If you plan to start a new web project, you can’t but think about purchasing a hosting package. All hosting offers you can find today on the web include disk space, bandwidth, hosting management instruments and some other services provided by the web host company you choose. To choose the best option available in the market, you need to know about the advantages of different hosting plans.
The first choice you’ll have to make when purchasing a web hosting package is the operating system that will be installed on your server. This choice is usually based on scripting languages used for creating your web site. Two most common options here are Windows Hosting and Linux Hosting. The majority of web masters prefer Linux hosting plans with all its advantages, so we’d like to pay more attention to this OS in our review.
After choosing the operating system you’ll have to decide on hosting package type. The most common and reliable solutions you’ll find are Shared, VPS and Dedicated Hosting. All these packages have many advantages, but also give a quite different range of services. To cut it short, Shared Hosting is good for start-ups, VPS is ok for growing projects, and Dedicated packages are best with major dynamic projects.
Your next step on the way to choosing the best UK Linux Hosting solution is the database type you’ll use in your web project. The most common types of databases are MySQL, MSSQL and Oracle. Oracle is an expensive solution for really big projects, so in our review we’d like to focus more on affordable MySQL and MSSQL solutions, their advantages and compatibility with Linux-based hosting.
UK Linux Host
Today the dominating country that offers web hosting is the USA. Anyway, if you are planing to start a local project, especially one targeted on UK users, it will be better to choose UK hosting. This will give you a serious range of advantages. First of all, your web page will be indexed by Google as one located near the potential customers, so you’ll get more target audience.
Another important thing is that UK hosting will work better if you get many customers from the UK. If your servers are located closer to your customers, they will be able to process more incoming data. UK hosting for a UK web project not only gives you a good number of customers, but also protects your server from possible overloads and crashes. The formula is simple: no crashes = satisfied customers = high profit.
The only disadvantage that can stop you from purchasing UK hosting is its price. Compared to the competitors all over the world the prices for UK hosting are a bit higher, but if you pay for good quality, any price is good. Also, note that if you decide to buy a UK Linux Hosting package, the price will be lower as this operating system has open source and requires no license fees.
Linux Hosting Types
As we have already stated above, there are three main types of Linux Hosting. They are Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting and Dedicated Hosting. All these packages are good for different purposes, and give you different bandwidth, disk space and level of control over your hosting features. Linux Hosting is good for any of these types, as this system is flexible and can work well with different settings.
If you decide to purchase Dedicated Hosting, you will also have to choose between Managed and Unmanaged hosting plans. These two types are common for Linux Hosting, and give you different levels of control over your dedicated server. Both of them have many advantages, and some important features you have to consider when making the choice.
Shared Linux Hosting
Shared Linux Hosting is the cheapest solution. It gives you just a part of a certain server, and a certain bandwidth, which can be both limited and unlimited. This solution is good if you have a start-up idea, and don’t know yet if it is worth purchasing a VPS or Dedicated hosting package. Also, note that Shared Hosting solutions won’t be able to work well with very many visitors and big amounts of incoming data.
The main advantage of this package is its price. You can browse the web and find some solutions for only a couple of dollars per month. But don’t get excited so soon — it’s always better to purchase hosting with a bit higher price, but with better services. And don’t forget that Linux is freeware, so Linux Shared Hosting will cost less. All you need is to choose the best options for the lowest price.
One of the biggest problems of Shared Hosting is bad neighbourhood. Every server has its special ID number called IP address. If you purchase cheap Shared or VPS hosting, you’ll have to share your IP address with other web sites. It’s ok, but if a certain site on your server was caught sending spam, allocating porno data or spreading viruses, search engines can block the whole IP, and your site, too.
To prevent bad neighbourhood when choosing Shared Hosting we advise you to pay more attention to the reliability of the company you want to choose. Good web host companies filter their customers, and block the web sites from the list above themselves. To check if a company is reliable, you can browse the web and read some info about it in reviews or on forums.
Linux VPS Hosting
VPS hosting is a good solution if your project is already quite big, and shared hosting can’t manage it well. VPS hosting gives you a big part of server and extended opportunities to manage it. If you browse the web, you’ll find VPS solutions with limited and unlimited bandwidth. Note that when purchasing a hosting package with unlimited bandwidth, it is very important to check all details and conditions.
The prices for VPS hosting are bigger than for shared, which is quite logic, as with this package you get more opportunities. VPS hosting is good, if dedicated solutions are too expensive for you. You can save some money by purchasing VPS hosting, and then invest it into the growth of your project. And don’t forget that in most cases Linux VPS hosting will be cheaper.
Linux Dedicated Server
Dedicated servers are top-class solutions giving you the best opportunities to manage and administer you web project. They give you a separate server, all occupied by you, and working only for you. This means, you can forget about bad neighbourhood and get maximally involved into developing your big projects. Linux Dedicated UK Servers are your best choice, beyond any doubt.
You can find dedicated servers for quite reasonable prices, and it will give you a lot of opportunities. First, you can get more control over the server. The level of control is defined by the type of dedicated hosting you choose. Managed hosting will cost less and give you total control over the server. Unmanaged hosting will be more expensive, but will also save your time.
Dedicated hosting is a perfect solution for big on-running projects. You get a lot of disk space to host your media files and big databases. You also receive great bandwidth to work with many users. And of course, this hosting type gives a lot of services, as web host companies always treat their top-class customers with special attention.
Linux Database Hosting
Linux hosting also allows you to work with many databases really efficiently. Databases are special blocks of data sorted by different parameters. They can include registering info of your users, their personal data, list of web pages used for search tool on your web site, and other important information. Databases are very important to manage a fast-growing web project faster and with more effect.
There are several popular formats of databases. The most popular among them are MySQL, MSSQL, Oracle, Postgre SQL and mSQL. Every of these database formats has many advantages, but we’d like to focus more on the most common types of databases: MySQL and MSSQL. These two types work with different operating systems, but you can already find good instruments to extend their compatibility options.
MySQL Linux Hosting
MySQL is the most popular database type if you choose a Linux server. This type of databases is very flexible, and allows you to process big amounts of data with high level of performance and security. MySQL Hosting often comes with a built-in PHP module, and this combination of instruments allows you to create a really rapid and efficient web page with dynamic content.
The main advantages you get by purchasing Linux MySQL Hosting are fast performance, stable work and flexible system that can be adjusted in any moment if you need it. MySQL databases are a good option both for big and small projects – they work perfectly in any situation. This database format is really easy in use, which is very important if you need to manage it manually.
MSSQL Linux Hosting
MSSQL is a popular type of databases used mainly with Windows servers. Anyway, the technology is growing really fast, and today you can already make some adjustments and set the compatibility of MSSQL databases with a Linux server. To do this you only need to install a special package with software. In Linux you can do it only with a couple of commands. Just browse the web, and you’ll find the detailed info.
MS SQL format also has many advantages including great security, automatic backups and scalability. This allows you to make a good database that will be well-protected, never will lose your precious information, and will manage different amount of data, even if you start with little and end with a lot of it. MSSQL is best with Windows servers, but if use it with Linux, you’ll get a lot of bonuses, too.
