Web hosting is part and parcel of making a website available online. It’s not a matter of if you need it, it’s more a case of which one to choose. This can seem an insurmountable task for someone shopping for a web host. There are dozens of different hosting options out there, sold by thousands of companies, all making similar promises, and it’s easy for a layman to be lost.

Questions you might have can include:

• What are the differences between shared hosting, dedicated, and VPS services?
• Do you need a dedicated server?
• Does an “unlimited” plan truly offer an infinite amount of storage and bandwidth?

You may already have a hosting plan and are thinking about a change. As a website’s traffic grows and the user-base becomes more engaged, an upgrade is likely a necessity.

It’s easy to feel a bit confused by the different types of web hosting plans and services and the hundreds of companies offering them. Fear not! We’re going to break down the options available to you in plain English.

The hosting plans in this article are listed to align with the growth of most online businesses, starting with shared hosting and moving to cloud servers. We’ll cover the most common types of web hosting plans, clarify differences between them, and give you information that helps you determine which one will serve your web hosting needs.