Seven questions on traffic, control, security and budget that decide which infrastructure suits your site.
The first question for many people launching or moving a website is: is shared hosting enough, or do I need a VPS? The right answer depends on your site’s needs today and its growth over the next 12 months. Here are seven criteria to consider.
1. Monthly visitors
A well-optimised WordPress site runs smoothly on shared hosting up to about 50,000 unique visitors a month. Above that, or if you expect sudden traffic spikes during campaigns, a VPS is safer.
2. Application type
Corporate brochure sites, blogs and simple shops are fine on shared hosting. If you will run custom software, Node.js, Python, Docker or heavy database queries, you need root access.
3. Resource guarantee
On shared hosting, CPU and RAM are limited. A VPS has dedicated resources; a neighbouring account’s load does not affect you.
4. Security and compliance
If you have PCI DSS or special security requirements, you need a VPS where you can set firewall rules, a private network and hardening.
5. Technical skill and time
Shared hosting is unmanaged by you: the provider does updates. On a VPS operating-system updates are yours, or you buy a managed service.
6. Budget
Shared hosting costs 79–299 TRY per month, a VPS 249–1,999 TRY. The price gap has narrowed; just remember to include management effort in the cost.
7. Growth plan
Moving from shared hosting to a VPS is a migration project. If you expect growth, starting on a VPS removes the downtime risk of a later move.
Quick decision table
- Corporate brochure site, blog: shared hosting
- Over 50 thousand visitors a month, WooCommerce: VPS-M or L
- Custom software, API, SaaS: VPS
- High availability and enterprise security: VPS + backup + managed service
If you are still unsure, simulate your resource needs with our cost calculator or ask our support team for a free capacity analysis.
Common mistakes
- Looking only at price and not reading resource limits (inodes, process count, I/O speed).
- Buying a VPS and neglecting security updates; unpatched servers are scanned and taken over within hours.
- Going live without a backup plan.
- Launching a campaign without planning for a traffic spike.
To avoid these mistakes, we suggest writing down target traffic, database size and criticality on one page before setup. Our support team will review it with you and recommend the right plan.