Senseq's Web hosting 101

Over the year that we've been perfecting our site, we have always had a beta version up and running.
For a bootstrapped startup, its vitally important to save wherever possible, and we've tried lots of possibilities. Here are some that might help you decide what hosting is right for you (from cheap to expensive)

Note: I haven't written about cloud based hosting here, you'll find a good article on cloud based hosting at this link.

1. Free or shared hosting:

Free or shared hosting providers such as godaddy or bluehost (recommended) can provide you really cheap hosting (under $10) per month, your own dot com domain, and huge amounts of data transfer, storage and even shell access.

The downside? You won't be able to run cpu intensive tasks, and your data transfer rates may not be impressive.

Recommended For: When your site when its just taking shape: mostly static, and few users.
Also, your blog
Cost: $10 or less per month

2. Home based hosting:

It is possible to use a spare computer (or your desktop that's always on) as a webserver that can serve out your site.
It isn't too difficult, needs average technical skills, and might not cost you a penny!
You can do this without a static ip, by using a service like dyndns, and can get free domains (non-dot-com) or dot-com paid domains.

Make sure, before you go for this, that you won't run into data overages with your ISP (most ISPs in the USA provide unlimited bandwidth, so it should not be a problem).

Also, there can be potential slow-down of your home based network. You can read on a possible situation here, and how to fix it.

Recommended For: Users with website setup skills. Excellent low cost/high performance initial investment
Cost: $30 or less per year. Excluding internet charges.

3. VPS Hosting:

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting can be the next step from home based hosting or shared hosting - especially when you aren't satisfied with the performance of the system or the network.

VPS hosting gives you shell access, and you are guaranteed a minimum RAM and system performance.

This would be a stop-gap arrangement before going for a dedicated server or managed service.

For VPS/Dedicated hosting, I recommend softlayer.

Recommended For: When you need more performance from the system - CPU or bandwidth
Cost: $50 - $100 per month.

3. Dedicated and Managed Hosting:

Once your website is on its way to success, or you want a site that you have full control over, and is ready to scale - consider dedicated or managed hosting.

Managed hosting is one, where the company makes sure your server is running just fine, and you only need to keep your code in place. They worry about patches, alerts etc.
Dedicated hosting, is where you get a server with an operating system of your choice. You do everything else!

You can get any configuration you like, but the price keeps going up. I do recommend starting with a lower end server with more RAM, and then going up with configuration as you need.

Recommended For: More scalability and advanced technical skills
Cost: $100 - ?? per month.

4. Co-located Hosting:

For the technically inclined, co-located hosting is the premium hosting solution.
In co-location, you own your own server, and possibly firewalls, and install them in the co-location facility.

Apart from having guaranteed power and network bandwidth, you also get secure entry to your server, fire protection, video surveillance etc. As you can imagine, co-located hosting is more than just about getting a dedicated port for your server.

Once your site is up and running, and needs a stable facility for your computer - which you manage - co-location is the option for you.

Recommended For: Ownership, high security and performance, and advanced technical skills
Cost: $150 - ?? per month.

I hope you find this blog useful. Do leave me feedback and ask any questions.