Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

June 28, 2010

A Closer Look at Cheap VPS Hosting Plans

VPS hosting plans are very common in the hosting industry, as they are often just as affordable as shared hosting. Even so, most people believe that VPS hosting plans are significantly more expensive,  simply because many of the well-known hosting companies offer powerful VPS plans that are much more comprehensive. However, VPS hosting packages differ greatly, perhaps more than any other plan. Due to the virtual environment it is possible to delegate minimal resources to a particular VPS, thus allowing for cheaper prices. In fact, VPS servers can often be found for as little as $10 per month!

Buying the Bare Minimum

One of the best ways to save on any kind of hosting plan is to purchase the bare minimum needed to operate your website(s). Fortunately, Virtual Private Servers come in a variety of sizes so it is usually easy to find a plan that does not exceed your hosting requirements. In fact, it is possible to find VPS plans with only 128MB memory and 5 GB data storage. While this may seem like a terrible hosting package in terms of features and capabilities, it does provide enough server resources to operate a small blog or a personal website.

The vast majority of webmasters are using hosting plans that are far too comprehensive, and in most cases the leftover server resources simply sit there causing nothing but higher monthly costs.

Cost vs Reliability

Another factor to consider is the cost of the hosting plan in comparison to the reliability of the hosting provider. Unfortunately, many hosting companies that offer such cheap VPS hosting packages are somewhat unreliable and inexperienced. It is not uncommon to see a hosting company disappear only a few months after it was established. In rare cases, a hosting provider may dissolve the hosting company  leaving a lot of customers without service unexpectedly.  Thus, it is important to balance the value of cheap pricing and reliability, so be sure to read plenty of customer reviews before committing to any hosting plan.

One of the best ways to find genuine opinions and reviews online is to become a member of webmaster/ web hosting related forums. Many web hosting review sites also offer legitimate comparisons and reviews of cheap VPS hosting providers.

Learn About Web Servers

An ideal way to get the most value for your dollar is to become familiar with various web servers and their capabilities. Ultimately, the quality of any hosting plan will depend not only on the reliability of the company, but also on the reliability and capabilities of the server itself. It is important to note which operating system you would like your server to utilize.

Windows web servers are slightly more expensive, however they are compatible with all Microsoft server-side applications that many sites need for maximum functionality. Linux web servers are cheaper, and surprisingly in many cases they are also more reliable and user-friendly. Ideally, it is best to use a quad core Xeon server with root access and plenty of administrative features. Also look for plans that offer cPanel – the world's best control panel.

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