Cloud hosting is a less common type of hosting that providers offer due to its complex configuration and costs to set up. With Cloud hosting, accounts and websites use a virtual environment spread across a network of servers rather than a single machine. The popular hosts below offer cloud hosting plans that may have different configurations. You can also sort plans by cheapest prices.
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How Cloud Hosting Works
Cloud hosting resides on a virtual server connected to a
network of machines, or a cloud,
rather than a single physical machine. Management software is installed on the
platform that allows for flexibility in how the shared resources of the network
(not to be confused with share hosting) are distributed and used. Servers that
are a part of this network can run as a single entity or independent servers.
Is Cloud Hosting Better Than Other Types?
Cloud hosting is a bit different than the other types of hosting because it refers to the server environment rather than how resources are allocated. In fact, shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting can all have cloud integrations if they are running on a network rather than single physical machines.
Cloud hosting used to be isolated to only the largest
websites on the internet, like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Recently though,
hosts have begun to offer cheaper options for mid-sized and even small
businesses.
Advantages To Having Cloud Hosting
The biggest advantage to a cloud is the significant boost to
performance, stability, and reliability. If a single unit that is a part of the
cloud needs to be taken offline, the cloud management software will shift use of
resources to other machines in the network. Because of this, many hosts can guarantee
100% uptime for your websites instead of the industry standard of 99.9% uptime.
If you’re doing business on a corporate or international scale, that’s a huge boost.
Another advantage to cloud hosting is flexibility – on multiple
fronts. If an account needs more resources in order to run optimally, resources
can be scaled upward either virtually or physical by increasing the size of the
network. Resources can also be allocated to accounts on the cloud in several
ways, either sharing them across all accounts or dedicating some or all
resources to a given account.
Clouds also provide better and more security options for
servers clustered on the network. They are not susceptible to many of the
issues and exploits found by using physical hardware.
The Best Choices In Cloud Hosting
Keep in mind that cloud hosting refers to the hosting environment and not how resources are allocated to accounts in the cluster. Dedicated cloud hosting is still better than VPS cloud hosting which in turn is better than shared cloud hosting. Reviews from trusted sources are also a good indicator of the quality of service and customer support that you can expect from a host.
Things To Remember When Shopping For Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is an incredibly versatile type of hosting
with several factors to consider when choosing a plan. Here are things you
should consider when looking at cloud hosting for your site:
- Cloud hosting can mimic the set up of shared,
VPS, and dedicated hosting. Which type it is copying can adversely affect the
performance of your website, with shared plans being at the lower end and
dedicated being at the higher end. - If your plan comes with resources allocated to
your account, factor this into the price in order to find the best value, not necessarily the cheapest
option. - Figure out what you need for your website before
you start shopping. Your hosting requirements are going to depend on the amount
of traffic to your website and how your visitors use it. By knowing what you
need for your site, you can pick a plan without paying for space you do not
need. - Unmanaged
hosting will place the responsibilities of configuring, updating, routine
maintenance, and security for your website on you. Managed cloud plans are
available but may cost more than unmanaged. - Consider both the promotional and regular
prices. The promotional price generally lasts the first pay cycle which could
range from a month all the way to a year. The regular price will give you a
better idea of what the long-term cost of your will be. - Consider looking at reviews from trusted sites
or calling their customer service before your make your purchase.
