It’s essential to consider multiple factors when you’ve to pick a virtual private server and a shared server for your image-heavy site. On the one side, there’s affordability that might attract you. On the other side, there’s performance that’s necessary for your site. This might really be a tough decision, especially when you don’t have enough monetary resources.
An online store, an e-commerce site, or a digital storefront for a food business. These are only a few examples that cannot do well without high-quality images. Say, you’ve a clothing business and you’re running a website for it. Can you imagine not showcasing photos? When this aspect is necessary, your online asset becomes an image-heavy site, and for this, the hosting type becomes critical.
This blog will explain which hosting solution you should pick between shared hosting and VPS when it comes to an image-heavy site.
VPS vs Shared Hosting for Image-Heavy Sites: 5 Considerations
When selecting between these two common hosting options, focus on the factors like resource allocation. That’s because it’s going to impact your image-heavy site’s performance and scalability. Then, you’ll also need image optimization tools, and for that, a suitable hosting solution is necessary. Another critical consideration in this regard is the security measures. These factors will lead you to make an informed decision.
Discussed below are the top five considerations to choose between shared hosting and VPS for your image-heavy site:
1. Speed and Performance
That’s the first thing that one should consider when deciding between a shared server and a virtual private server. As it’s established that your site will be publishing images excessively, speed and performance become critical. With a shared server and shared resources, there’s no guarantee regarding these aspects. This limits the potential for excellent performance and better page load speed.
And VPS hosting? That’s a better option because you get a virtualized dedicated server environment. We’re talking about an infrastructure where your photo-rich site will have its own resources. In other words, you don’t have to worry about speed and performance. You can contact a reliable hosting provider like HostingMENA to host your site on a virtual private server.
2. Server Resources
You might have heard about terms like bandwidth, RAM, or CPU when talking about hosting. These are what we call server resources. An image-heavy site certainly requires more of these resources than most other websites. You might not be able to fulfill this requirement with a shared server. The fact that these resources are shared among hundreds of other sites leads to the following drawbacks:
- Slow loading time
- Increased downtimes
- Poor site performance
- Bad user experience
- Missed opportunities
On the flip side, going for VPS hosting ensures the provision of enough resources for your image-heavy site. In fact, there’ll be a dedicated portion for your digital storefront in virtualized form. No neighbors to share these resources with.
3. Image Optimization Tools
When you have to run a website with hundreds or thousands of images, some plugins become necessary to use. We’re referring to image optimization tools. Not using them might not be a good decision for page load speed and performance of your online store. A shared server doesn’t even allow you to use many of these tools because of the limited plug-in support.
A VPS hosting solution is the best option in this regard, too. How? That’s because this type of web hosting supports image optimization tools. You can use server-side compression, custom CDNs, and WebP conversion. This flexibility helps you enhance user experience and optimize resource usage. This also has a positive impact on your photo-rich site’s ranking.
4. Scalability
It’s another essential factor that you should take into account when making the decision. Sooner or later, you’ll have to think about upgrading specific hosting resources because of the growing traffic. Opting for shared hosting means this aspect will become a headache for you, as this type of hosting doesn’t allow much scalability. This means dealing with the following issues:
- Performance bottlenecks
- Frequent downtimes
- Reduced responsiveness
- Higher bounce rates
- Damaged reputation
On the contrary, there’ll be no such problems when you prefer a virtual private server because it offers you the ability to upgrade hosting resources whenever you want.
5. Security
No one should compromise this factor in today’s vulnerable environment. You should be more careful if you’re running an e-commerce store. Even a seemingly meaningless vulnerability can cause substantial financial losses. Shared hosting, due to its shared environment, isn’t the best choice in this matter. One compromised website sharing the server can lead to potential risks for your site, too.
Now, compare this to a virtual private server, where resources aren’t shared. Your site will enjoy a completely isolated environment, where there’s no chance of cross-site contamination. You also have more control over security configurations due to an independent operating system. Configuring firewalls and installing security software will help you keep your image-heavy site protected from cybersecurity attacks and data breaches.
Recommended: The DevOps Edge: Why Dedicated Hosting Powers Smarter CI/CD Pipelines
What Should You Choose?
When it comes to hosting a photo-rich website, people usually consider two options: VPS and shared hosting. Although a shared server might be an affordable choice, it isn’t better than a virtual private server in terms of other factors like speed, performance, security, and scalability. That’s why preferring this hosting option would be an informed decision. Contact a reliable hosting provider now to get this hosting solution for your image-heavy site.
