For a while now, I have toyed with the idea of moving away from the harrowing experience called SHARED WEB HOSTING. Perhaps the major restraint I have had is the cost factor.

While the term “Shared Hosting” may sound strange to some, the fact is, if you own a website, chances are that you are subscribed to shared web hosting services in one form or the other. In fact, a greater percentage of the websites you view on the internet are being hosted on shared servers.

This form of web hosting is extremely popular because, to a large extent, it does what it says it would and for little or no fees. You get to host practically all forms of websites and with little or no need for technical know-hows. You also do not get yourself too deep into technicalities involved in setting up a web hosting space from the scratch and maintaining it.

But these, my dears, are about all the gains you stand to make. Chances are, you stand to lose more.

Someone likened SHARED HOSTING to living in an apartment building. You hear your neighbours’ music, and all sorts, through the walls. Someone defaults in paying their electricity or water bills, the whole building gets cut off. (Yes, it happens in Nigeria). And If one of them leaves the main gate open, your security is at risk. Basically, your neighbour’s excesses is your problem.

On a shared server, all the website hostings share the same resources. Problems with your neighbours’ website hostings can slow down the server performance or require it to be shut down while the problem is being fixed. The slowdowns may also result from having too many website hostings on a server. Your site’s security depends in part on decisions made by your web host and your neighbours too. A hack into a website in your server could spell doom to your own site.

VPS HOSTING, however, is more like living in a townhouse with your own fenced private yard, without ever hearing your neighbours. Your neighbours’ problems are not yours.

In contrast to apartments or shared hosting accounts, you pay more for a VPS Hosting, but you can do what you want with the space. VPS Hosting gives you the features and functionality of a dedicated server without the cost of building and maintaining one. If you need to host unlimited domains, have complete control of your environment and run your own applications, then you will benefit from having a VPS Hosting.

Now that we know what VPS is, let’s take a look at 6 of the reasons why you should consider it as a web hosting solution:

Growth potential: While today your business may be small, what if growth takes place a lot sooner than expected? For as many overnight success stories that are out there, there are an equal number of stories about crashed servers, traffic delays, and resultant missed business opportunities. Be ready for your success by ensuring your site will remain available and ready for business whenever opportunity knocks!

Cost Control: Large businesses may need a dedicated server, but they usually have a big budget to go with it. If you’re trying to control costs, (and let’s face it, most businesses today are) you need hosting services that fit your budget while giving you great web hosting services. VPS gives you the benefits of a dedicated server without the accompanying hardware and maintenance costs.

Security: VPS hosting supplies you with an individual IP address and unique-to-user password protected entries. Firewalls and employee education regarding server access from external computers are additional ways to ensure that the VPS is safe from attacks. With multi-layered protections built into the system, VPS is a safe and secure choice for business hosting.

Support: Good VPS hosting means you aren’t “going it alone” in the vast web hosting world. Be sure that your VPS hosting package comes with the support you are looking for, whether it is email support, online chat or phone support. You’ll also want to know when these services are available, since problems don’t usually limit themselves to “office hours”. Choose a hosting service that provides 24/7/365 support to be sure you get help when you need it.

Control: VPS hosting offers you control over your site’s content and the applications you’re running, from anywhere you need it! By logging into your password protected admin panel, you can upload documents, edit content, run new applications, and thus operate your business anytime, anywhere.

WYSIWYG: Yes, What You See Is What You Get. It is no longer news that when you are given “Unlimited” web hosting space in a Shared Hosting Server, what you get at the end of the day may not be more that 2GB, depending on the number of files uploaded. Shared servers do not allow more than 50,000 Inodes (Files) for an individual account. VPS can guaranty you 2 million Inodes or more! And of course, a VPS 60GB is certainly all 60GB!.

Over the next few weeks, i intend to put up articles on VPS hosting and more. Please walk with me as I take you through my first experiences ….