Just like the name suggests, shared hosting requires you to share your web space with others. Thus, your data must be limited so that you don’t hinder the functioning of other websites sharing the same space as yours. So, you cannot do something which will create a sudden increase in traffic since it will disrupt the functioning of other websites. Flexibility is limited with shared hosting as you are bound to use only the resources you get from your hosting provider and no more. Though shared hosting is not totally unsecured since the hosting service will provide some sort of security but any malware on one particular website will affect the others sharing the server. In spite of all of this, shared hosting is chosen by many businesses and individuals for its considerably lower expenses. It is good for those who run a small business or want to start off their online presence in a small way, those who do not have the requirements to share data rapidly or are not in need of security layers.

• A VPS is like getting a flat in a building since here a dedicated server is partitioned in multiple spaces. Webspace in a VPS is much more in comparison to a shared hosting and you can change the scale of bandwidth, web space you need. The performance on one website does not have a bearing on the other sharing the server and you will also have the freedom of installing customized features and applications. The security flaws of a shared hosting are also not seen in a VPS and it is in the medium range of expense, that is, between shared hosting and dedicated servers. VPS is best for MSM sector businesses and for ecommerce websites since they experience sudden growths in traffic owing to certain offers and introductions. Security layers are also available with VPS.

• If you have the capital and the resources to manage your own server, then dedicated servers are the best option for you. You can add as much space as your requirement is, install as many and kinds of software, applications and features as you need without the worry of affecting other sharing websites. The security level is also the highest for websites hosted on dedicates servers. However, the costs involved in creating and maintaining a dedicated server is what makes them a choice mostly taken by large enterprises and companies which are likely to have a regular heavy traffic flow on their website. Those who need high CPU storage, and are likely to have rich informative content on their website should opt for dedicated servers if they can afford it.

Thus, it is the issues of data security, privacy, affordability and flexibility which go into making a website good or bad for you.

• Linux Hosting – Linux has long been considered the most reliable and efficient of all servers. However, the question still remains as to what requirements does your website have? What kinds of applications do you plan on using? Linux is known for its ability to remain robust and giving websites a high-up time. The Linux OS is free or at the most very cheap in spite of being a full-fledged server and having the ability to support applications such as DNS Server, FTP, Web Server and File Server. Hosting on Linux servers is easier as compared to Windows and you will be free to use almost any kind of file extensions such as.html, .cgi, .htm, .php, .pl, .shtml, .xml, etc. This gives you freedom to host websites which use different types of scripts such as.pl, .cgi, .php, and .asp. A website at its basic level is just a few pages of html which develops with the increase in the requirements of the customer. A Linux based server website can incorporate a large scale of customer requirements without making any major site design changes.
• Windows Hosting – This is used by webmasters in need of designing dynamic websites and using scripting language such as ASP or ASP.NET. Allowing true integration with Microsoft’s products and allowing web sites to run Active Server Pages, it also allows through Microsoft’s server, integration with SQL database platform which happens to be one of the strongest database solutions. Windows hosting is a good choice for those whose websites run on .net since Linux hosting does not provide compatibility with these languages. If you are using a well-known program for web designing, such as Microsoft Front Page, your job will be simplified by the use of Windows Hosting. There will be no hassles related to making support extensions for server like MySQL, MS SQL, ASP.NET, ASP, etc. If you website is in need of an access database, you will be able to achieve this through a Windows server in a better way. Though there are many options for database creation and maintenance such as MySQL, Access is the preferred choice for many and a Windows server makes this integration much easier. Those of you, who need a dynamically driven website and want to use .ASP or Active Server Pages, will be better off choosing a Windows OS. .ASP is not supported by Linux OS and thus you are not left with any other option.