Which Hosting Plan to Choose

Once you’ve decided to get online and you have chosen the right web host, the next step is to decide on the most suitable plan for your web business needs. The three main types of hosting plans that are commonly found are the Shared hosting Plan, the Reseller Hosting Plan and the Dedicated Hosting Plan. These plans each have their own advantages and disadvantages, which is why I have written this post to help you better understand the difference between these plans and ideally find which one suits your needs.

Shared Hosting Plans

The Shared Hosting Plan is when you have one website on a hosting server shared with many other websites. It is the cheapest plan available for hosting as it often has the most limitations, such as you are only able to have one domain hosted, you usually have a smaller disk space, and monthly bandwidth allowance and you’re limited in the number of databases and email accounts you’re able to have.

However despite the limitations, most shared hosting plans are sufficient enough to meet most needs for people starting a web business, and with the low cost and easy setup, it certainly is a great place to start.

Advantages: Easy to setup and manage, cheap
Disadvantages: Can be slower page loading times, only one domain, several limitations

Reseller Hosting Plans

The Reseller Hosting Plan was initially created for the purpose of creating your very own web hosting company, meaning with this plan you can resell web hosting without owning your own servers. However what a lot of people don’t realise is that it can actually be a great way, both cost and management wise, to host several websites.

It does require a little bit more technical knowledge then say a basic shared hosting plan, however the benefits are well worth the effort if you plan to host several websites. The Reseller Hosting Plans can actually be surprisingly affordable as well, with greater disk space and bandwidth allowances and very minimal limitations for example unlimited domains, email accounts, databases etc.

Advantages: Can have multiple domains, can sell hosting space, little limitations, affordable
Disadvantages: Requires some technical know how, can still have slower page loading times

Dedicated Hosting Plans

The Dedicated Hosting Plan is the best kind of hosting you can get, it is a plan that provides you with a dedicated server that only you have use of. Which is really only necessary for websites which receive a substantial amount of traffic, or store large amounts of data. Usually if you’re at a level where you are ready and prepared to go with a dedicated hosting plan, you would be better off steering away from the cheaper options as they can become more hassle then they are worth.

There is basically no limitations with using a dedicated hosting plan, you have access to a substantial amount of disk space and bandwidth, server responds faster and you can basically have unlimited domains, subdomains, email accounts and databases. The only real pitfall of a dedicated hosting plan is that they can cost substantial higher than the other two plans.

Advantages: Can have unlimited domains, can sell hosting space, no limitations
Disadvantages: Requires technical know how, can be expensive, fastest loading times

The great thing about web hosting plans is that it is reasonable easy to upgrade and downgrade, so there is no absolute need to get it right the first time, it can be a great idea if your just starting with your web business to start at the basic shared plan and work your way up the plans as required, this way you’re keeping your initial outlay down. Either way hopefully armed with this information you can go make a more informed decision on a web hosting plan suited to your needs.