Shared hosting, VPS or cloud: how to choose for your website

The site is ready, but where do you put it? The choice of hosting looks like a technical detail and is often made at the last minute, looking only at the price. Yet the place where the site lives affects speed, security, reliability and costs over time.

In this guide I explain the main options in a simple way and how to choose the one suited to your project.

What hosting is

Hosting is space on an always-on computer (the server) where your site's files and data live, so that it can be reached by anyone at any hour. The differences between solutions concern who shares that computer with you, how much control you have and who looks after it.

The main options

Shared hosting

Many sites sit on the same server and share its resources. It is the cheapest and simplest solution: you are given a panel and do not have to configure anything.

• Pros: low cost, easy to use, suitable for small sites.
• Cons: performance also depends on the neighbours; little freedom of configuration; it can slow down at peak times.

VPS (virtual private server)

A slice of a physical server is reserved for you, with guaranteed resources and the freedom to install what is needed.

• Pros: more predictable performance, more control, suitable for sites with medium traffic or particular requirements.
• Cons: you need skills to configure, update and protect the server, or a managed service.

Dedicated server

A whole physical server for you. It is meant for heavy loads or specific needs. It costs more and requires management.

Cloud and managed platforms

Services that distribute the site across several machines and adapt to traffic, often with much simpler management. There are also platforms designed for modern sites and applications, such as Netlify or Vercel, which publish the site from a repository and serve it through a distribution network.

• Pros: excellent performance, scalability, simple updates.
• Cons: costs can grow with usage; not every program (WordPress, for example) fits well without adaptation.

How to choose: six criteria

1. What type of site is it? A WordPress site needs an environment with PHP and a database; a site built with modern technologies can sit on a distribution platform.
2. How much traffic do you expect, and with which peaks (campaigns, events, seasonality)?
3. How critical is the site to the business? The more central, the less it pays to save.
4. Who will manage it? If nobody has server skills, choose a managed service.
5. What data does it handle? Personal data, payments, private areas need more care.
6. How much do you want to grow? Better a solution that can be expanded without migrating everything.

The questions to ask the provider

Before choosing, ask explicitly:

• Backups: how often are they made, where are they kept and how are they restored? (I talk about it in Website backup)
• Security: how are servers and access protected? What isolation systems between sites?
• Support: at what hours, through which channels and with what response times?
• Where are the servers and how is the GDPR handled?
• Performance: PHP version, cache support, the possibility of using a distribution network.
• Limits: space, traffic, number of sites, resources.
• Hidden costs: renewals dearer than the first year, paid features, surcharges.
• Exit: can I export everything and change provider whenever I want?

Common mistakes

• Choosing only on the first-year price. Renewals can cost much more.
• Putting an important site on a plan that is too small, and finding out on the day of the campaign.
• Registering the hosting to the agency or developer. If the collaboration ends, you risk losing control.
• Not checking backups. A backup that cannot be restored is worth nothing.
• Ignoring the server's response times. If they are high, every other optimisation starts at a disadvantage (I explain it in Slow WordPress site).
• Forgetting domain and email, which exist separately from hosting (I talk about it in Domain, DNS and business email).

A practical criterion: pay for what you need

The best hosting is neither the most expensive nor the cheapest: it is the one that costs least for equal performance and reliability for your case. For a small showcase site, a good shared plan or a distribution platform may be enough. For an online shop, a private area or a management system, a more controlled, monitored environment is worth it.

Before moving a site that is already live

Changing hosting is something you do calmly, so as not to leave the site offline.

1. Take a complete backup of the current site and check that it is intact.
2. Prepare the new environment and copy the site, trying it at a test address.
3. Check everything: pages, forms, payments, email, SSL certificate.
4. Lower the DNS TTL a few days before, to make the change propagate faster.
5. Change the DNS at a quiet moment and check the site from the new server right away.
6. Keep the old hosting active for a few days, until you are sure everything works.

A move done this way is almost invisible to visitors.

Why entrust it to me

I have been programming since 1999, with more than 300 projects delivered and about 30 agencies as an external developer. I configure Linux servers, containers and cloud services with tools such as Cloudflare, Vercel and Netlify, choosing what costs least for equal performance and reliability, with access always in your name. I also handle backups, security, monitoring and recovery. I work from Rome and remotely.

If you do not know where to put your site or want to understand whether the current one is suitable, write to me: a chat of about 20 minutes, no strings attached, then a written, free proposal. The service is in Hosting, servers and cloud infrastructure.