“Where does your site live?” On a server — a computer kept switched on at all times. But there are several ways to rent that space, from the simplest to the most powerful. Here is how to choose without being upsold.

The housing analogy

• Shared = a flat in a house-share: cheap, but you share the kitchen.
• VPS = your own flat in a building: your space, your rules.
• Dedicated server = a whole house: everything to yourself, to manage yourself.
• Cloud = modular accommodation: you expand or shrink it as needed, and you pay for what you use.

1. Shared hosting

Several sites share the same server and its resources. The host handles the technical side.

• Price: ~€3 to €10/month.
• Good for: brochure sites, small WordPress installs, blogs.
• Limits: shared resources (a resource-hungry neighbour can slow the server down), little control.

For a static site, hosting is even simpler and often free or nearly so (the server only has to deliver files).

2. VPS (Virtual Private Server)

A physical server is split into several isolated VPS instances. You get a guaranteed share of resources and full access to your environment.

• Price: ~€5 to €40/month.
• Good for: medium-traffic sites, applications, several sites, a need for control.
• Limits: you (or your provider) handle the server’s updates and security.

3. Dedicated server

A whole machine just for you. Maximum power, but administration is your responsibility.

• Price: starting from ~€50–100/month.
• Good for: heavy traffic, specific needs.

4. The cloud

The cloud (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, OVHcloud…) rents out resources on demand, spread across many servers.

• Strength: elasticity — you add power during a spike, then scale back down; you pay as you go.
• Good for: applications that scale up, variable projects.
• Limits: billing can be complex, and it can get expensive if poorly managed. (See our dedicated article on the cloud.)

How to choose

Your project	Suitable hosting
Brochure site, blog	Shared (or static)
Serious WordPress, several sites	VPS
Application, variable traffic	Cloud
Very heavy traffic, specialised needs	Dedicated or cloud

The right instinct: start small, then move up a tier when the traffic justifies it — not before. Oversizing costs money for nothing.