ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Flexibility

Because a website is hosted on the cloud and therefore stored online, it is easier to scale up and down. This does not happen automatically but it can be done faster if there is room for it.

Less quick detection of problems

Because Cloud hosting parties do not have the hardware themselves, they cannot carry out any maintenance on it. It is therefore very difficult to detect when something goes wrong with the hardware.
The chance is of course small, but if something does go wrong at the hardware level, extra parties will always have to be called in before the problem is identified. Also, the owner of the webshop will be affected more quickly because the hosting party is less likely to notice when there is a problem.

Less down-time when scaling up or down

Unfortunately, it is unavoidable that a site will experience down-time during up- or downscaling. A major advantage of cloud hosting is that down-time during up- and downscaling is less than when a shop is hosted on hardware.

Heavy shops can become slower

Because heavy shops often require more capacity from the hardware, these shops may become slower due to cloud hosting. The information must be requested from the disks via a diversion, which can cause the speed to deteriorate.

Cheaper entry rate

The most commonly used cloud hosting packages are often much cheaper in their starting price. The hosting party does not have to carry out any maintenance on the hardware, so the service can also be offered more cheaply.

Complex shops can be difficult to scale up or down

Although it is relatively easy to scale up and down for small shops, this is very difficult for heavy shops or large shops (10.000+ visitors). This often requires a lot of customisation, which in turn makes it more expensive. Also, scaling up or down takes a lot longer with heavy and/or large shops.

Shops in multiple countries

Cloud hosting makes it easier for webshop owners to set up a shop in different countries. This is because data centres in other countries can be used.

Service less fast

With many cloud hosting parties, support is not as fast.
Because there are many virtual layers between the webshop and the servers, problems are sometimes slow and difficult to detect. The exact cause of the problem is also not always entirely clear. Support is therefore less quick to provide an answer to a problem. A good SLA is therefore extremely important.

Environmentally friendly

Because cloud hosting offers the possibility to optimally arrange the servers by using virtualisation, less space is needed and therefore less energy is consumed. There is, however, a small note to this: this is only possible for less complex shops, and reserve space will always be needed to absorb any fluctuations.

Less transparency in costs

With cloud hosting, someone could go “outside a bundle” if more capacity is used than initially thought. Because it is so flexible, it is not always clear in advance how much additional costs may be incurred.

advantages

disadvantages

Stability & speed

Because there is no intermediate layer between shop and hardware, shops can be hosted faster and more stable. For small shops, this will not make much of a difference, but for complex and large shops, this is often a considerable difference.

Expensive entry rate

Because hardware hosting packages are primarily focused on the heavier shops and on personal support, the entry price is often considerably higher than that of cloud hosting packages.

Problems more quickly visible

Because the hardware is managed in-house, problems are often detected and solved quickly.

Less flexible

There is a misconception that scaling up or down is not possible with old-fashioned hardware hosting. This is not entirely true; it is indeed possible.
The only real disadvantage is that down-time of the site must always be taken into account. This down time will always be somewhat longer than with a cloud hosting party. Most hardware hosting parties therefore choose to carry out updates in the evening.

Fast & personal service

Most starter packages with hardware hosting parties are often linked to personal service and advice. There is no need to contact external parties; all knowledge is available in-house: you have an expert on the phone or in the chat.

Transparent price

When choosing a hardware hosting package, the capacity your webshop needs will always be taken into account, which is why the price is always easy to estimate in advance.

Better insight in usage

Because everything is self-managed in terms of hardware, the reading of consumption is faster and more visible. This is mainly an advantage for the hosting party, most cloud hosting parties also offer customers a dashboard where the usage can be found.