What If Web Hosting Were Coffee?
Who doesn't love a great cup of coffee? There's something about starting your day with a rich roast that takes away those AM blues. But, not all coffee beans are the same – or can even be compared.
There are so many varieties and roasts, you could probably spend a lifetime tasting them all. From Jamaican Blue Mountain beans to instant crystals, some are just better than others. Web hosting is no different.
What If Web Hosting Were Coffee: The Jamaican Blue Mountains of the Web Hosting World
This highly sought after bean, named after the region it is produced in, is one of the most expensive beans that money can buy. It's smooth, mild, and pleasantly less bitter than most other coffees on the market.
Looking for the Jamaican Blue Mountain bean of web hosting? You'll probably want to choose dedicated hosting, the high-end hosting option. This hosting solution offers you a server all to yourself, an increased level of security, and more system resources than other methods of hosting. However, (just like those beans)it is the most expensive hosting option.
What If Web Hosting Were Coffee: The Starbucks Lattes of The Hosting World
If you've been to Starbucks, you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say this is the ‘cool' place to purchase your coffee. You get to say things like “I'll have an iced quad venti skinny caramel macchiato no whip, please.” It's like a secret club, where only the cool, trendy kids hang out.
This is just like the ‘cool' cloud hosting option. You're probably already comfortable with the cloud if you are enjoying a latte at Starbucks, sipping on your caramel macchiato listening to your iPod (which relies on iCloud). Why mess with servers when the cloud can adjust to your hosting needs on-demand?
When it comes to the cloud, never pay for more than you need to. Cloud services are just as customizable as that Starbucks latte (the lingo just isn't as ‘cool' when ordering up cloud hosting services!)
What If Web Hosting Were Coffee: The Mild Colombian Hosts
This type of coffee bean is common to a lot of those brands we see gracing our grocery store shelves. It's offered in many different roasts which change the intensity of the flavors, but the beans are typically mild.
Colombian coffee can be compared to a shared hosting environment. Not the worst hosting solution, but definitely more limited than other hosting environments. You share space on the server with other websites, which leads to a higher risk of security issues and the possibility of maxing out your resources.
Shared hosting is a great option for a lot of start-ups but if your business grows substantially, you'll need to upgrade.
What If Web Hosting Were Coffee: Instant Coffee Hosting
Personally, I won't drink instant coffee, even when I'm completely out of coffee for a week. However, it's inexpensive and very simple to make — no coffee maker required!
Instant coffee is like free hosting. It's good in a pinch, maybe to get your site off the ground, but in the long term, it's a bad decision. Customers don't like visiting a site with flashy, distracting banner ads for other companies, and you'll probably be subjected to numerous outages. Splurge on shared hosting!
What kind of coffee — I mean hosting solution — is perfect for you?
Photo by Pen Waggoner via Flickr Creative Commons
