Hello everyone, It's been 2 years now since I have used Bluehost as a host for my website. But after all this time (i must say i had no problems during this time) i kind of need a bit more resources. I have switched from SMF to IPB lately and beside that I have a custom made web application. Now, what do you suggest me I should do? Switch to a better Shared Host or switch to a VPS Host? I have no idea what shared host should I pick as a vps i looked around a bit and stuck to vps.net Thank you all for any suggestion and any reply. Cheers.
Depends how much CPU/RAM your website/forum is consuming... if it's too much for shared hosting then you should get a VPS. What did Bluehost tell you about your resource usage? Cause as oversellers they will claim too much resource usage even if you use more space and bandwidth than normal, so it can be that not CPU/RAM, in which case you don't need a VPS you just need a shared host that isn't overselling.
VPS is much better solution, but... If you are familiar with cPanel only, this solution is maybe expensive to you (don't know your budget). You must tell us your budget...
Which location you prefer? USA, Europe or some other place? Which control panel? Plesk, cPanel, DirectAdmin, Kloxo...?
If Bluehost have been good for you, can't you get more resources for them? As long as your issue isn't lack of CPU/Memory usage then shared hosting may still be the best solution. Moving to a VPS isn't something that should be taken lightly if you have no server admin experience. With shared hosting all the complexity of running and managing a server and its software are hidden from you, and you get to use (in most cases) a control panel that makes setting up things easy. When you move to a VPS you're left to manage it yourself. Even if you install a Control Panel, but you don't really understand what's happening beneath the surface, there's a good chance you'll get into a mess with it all or end up with a highly insecure set-up. You could go for a managed VPS but these tend to be more expensive and the "managed" part of the deal can be quite restrictive unless you pay more. Why not approach the host you're happy with to see if they can help you out first?
Ron you're right. VPS (unmanaged) can make many problems. Depends which scripts people use. For eg. i had problem with curl and curl w/ssl. I spent almost 6 hours to solve the problem. Just depend which script Loky want to install.
I agree. A VPS can be a good place to learn how to manage a server. We have a Windows Hyper-V R2 set-up and we have quite a lot of developers who use them just to learn how to work with a VPS/operating system, install applications and web sites, and generally play around with them. It's helped by the fact that with Hyper-V it is a true virtualization platform - separate OS for all users - and the developers can auto-install any OS from a selection of 2003 and 2008 operating systems, tear them down, and re-install a clean system, all within a few minutes, and without needing to contact us to do it. I'm not saying a VPS is a bad thing for a learner but it is not like shared hosting where everything is set-up and ready to use - control panel, dns, ftp, databases, web site security, server security, email, stats etc etc - and the general view that a VPS is better than shared hosting, or the "next stage" in the development of your hosting journey, isn't always the case. As long as the OP realizes that there is a vast difference between shared hosting and moving to a VPS (or dedicated server) in terms of knowledge, set-up, and skill required, then that is fine. I think virtualization is a brilliant technology. Moving to an unmanaged VPS without some background or skills in server admin is a bold move, but it can also be an excellent platform to learn on without costing the earth as long as you don't intend to run anything mission-critical while learning how it works and how to secure it properly.
I must say again: This is true. I had shared hosting, reseller, master reseller and Alpha, and all are now history! Now i have few VPSs (Germany, USA, UK...) This is freedom (almost)!!
First of all, thanks everyone for your advice. Really appreciated. Now, I have no idea exactly how much of the server resources I use because Bluehost does not have anything to monitor that (I did asked them). Managed VPS hosting plans are a bit expensive for me, at lease, for now, I don't want to invest into them. Unmanaged ones, even If i do not need a cpanel, are not a good option just yet because I'm sure i'd mess up something regarding security Now, I think i will ask Bluehost to see how can they help me, maybe I can bet something from them. OR I can try to check a more expensive shared host which holds less websites on a single server or something. Once again, thank you all for your replies.
Well see if there is some king of cache system you can use .. that would to some extent reduce load for you
Even if you don't have a reseller account, you can always check your disk and bandwidth usage from within cpanel provided you have a cpanel account. If you had a reseller account, you could check from within WHM under Account functions >> create new account. I would advise you to go with a reseller hosting account instead of a VPS. It'll easily fit into your budget and you'll be able to everything you need while earning money by reselling your unused disk and bandwidth resources.
I think you are wrong. You can buy VPS with cPanel, 512 MB RAM, 20GB HDD space, for less than 20 US$/month!!