Basically there are three types of hosting: shared hosting, virtual private servers and dedicated servers. Virtual and dedicated servers require more advanced server administration knowledge as they are usually not totally functionnal “out-of-the-box”.
What is shared hosting?
In shared hosting, multiple websites are hosted on a single server, so each account ends up “sharing” server space with other accounts. This solution is usually less expensive. Most shared hosting plans comes with a control panel that allows you that manage your account so you can add websites, manage email accounts, create databases, etc.
Although shared hosting is less expensive, it offers less performance so if you plan on hosting a high traffic website (i.e.: tens of thousand of unique visitors per day), you should rather get a virtual private server (VPS) or a dedicated server.
Keep in mind that you can still start your website on a shared hosting account and upgrade to a more performing host later. Using a control panel like cPanel or DirectAdmin will help you move your website easily if needed then.
What is a Virtual Private Server?
Also known as a VPS or a Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), this type of web hosting gives you more flexibility than a shared hosting account as you get to have full control over the operating system. This allows you to set some custom configuration settings for example.
A Virtual Private Server resides on a shared physical host for which the operating system is totally independent.
VPS usually come in two different flavors: managed and unmanaged. A managed server is being taken care of by the provider’s support team. This means that you submit them your configuration needs, have them fix problems, etc. This is also more expensive. If you’ve got some web server administration skills, than perhaps you can save money by getting an unmanaged server instead.
What Is A Dedicated Server?
A Dedicated Server is pretty much like a VPS but instead you get control over a physical server. While being the most expensive type of web hosting, a dedicated server offers way more performance, stability and security.
Just as VPS, they can be managed or unmanaged.
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