.
There are 3 companies offering good quality VPS Servers namely HostGator, DreamHost and BlueHost . Here is comparison of their plans.
| Features | HostGator | DreamHost | BlueHost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | .5 Core | – | 2 CPU Cores |
| Storage | 25 GB | 30 GB SSD Storage | 30 GB SAN |
| Ram | 512 MB | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Bandwidth | 500 GB | Unlimited | 1TB |
| Domains | – | Unlimited | 1 |
| IP Addresses | 2 IPs | – | 1 IPs |
| Price | $11.97/mo* | $15/mo* | $14.99/mo* |
| Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
How to transfer domains:
If you are looking forward to transfer your domain from xyz register to DreamHost, for example, then you will have to ensure the following first:
- The Domain must not be on Hold by the current register.
- The Domain must be unlocked and in use.
- You cannot transfer a domain unless it is at least sixty days old in age.
- Administrative email account related to Domain must be in use in order to confirm the transfer request.
Now follow the listed steps for completing the domain transfer to DreamHost:
Step 1: Login to the DreamHost Cpanel using the login credentials.
Step 2: On the Right hand side of your screen there is a Menu bar. Click on ‘Domain’ and then click on ‘Reg.Transfer’.
Step 3: Write the domain name you want to transfer to DreamHost in the space adjacent to ‘Transfer Domain registration(s) to Us:’ and click on ‘Request Transfer’.
P.S: The moment you click on ‘Request Transfer’ an email with Authorization code is sent to the email associated with the domain you are planning to transfer. Remember, the mail with authorization code is valid up to 5 days from creation.
Step 4: The new page on the screen requires you to enter the ‘Authorized code’ that was generated and sent to the official email associated with the domain. You need to fill all the WHOIS details on this page.
Step 5: As soon as you are done filling all the WHOIS info, revise the information for mistakes and then click on ‘Continue’.
Step 6: Follow the rest of the steps to complete the transfer and in case of errors or doubt you can contact DreamHost customer service.
Do’s and Don’ts while moving to VPS hosting:
Do’s:
- Do a page speed test before moving to a new service provider. Use Google PageSpeed Insights for conducting the test before and after moving to VPS. This way you can know for sure whether switching to VPS actually helped you or not.
- Always take a backup of your site. Download the backup and keep it safe for future use.
- Always prefer packages that provide substantial hosting space. A large Random Access Memory is also important so keep it in mind as well.
Don’ts:
- Do not depend on Auto backup. Always create a backup and be on the safe side.
- Never host sites more than the capability of the Hosting package you have acquired. Try to balance the allocation of space and resources.
- Never alter with the WHOIS details of your domain. Also ensure that you are not leaving your Hosting account vulnerable to hackers.
Now you are all set to migrate your site from shared hosting to VPS hosting. Once you have migrated to VPS Hosting, you should start seeing the overall performance of your website.
VPS Hosting is a necessity and not a luxury; if your online network or community is growing rapidly and if you are not shifting to VPS Hosting from Shared Hosting then you will start losing a substantial amount of potential customers. Make the right choices and make your online business touch new limits of success.
