Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Last week was an interesting one, for this website. We were hosted on a dedicated server (till a HDD failure), moved back to our yucky shared host and then finally settled with a new VPS (Virtual Private Server) host. Learn more about hosting option (we've now tried them all).

Web Hosting: Free, Shared, Dedicated & VPS
We've tried them all. Which is right for you?

Growing, growing .... gone!
Randsco Hosting History

Back in 1999, when the web was young and I was too (well, younger anyway) I opted for a free host - GeoCities. I went with them because then, the number of free web-hosts was limited and I already had a Yahoo!Mail account (and still do).

I didn't know much about the Internet back then, and used *shudder* Microsoft FrontPage to construct my first site. I built it in an absolute hurry, wasn't committed to the web and certainly not interested in paying (relatively large) web hosting fees.

GeoCities worked for several years. I made a number of websites, some of which, like the Big Ride site, are still knocking about. However, GeoCities started to scale back on services (removing FTP access, for starters) and then their advertisements began interfering with both our code and visitor experience. Shared hosting prices had dropped and we found a hosting plan at SiteGround for four bucks a month.

Moving from GeoCities to a shared host was an eye-opener! Suddenly, I suddenly had access to a whack-load of features (statistics, PHP, CGI, FTP, cPanel, email, etc) none of which were available at GeoCities. This was at the end of 2004, when I saw XHTML, CSS and PHP for the first time.

At first, the shared hosting experience was great, but after a couple of years, it lost it's luster. I had problems using a PHP file extension for custom error pages and SiteGround support threw up their hands. I coded a work-a-round. Then they claimed we had consumed 'too many resources', summarily suspended us, then penalized us with a move to a "special server". As I learned more about the web, web servers and HTTP protocols, their claims became ludicrous. They said we had too many links on our front page (as a reason for consuming server resources). They provided us with a conflicted SPF record. They had hardware problems they were slow to fix. Server loads became unbearable.

We were ready to leave, but the options appeared limited. A dedicated server was way more than we needed and at $79/month and up, VPS packages were too big of a leap from $4/month.

Over the summer, my mate swapped a company server from a windows-based server to a Linux-based server and offered us free hosting. Eventually, our need to leave shared hosting overcame my fears of the unknown and our website was transferred over at the beginning of November.

There was a learning curve, for sure, but having root access to the Linux operating system was an awesome jump in power from what we were used to at our shared host. Server loads were wonderfully low and despite knowing little about the nuts and bolts of installing, updating and maintaining server applications, we were happy.

That lasted for a month, until a hard drive decided to take a nose dive. We were completely baffled and (for the first time EVER) our web site was down for multiple days. (Not exactly the kind of stability we seek in a web host). But the problem was - we didn't have a web host! We were just a bunch of smart people on a dedicated Linux server, part-way up a steep learning curve of how to remotely maintain a dedicated, un-managed Linux web server.

I decided to scale back a bit and step down to a VPS host. It's kind of a middle-ground for us. We get many of the benefits of a dedicated web server (root access, isolation from our "neighbors" and decent space) and many of the benefits of a shared host (technical support, application maintenance and no hardware headaches).

Virtual Private Servers have become more affordable, as the industry heads toward this kind of web hosting. It's now possible to find a VPS hosting plan for $15 a month. We're currently paying $50 per month at ServInt. We believe that it's a good value, considering it to be a balance between the space/resources we think we'll need, plus outstanding customer support. (While extensively searching the Internet for VPS plans, I ran across a number of positive customer testimonials for ServInt. If customers of 4+ years are saying such wonderful things, they've got to be good.)

What is VPS? How does it compare to Dedicated | Shared | Free Hosting?
A comparative analogy

A virtual private server is halfway between a dedicated server and shared hosting.

Think of shared hosting like an apartment building. The web-server is the building, the hosting company the landlord and each tenant a customer. The landlord owns the building and is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. All the tenants share the common services, like water, the laundry facility, etc. It all works great, but your experience depends a lot on the landlord and your neighbors. If you've got noisy neighbors, or someone above you overflows the bathtub, you're going to be pretty unhappy. Likewise, if the landlord doesn't keep up with the maintenance, you might suffer. Rent is cheap, but eventually, you're going to be ready to move out.

VPS is more like a gated community. You still share the resources with your neighbors, but now you're living in a detached building and what your neighbors do, isn't as likely to affect you. The "landlord" in this situation is the neighborhood association, which is responsible for maintaining the shared services - mowing the grass, maintaining the parking lot, etc. You're still sharing these basic services, but your isolated (via software) from your neighbors, so if one is a spammy Hell's Angel, it's not as likely to affect you.

In this analogy, a dedicated server would be more like a huge, private estate. You're now living in the lap of luxury, with more room that you could possibly require, but you're also saddled with all the repair. If the plumbing breaks, you've got to know how to fix it (or pay someone else big bucks to fix it). Maybe you've got the skills to repair the mansion, when it breaks, but do you really need all that room? Probably not. You could lease out space to mansion-mates, but then you become the landlord. You're still responsible for the upkeep and if you've got a problem tenant, you've got to police them. Geez ... all you wanted to do was enjoy the private garden and now, suddenly, the place isn't looking all that private.

The free online host, in this scenario, is analogous to a homeless shelter. You get free food, a roof over your head, but little in the way of space and services. Someone else tells you where to sleep, they decide what you eat, when you eat or IF you eat. They want to plaster advertisements all over the walls? "Don't like the accommodations? Too bad. For crying out loud, it's free! Leave if you don't like it. Geez."

So what's right for you?
It depends on your level of commitment.

If all you want is a blog and don't know if you'll continue blogging or stop one day, don't know much (and don't care to know much) about the websites ... then head on over to Google Blogger. Within a few minutes, you can be happily blogging and then go back to your real life.

In fact, I'd consider free hosting solutions ONLY IF you're looking for very specific web services (i.e., blogging, photo-sharing, email, etc). If you want a full-on website, consider a shared host, instead. (Maybe, just maybe, if you're completely new to the web and you're dabbling, I'd recommend trying a free-host.)

Want a website? Pony up the $5 or $6/month and find yourself an inexpensive shared web-host.

If you already have a website, update it frequently and are committed to improving it, you might wish to think about moving out of that apartment and into a private, gated community. In my search, I have seen VPS plans for as low as $15 a month (on par with the price some people pay for shared hosting). As VPS plans become more popular, the ability to search for them will become easier. Prices tend to range in the $50-150/month range for most VPS hosts.

Only if you are hugely committed to your website or run a web business that brings in several hundred to thousands of dollars (or more) a month, might I recommend a dedicated web server. If you're a big company, chances are you'll be running your own server, from your office. But for smaller firms, a dedicated, managed remote server, might just be the ticket. (The more you know about web servers, the less you need the "managed" part). Prices for dedicated servers tend to range in the $150-$500 per month range, though I have seen some entry-level machines for $79/month (and lower).