nopCommerce hosted a community meetup “nopCommerce with Everleap”, where we introduced our Everleap hosting services and discussed different hosting options available for nopCommerce stores.
In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of various hosting options, and will recommend the best hosting for nopCommerce.
Traditional Shared Hosting
Shared web hosting is a type of hosting where multiple websites are hosted on a single server and share its resources, including storage space, memory, and bandwidth.
Shared hosting provides an affordable way for a developer to learn nopCommerce and get a storefront up and running. You could use Shared Hosting for a development site or staging site. You may be able to run a small or low-activity production nopCommerce store on a Shared Hosting plan, but you should not expect the best performance and make sure you have plans to upgrade when the performance gets unworkable for your store.
The other feature you need to pay attention to is where the SQL database resides. If the SQL database resides on the same server as your website, then the host is using SQL Express, a light weight and limited SQL database. Other shared hosts will host SQL databases on separate Shared SQL Servers.
In this scenario, the host is most likely using the SQL Web Edition. For performance, it is better to have your SQL database and website hosted on separate servers.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable – the lowest priced option in hosting | Lower the cost, the more overselling which will affect performance. |
| Fully Managed – the hosting provider manages the server | Performance – other customer applications can use up server resources affecting your website. This is sometimes referred to as the “noisy neighbor” effect |
| Technical Support included – the host provide technical support | Security – other customers can upload vulnerable apps which can compromise server |
| Control Panel – typically comes with a control panel to manage the site | Lack of customizability – because multiple customers share the same server, the host must place some constraints on the service to ensure stability |
| Server resource contention - If SQL databases are hosted on the same server, you are using SQL Express, a scaled down limited entry level database, and your website and SQL are competing for the same shared server resources | |
| Server updates will require taking an outage |
Virtual Private Server
Virtual private server (VPS) is a type of hosting where multiple virtual servers are created on a single physical server, each with its own allocated resources and operating system. VPS shares the server resources with other VPS customers and only gets them on an as-needed basis.
With VPS, your site will be the only one on the VPS slice, so your site will get more server resources which should improve performance. With the right VPS size, it can become an active nopCommerce web hosting.
However, VPS is a viable option for those with technical skills to manage servers. If you do not have the technical skills, you may look into paid VPS Management services offered by the host or have a consultant on standby.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Your site gets more server resources | Technical knowledge required. You will need to manage the server and set it up. If you don’t have the skills, you will need to hire someone who does |
| You get more control and flexibility since you typically have root access to the server | SQL Express databases are usually hosted on the VPS server. SQL Express is a scaled down limited entry level database. Your website and SQL will compete for the server resources |
| Cost-effective for active sites | Security – other VPS customers can upload vulnerable apps which can compromise server |
| More VPS customization since you have root access to your VPS | Scaling typically requires site migration and site downtime |
| Server updates will require taking an outage |
Dedicated Server
Dedicated Server is a type of hosting where a single server hosts a single client, allowing for maximum performance, security, and customization options. If you have a large product catalog, you’d want to get a separate dedicated SQL server.
Like VPS, Dedicated Server is a great option for those with technical skills to manage servers or those who have system administration staff members. If you do not have the technical skills on hand to manage the server, you may consider paid Server Management services offered by the host or have a consultant on standby.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More server resources that can be customized to your site requirement | Higher cost. The solution is expensive since you are the only customer on the server, and your fees will need to cover the hardware, bandwidth, power costs and Microsoft Licensing fees |
| Most control and flexibility since you have root access to the entire server | Technical knowledge required. You will need to manage the server and set it up. If you don’t have the skills, you will need to hire someone who does |
| With root access, you can completely customize the server environment | If your SQL database is on the same server, then it is most likely SQL Express. Your website and SQL will compete for the server resources |
| Multiple server options. You can separate your website and SQL database into two separate dedicated servers for better performance. You can use SQL web edition, standard or enterprise edition | Scaling typically requires site migration or site downtime (e.g., upgrading disk drive, RAM) |
| Server updates will require taking an outage |
Shared Cloud Hosting
At Everleap, one hosting option we offer is what we refer to as “Shared Cloud Hosting”, which combines the best of shared and VPS/Dedicated hosting in a scalable and automated system. It is a shared hosting environment since your site will be running alongside other customer’s sites, but it is cloud-like in the sense that the system can self-heal and scale easily with little to no downtime.
In a traditional shared hosting system, a single server will store the data (and often SQL databases) and will run and serve multiple customer’s web sites using the server’s available memory and compute resources. If the web server goes down for any reason or is rebooted (e.g., during a Windows update) all the websites served from the server will be down. If the server resources get overloaded, then all the sites will experience poor performance.
In Everleap’s Shared Cloud Hosting system, we’ve split up these components – that is, the data is stored in a central Storage Area Network (SAN), which sits behind a cluster of web servers, which in turn sits behind a pair of load balancers. Therefore, your website files do not reside on a specific webserver. When a request comes in for your site, the load balancer will assign the request to the healthiest web server available in the cluster, and that web server will grab your files from the SAN and serve your site.
When the website activity ceases, then your site will be “released” from that web server. Another subsequent request for your site may land on a different web server. If a web server fails for any reason, then your website will spawn on another healthy web server in the cluster.
This architecture results in some interesting properties. First, your site can run on two or more separate web servers simultaneously. At Everleap, by default, each Shared Cloud Hosting site can run on two web servers simultaneously. It is possible to scale out to more web servers.
Another advantage is that when performing server maintenance, we take several web servers out of the cluster and update them, then release them back into the pool and repeat the process. In this way, your site will not experience an outage due to reboots required for Windows updates.
We also have clusters of virtual machines (small, medium and large sizes) that we call “reserved servers”, which are essentially private servers that are configured to only run sites for one customer. With this add-on, the load balancer will reroute a customer’s site from the Shared web server cluster to our reserved server cluster. Your site will run on its own private server which is like running on a VPS. No other customer will be routed to your reserved server.
SQL databases do not reside on the web server. We provide separate Shared SQL database servers for SQL databases, so there is no resource contention between SQL and web applications on the web server. In addition, if you outgrow the Shared SQL server, we offer private SQL database servers, which is like having a dedicated SQL server.
The entire Shared Cloud Hosting system (except for the private SQL database server) is automated, so you can scale up, down and out as you want without any site migration and with little to no downtime.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fully-managed. You don’t need to worry about managing servers | More expensive than traditional shared hosting |
| Scale up, down, and out to multiple web servers easily with little to no downtime | I/O heavy applications will be more sluggish |
| No resource contention between web applications and SQL databases, as SQL databases do not run on the web servers | Shared Cloud hosting plans and Reserved Servers have set server resources, which supports most sites. However, it is still possible for very active sites to outgrow the available options |
| No downtime during web server maintenance | |
| Control Panel for site management |
Public Cloud (Azure, AWS, Google)
Another nopCommerce hosting option is using the Public Cloud, like Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, or Google. This option is best for active and growing or large-size nopCommerce hosting.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Global footprint. Data centers all over the world | Technical knowledge required. You will need to manage the server and set it up. If you don’t have the skills, you will need to hire someone who does |
| Near infinite scaling possibilities from the perspective of an ecommerce site | Generally expensive. Billing is metered by-the-minute for every resource your site uses. So, your monthly bill will vary and will be unpredictable |
| Deep technology stack for niched technology needs | Paid plans for technical support |
| Control panel and cloud infrastructure management is complex and confusing, due to the vast technology options available |
On-Premises Hosting
Some businesses run their nopCommerce site on-premises. This is best for businesses that want tight control over their site and access to the physical servers.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Maximum control and flexibility, as you have access to the physical servers | Technical knowledge required to set up infrastructure and maintenance |
| Customization | High CAPEX expenses. Must obtain hardware. Must refresh hardware after some time. Hardware prices have increased a lot during and post-pandemic and takes longer to obtain due to supply chain issues and orders will typically be on back-order |
| Root access and ability to physically access servers | Scaling will most likely mean site disruption |
| Server room for many businesses most likely does not have multiple IP connections, backup systems, safety systems, and physical security like top-tier commercial data centers |
Managed Hosting
Finally, there is the option of Managed Hosting, where the hosting provider will set up a private cloud hosting infrastructure that meets your site requirements. This solution is the best hosting for nopCommerce websites that must function continuously and can’t do with frequent downtime.
Because the entire solution is customized for your site, there are no real cons other than if the solution meets your budget requirements.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fully managed. You don’t need to worry about managing servers | Typically, no Control panel |
| Customized hosting environment | Generally, more expensive than traditional shared hosting and VPS. Could be more expensive or comparable to dedicated hosting |
| Technical support typically included | Some hosts require long term contracts |
| No CAPEX | |
| Predictable monthly pricing |
At Everleap, we offer Managed Hosting solutions, and we offer additional benefits including:
- No long-term contracts.
- Website and database migration services, generally at no cost.
- Easier scalability on our Hyper-V Hyper-converged infrastructure.
- Proactive planning for site migration, on-boarding, server updates and upgrades.
- System-admin-as-a-service. Our solution includes 2 hours of system administrator or DBA consulting per month.
- Off-Site backup for website and database included.
- Proactive advanced monitoring. We’ll monitor the server, application and database and proactively notify you of any issues we see and help troubleshoot.
Conclusion
We hope this information will help you think through different nopCommerce hosting options. A lot will depend on the stage of your eCommerce journey. You would pick different hosting solutions if you were just starting out or if you have a thriving large nopCommerce website, and if you yourself have the technical skills to manage and maintain servers or have access to people who have these technical skills.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our team at Everleap and we can learn more about your situation and offer our input with no obligation so you can find the best hosting for your nopCommerce website.
Here is the PPT deck of our “nopCommerce with Everleap” meetup:
Takeshi Eto is a VP Marketing and Business Development at Everleap. Everleap provides a cost-effective scalable shared cloud hosting solution and private cloud managed hosting solutions allowing customers to focus on their business rather than managing and maintaining servers.