Unmanaged vs. Managed Hosting – Which is Right For You?

One of the first steps to look for a web hosting package is to decide on the type of hosting – be it shared, VPS, cloud, or a dedicated server. However aside from that you should also ask yourself another question: Do you want it to be managed or not?

Loosely speaking any web hosting can be classified as either ‘managed’ or ‘unmanaged’. If they don’t explicitly state it one way or the other, odds are they’ll be unmanaged. For example, there is WordPress hosting and managed WordPress hosting. But how do you know which is right for you?

“What is the Difference?”

Managed hosting is no different from unmanaged hosting – with one exception: It has additional features that take the form of management services.

The scope of the services that are provided by managed hosting will vary depending on the provider. However in general they tend to encompass:

Initial website migration to help you transfer your web form a different web host or domain.
Automated backups that will ensure your data is backed up periodically, and kept safe.
Performance monitoring that will keep tabs on the current state of your web host and let you know early if there are any issues.
SSL registration and implementation to secure your website using HTTPS.
Speed optimization to ensure that your web host and website is running as optimally as possible.
Automated updates for any software or plugins that are used on your web host.
Better support to fix any issues that may arise.

Make no mistake some web hosting providers may offer other services too, but you should be starting to see what you can expect. To put it simply, managed hosting will provide you with services to help you create and maintain your website.

“Which to Choose?”

Now that you know the difference between managed and unmanaged hosting, the million dollar question is: Which one is right for you?

To be perfectly honest that’s a question that only you can answer. It should be based on what you want, and what you need. Ask yourself whether or not you have the skills to set up and manage your website, and if you have the time to take it on.

If you feel that you need help, managed hosting is definitely a good deal – provided you can afford it. Keep in mind that its additional services don’t come free and their cost will normally be rolled into the package. That is why managed hosting packages tend to be more expensive than unmanaged hosting.

In addition to the cost, you should take a close look at the scope of services that are offered. As mentioned previously they can vary quite a bit, and you will need to make sure that everything you require is present.

Long story short both managed and unmanaged hosting have advantages and disadvantages of their own. On your part you should focus on figuring out whether or not you need your hosting to be managed, or whether you can get by on your own.

Besides these, there are basically 3 types of hosting are available:

Shared Hosting
Dedicated Hosting
Cloud Hosting

How to Host a Site ?

There are two types of sites exists; Static Site and Dynamic Site. Static sites can be built using a WYSIWYG application where as Dynamic sites are mainly application driven which uses databases, scripts etc.

After development, your next step is to buy a good secure hosting and a nice domain. Every hosting providers often have their own plans and when it comes to resources comparison, they typically refers to RAM, Disk Size and Bandwidth.

And your domain acts like your address on www.example.com which is always unique address.

Once you are ready with all above three things i.e. Website Code, Hosting and Domain, then its time for migration to live.

If you have built your website locally (on your own computer) then simply transfer your files onto your web server. To do this you can either make use of the File Manager in your web hosting control panel or make the transfer using an FTP client.

You may also like:

“What is the Difference?”

“Which to Choose?”

How to Host a Site ?

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