It’s a commonly believed fact that Shared Hosting is one of the most preferred forms of web hosting for beginners. However, with a shared hosting account, the user must share key resources like hard drive space, CPU, and RAM with all others on the shared server.

Shared hosting is nothing less than a large apartment space where all the owners are sharing common utilities and areas to keep the cost down. Though it is pocket-friendly for beginners, Shared Hosting has many drawbacks, mainly because the server is divided amongst all users. For example, on the shared server, if any of the other users experience a huge spike in traffic, it can affect your website’s performance as well.

This is where VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting steps in. The best VPS hosting plans will give you your own operating system instance, unlimited bandwidth, scalable RAM, powerful CPU and dedicated storage. Though there will be other websites as well on the same hardware as yours, in your specific virtual compartment, your website(s)/applications will be the only entities.

The biggest advantage being, you get all the benefits of a Dedicated server at a pocket-friendly price. To be precise, VPS hosting as compared to Shared hosting can give your business more bang for the buck.

If you are still not convinced, the best way to gauge whether your website is ready or needs the upgrade to VPS is by taking stock of it. Here, we have listed eight signs that indicate it’s time to move to VPS. Look:

If You Are Worried About the Security of your Website

If your online business is expanding fast and experiencing high traffic, then you need advanced monitoring capabilities, improved website reliability, added backup space that VPS can provide you at a better rate than Dedicated hosting. The top-notch security features which you can build to suit custom requirements and resources make VPS a great choice for budgeted business owners.

If Your Website Audience is Growing

As stated earlier, if you have just stepped in the digital business world and your website has a low traffic volume, shared hosting will be a better choice for you. However, if you are old in the business and traffic is significantly increasing day by day, an upgrade is what you need. Without an upgrade, you are risking your server for a crash when it won’t be able to handle the traffic.

If Your Website is Running Too Slow

If your website uses a large amount of RAM, Shared hosting is not the right option. With constant growth and increase in content, your website’s load time will decrease significantly thus frustrating the users. As soon as the load time increases, it’s a clear sign that you are about to max out your limits. VPS upgrade will let you scale your website without worrying about slow load times.

If You Run an Online Store

Planning to run an online store with all possible payment options? It is time to say goodbye to shared hosting and opt for VPS. This is because it gives you a dedicated and secure server with which you will easily be able to pass the PCI compliance test. This will protect your user against data theft and will ensure the safety of their financial information. Since VPS offers a more secure environment as compared to shared hosting, it is the best option for e-commerce business owners.

If You Need to Install Custom Software

When your business expands to the extent that you need to install custom software as the standard WordPress plugins and other programs have surpassed your needs, you need an upgrade. An upgrade to VPS will offer more control over the programming actions.

If the Website is Experiencing Frequent Server Errors

Have server errors like “Internal Server Error” and “Service Unavailable” become too frequent? If you are experiencing such errors, it’s safe to assume that your customers are too. Customer experience is paramount in the online business sector, one glitch and you’ll instantly lose them. Tackle this problem by upgrading to VPS.

If You are on a budget and Can’t Afford Dedicated Hosting

We do not deny that Dedicating hosting will not solve these problems. However, it’s important to note that it is way more expensive than VPS. So, if your business needs increased security, RAM, and exceptional bandwidth, VPS hosting is the most affordable option for you.

Your Business is About Building Websites

If the nature of your business includes building websites for clients, the hassle of purchasing individual shared plans can be a costly affair for you. Also, it will be difficult for you to manage each domain with separate accounts. However, with a VPS, you can easily host multiple domains without worrying about the RAM required for each site to function well.

Now that you have made it to the end of this guide, you deserve a pat on your back because now, you are no more a VPS beginner with limited understanding of what it offers. With this, we conclude that if your website is growing day by day and is garnering the well-deserved attention, you will have to keep in pace its performance. Moreover, this clearly means that it’s time to upgrade to VPS by choosing the best VPS hosting plan to increase your site’s resources. Though it will cost you more than Shared hosting, the benefits attached are worth every penny.