What is the difference between cloud computing and web hosting?

Cloud computing and web hosting can seem similar because these two types of services can have very similar kinds of setups and deliver a lot of the same results. However, there are some critical differences between cloud computing and web hosting services that have to do with the technical definition of each.

Web hosting is simply the process of offering remote location and maintenance for files and server space used to support web projects. Conventional kinds of web hosting include services where individual users can build and store small websites with a web hosting provider, and enterprise web hosting, where businesses enter into contracts with third parties like internet service providers to host their sites.

Cloud computing can also support remote web hosting. The definition of cloud computing services involves the connection of clients to vendors through wireless or IP connected networks. In cloud computing, a client sends data to a vendor through an abstract network trajectory called “the cloud.” Data is then stored and maintained on remote servers owned and operated by the vendors.

In general, cloud computing services that include web hosting can be an alternative to other traditional kinds of web hosting that are not based on cloud computing principles. One of the biggest differences could be called a “single client” versus “multitenant” approach. Cloud computing services that include web hosting are usually multitenant. That means that the files and data resources of multiple clients are housed on the same server. This provides flexibility and on-demand services for individual clients, so that providers can scale up or scale down delivery easily.

By contrast, dedicated web hosting will involve a web hosting company serving only one client on any given server. This provides more individual security and a more focused approach to serving an individual customer.

Why Should You Go For Cloud Hosting Over Traditional Hosting?

  • No Downtime: In cloud hosting your website is supported by multiple servers instead of a single server in the traditional hosting. So if at any instant of the time a server goes down, your website does not experience downtime as another server takes up the role of the failed server immediately. Thus, cloud hosting does not let your website experience downtime and keeps it working 24/7 without any hindrance. This enhances the overall performance of the website and improves user experience.
  • Data Backup: Cloud Hosting offers a prominent feature of disaster recovery. Since the cloud is a multi-server setup so data gets automatically backed up in the interconnected server. If a particular server is compromised, the other servers do not let your website suffer. The data remains safe and can be restored anytime.
  • Flexibility: Cloud Hosting is the right option for you if your business is experiencing fluctuating or growing bandwidth demands. If your requirements increase in the near future, you can easily scale up your services and expand your occupied cloud capacity by drawing taking the remote servers in use. Similarly, if you need to scale down your capacity, the cloud offers flexible services. Along with bandwidth, cloud hosting allows you to expand your other resources also to meet the growing business needs.
  • Independence of Location: Many website owners prefer to rent services in various locations where they expect a considerable audience because search engines favor the locally hosted sites for searches in that area and show results accordingly. Companies do this to increase their ranking on a global level. If a person sitting in Europe searches for a keyword, he is more likely to get results as the websites with .eu ranked higher than .com. With cloud hosting services, this is not required as the cloud platform has servers at all locations across the world. Cloud servers are accessible from anywhere via the internet connection.
  • Plenty of Storage Space: For storing excessive data, traditional hosting offers massive in-house servers that are extremely hard to maintain and are expensive to upgrade. Also, upgrading the server may lead to the website’s downtime that can hamper the ranking and performance of the website. Cloud Hosting offers you ample storage space and enables you to easily expand your space when required.
  • Performance: It has been observed that the websites hosted on the cloud exhibit better performance than those hosted on traditional servers. Cloud Hosting increases the page loading speed of the website and hence reduces the bounce rate. Also, the cloud offers a flexible and immediate allocation of resources, disaster recovery plans, energy-saving and climate-friendly server set up that in turn improves user experience.

Credit: Source link