Picking the right product comes down to two questions: what are you running, and how much of the server do you want to look after yourself? This guide walks through each type of hosting we offer, who it suits, and the signs that you need something bigger.
The quick answer
- A website, blog, portfolio or small shop: web hosting.
- Your own software, a custom app or full root access: a VPS.
- The heaviest workloads, or a whole physical machine to yourself: a dedicated server.
- A Minecraft, FiveM, BeamMP or Palworld world for your friends or community: a game server.
- A Discord bot, a SnailyCAD for your roleplay community or a TeamSpeak server: our app hosting.
- Professional email on your own domain: email hosting.
Web hosting: for websites
The simplest option. Point a domain at it, install WordPress or upload your files, and you are live. We look after the servers underneath, and you manage your sites, email, databases and backups from cPanel or DirectAdmin, whichever you prefer, at the same price. WordPress and hundreds of other apps install in a click, and every site gets a free SSL certificate and daily backups.
Our plans differ mainly in storage and how many sites you can host. Simple suits a single site, with 3 GB of storage, 3 email accounts, 3 databases and 3 addon domains. Maxi makes storage, email accounts, databases and addon domains unlimited, and Pro adds higher I/O resources, private DNS and cpGuard security.
Who web hosting suits
- Small businesses, sole traders and freelancers who need a professional site.
- Bloggers and anyone running WordPress.
- Clubs, charities and community groups.
- Anyone who wants a website online without touching a server.
What it is not for: web hosting runs PHP websites and MySQL databases very well, but you cannot install your own server software, run a game server or keep a long-running process like a bot going. If you need any of those, look at a VPS or our purpose-built game and bot hosting.
VPS hosting: your own server
A virtual private server is your own private slice of a powerful machine, with guaranteed CPU and RAM and full root access. You choose the operating system, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux or Windows Server, and install whatever you like. Plans run from 1 Ryzen core with 2 GB of RAM up to 10 cores with 32 GB, all on NVMe storage with 10 TB of transfer, and your VPS deploys within seconds of ordering.
A VPS is great for developers, custom apps, APIs, several bots, self-hosted tools or anyone who has outgrown shared hosting. Our VPS plans are unmanaged, which means you look after updates, security and backups yourself. That is ideal if you are comfortable on the command line, and a bit of a learning curve if you are not. If you get stuck, our team can still help on live chat and Discord.
Dedicated servers: a whole machine
A whole physical machine with nobody else on it. Our dedicated servers use AMD Ryzen CPUs, from 8 cores and 64 GB of RAM up to 16 cores and 128 GB, with NVMe storage, a generous 330 TB of monthly transfer on a 1 Gbps port and IPMI/KVM remote management. Like our VPS, they are unmanaged, and most builds are ready within 1 to 12 working hours.
Choose dedicated for busy communities, large databases, heavy applications or several big projects on one box, or whenever you need performance that nobody else can affect.
Game servers: for playing together
Purpose-built hosting for Minecraft, FiveM, BeamMP and Palworld. Your server is created automatically and managed from our game panel, so there is no Linux to learn. You get a live console, a file manager, easy mod and plugin installs, and DDoS protection as standard.
Could you run a game on a VPS instead? Yes, and some people do. But a game server plan saves you installing, securing and updating the game yourself, and the panel makes jobs like adding mods and restoring backups far quicker.
Apps: bots, CAD and voice
Discord bot hosting keeps a bot online 24/7 in any language, priced per bot, with auto-restart and GitHub deploys. SnailyCAD hosting gives roleplay communities a managed CAD/MDT that we install and keep updated. TeamSpeak voice servers give your community a place to talk, with 32 slots free and the option to bring your own licence for more. None of these need any server knowledge.
Email and domains
Every web hosting plan includes email accounts, so if you already have a website with us, you may not need anything else. If you only need email, or want mailboxes with calendars, contacts and ActiveSync, our email hosting is priced per mailbox and works with any domain. Domains are registered separately and come with free WHOIS privacy on eligible extensions and free email forwarding.
Where should my server be?
We run our own hardware in two regions: Salt Lake City in the US and Newcastle in the UK. Where a product lets you choose, pick the one closest to most of your visitors or players. Salt Lake City suits North American audiences, and Newcastle suits the UK and Europe. For an ordinary website the difference is small, but for game servers and voice, lower ping makes a real difference.
Questions to ask yourself
- What am I running: a website, a game, a bot or custom software?
- Do I want to manage a server, or would I rather someone else looked after it?
- Who is using it, and where in the world are they?
- What do I need today? Start there rather than paying for headroom you might never use, because upgrading later is easy.
Signs you have outgrown your current plan
- Your website needs software or settings that shared hosting cannot offer: time for a VPS.
- Your game server lags when it is busy, or you want to add a heavy modpack: move up to a plan with more RAM.
- Your VPS is regularly running out of CPU or memory, even on a large plan: time to look at dedicated.
Can I change my mind later?
Yes. Web hosting plans can be upgraded or downgraded in a couple of clicks, VPS resources can be scaled up as you grow, and game servers can move to a bigger size at any time. If you are moving from web hosting to a VPS, or from a VPS to a dedicated server, we will help you move across. New orders also come with a 24-hour money-back guarantee.
Still unsure?
Message us on live chat or Discord, or open a ticket, and tell us what you are building. A real person will point you to the right fit.
Still stuck?
Our team is on hand 24/7. Ask on Discord for a quick reply, or open a ticket and we'll sort it.