With so many different types of web hosting options to choose from it can be a little overwhelming to choose which one is right for your website needs. So let’s take a look at the hosting solutions that are available and the pros/cons of using them.
Below are two different lists for both Managed hosting and unmanaged hosting which means hosting a website yourself and having to do all the server stuff yourself.
The lists are for the pros and cons that we have thought of, so there might be more reasons but these are what we thought of at the time!
Once you have decided if you want a managed server or an unmanaged host, take your time choosing the right service provider for your site.
There are a few out there that are not great and you could end up with loads of downtime and other problems with your website, which is definitely not what you want.
Table Of Contents
Managed Hosting VS Unmanaged
Managed hosting
Pros
- Usually offer 24/7 support
- No need for server knowledge
- Usually, migration for websites using WordPress is free!
- No need to manage, maintain or update the server
- Server security will already be taken care of
- Easier and simpler
- Saves time and money so you can produce more content
- Servers are usually optimized for best performance already (for example there are many managed optimized for WordPress packages)
Cons
- Can be more expensive
- Sometimes have to tie into an annual contract and also pay upfront costs
- Normally shared resources
- Can’t monitor resource usage such as CPU, Memory, Network, etc
- Not much flexibility
- If you want to host more websites you might need to purchase another package
- Your site could get limited or throttled if you other use your resources without knowing
- Traffic/ bandwidth restrictions forcing you to upgrade packages
- Support can sometimes be slow to respond and not always helpful in resolving your issues, leaving your site down or slow for a long period of time
- Unable to see if your site has been set up correctly and check error logs
- Sometimes unwanted plugins can be added to your site, which will slow it down
Unmanaged hosting
Pros
- Full control over your websites and server
- Cheaper saving $$$
- Normally monthly billing options with cancel at anytime options
- Monitor system resources and usage such as CPU, Memory, Network, etc
- Can get better hardware specs for a similar price to a managed host
- Depending on the control panel can host multiple sites
- More flexibility such as choosing your own web hosting control panel or deploying packages
- More flexibility in choosing and upgrading server hardware
- Normally comes with SSH access to configure your server
- If your server has an issue you can access and fix it asap
- Access to error logs and system/server logs, to ensure everything is running correctly
Cons
- Need server, SSH, and hosting knowledge
- Can be very time-consuming to set up, upgrade, monitor, and fix
- No support, so if you encounter a problem you are on your own unless you want to pay someone which could be expensive
- If set up incorrectly, it could leave your server exposed to threats. Or you could block traffic, or even cause your sites to be slow
- Less time to produce content and work on your websites
- Would need to know how to make backups of your server and restore them if necessary
- You would need to Migrate and set up your sites
- You will need to keep your hosting panel and servers updated and secure
- More complicated and even with knowledge can be time-consuming, depending on the error
- Server and Control Panel optimization needed
Final thoughts
So as you can see there really are a lot of pros and cons to both options and you could probably add even more to the above lists.
It is now down to your decision on how you move forward in hosting your new website. All we can say for now is good luck and don’t rush choosing a website host!
