When a business is new and revenue is low, business owners need to be budget conscious. That’s why it’s not uncommon for websites to start with the cheapest hosting plan.
Today, we’ll review 4 cases that will show you when it’s time to upgrade to VPS hosting.
So what are the signs that it’s time to upgrade to a VPS?
There’s nothing wrong with hosting a website on a shared server. However, for some websites, it’s simply not practical, or even business-wise, to stay on a shared hosting plan for too long.
It’s kind of like managing a company’s six-figure income and large expenses in Excel instead of using accounting software that optimizes the business’s cash flow.
This will hurt the business much more than the cost savings will ostensibly help it.
So let’s look at signs that it’s time to upgrade to VPS for you:
1. The website takes more than 3 seconds to load, no matter what you try to do…
For years, loading speeds have played a role in how well a website ranks. In 2010, loading speeds became a ranking factor for desktop sites. In 2018, speed began to affect mobile site rankings as well.
Google has been more serious about this in recent years and is giving it importance. With the Core Web Vitals update, page speed is one of four categories that websites need to excel in to rank well.
According to Google, you have up to 1 second before visitors lose focus and 3 seconds before they completely abandon the site.
While shared hosting plans often include performance optimizations, it’s nowhere near what you’ll get with VPS hosting . You get more resources as well as access to high-performance hardware.
So, if your client’s website simply won’t load for more than 3 seconds, no matter how much you optimize for speed, it’s time to upgrade your hosting plan.
2. You can only take your client’s vision so far.
Innovation is the key to business success. It’s exciting when you have a vision. However, shared hosting can easily turn that excitement into frustration when you realize you don’t have the flexibility or freedom to execute their vision or yours.
For example, let’s say you want to experiment with a new content management system that uses PostgreSQL (like Contentful) versus MySQL (like WordPress). Or you simply need more advanced technology to do what you want.
In order to reduce potential “noise” from neighbors on shared hosting, there are likely to be a lot of restrictions that prevent you from adopting the technology or approach you want. A private server, on the other hand, keeps these types of blockages out of your way.
If the customer drags their feet on this:
It’s not always easy to let a client know that you can’t do what they want because of technological limitations or restrictions. I’ve had too many conversations with clients who don’t understand why it takes more money to innovate, as if you can somehow flip a switch and make it happen. Right. Now.
So what I would compare it to is the difference between renting an apartment or buying a house.
Explain to them that when you rent an apartment, you have very little control over what you do with the walls, flooring, fixtures, etc. You can furnish the place, of course, but there is little else you can change.
But when you buy a home, the world is your oyster. You can add an indoor pool to the backyard, make all your fixtures and appliances energy-efficient, or start knocking down walls for a more spacious feel.
This will help them understand how an additional investment in VPS hosting will give them and you the freedom to implement their vision.
The article was translated from English to Hebrew.
Another article on the topic: What is VPS?
Wikipedia: VPS
