Using Docker or Kubernetes for hosting is relatively new, but it has already made waves in the hosting world. Though it’s often compared to VPSs (Virtual Private Servers), Docker is a different beast altogether. Instead of an entire machine’s worth of software and bloat, you only need a single streamlined application running WordPress alone – or whatever your CMS (Content Management System) is.
This gives a number of huge advantages over traditional virtualization! These include speed, security, diagnostics, and portability – without all the resources, competing applications, and reduced application computing power that comes with using a VPS. In this article, we’ll explore why containers are the future of web hosting and specifically with WordPress.
Application Flexibility
One of the best advantages of container-based hosting is that you can be flexible in terms of software and applications. Conventional VPS or cloud hosting runs a fixed set of software and offers little flexibility, once up and running. You can’t create bespoke configurations for web servers and databases. Containerization solves this by running website components inside individual containers. These containers can be used in multiple formations to satisfy specific needs of your WordPress site. This operating method is the opposite of legacy systems and shared hosting providers, where one software configuration must fit every kind of use case.
Perhaps most importantly, containers allow you to minimize downtime. With containers, your site does not require a complete service shut down. It’s only a matter of deploying a new container for that particular service – all without affecting the existing running services.
With containers, deploying an updated version of your database server is as easy as updating the container image and deploying it. If you run into issues, you can easily and quickly rollback to your prior version.
Finally, container-based hosting is much simpler to manage than traditional VPS hosting. With a VPS, changes to hardware and software updates can take hours, forcing you to clone servers, test updates, then deploy on production and hope nothing goes wrong. With container-based hosting, software updates can be changed and tested in seconds on container copies, without needing to touch the servers directly.
Container Speed
Properly implemented containers strip away everything except what is absolutely necessary to run your website. This means you don’t have any bloated software taking up RAM or CPU resources. Each container has its own isolated environment in which it can run without affecting other containers or the host system itself. This makes container-based hosting ideal for applications that require a lot of resources or are very sensitive to changes in their environment.
In Convesio’s case, we can ~3x the loading speed and handle ~4 times the volume of users visiting your website using similar resources as another hosting provider. This is because we use containers instead of VPS’s. Simply put, the computing capacity you get from our containers is focused on running your WordPress application and not on system overhead or other processes.
One of the big advantages of container-based hosting is that it is very lightweight and resource efficient when compared with VPS hosting. In traditional VPS hosting, your web server –– besides serving its primary objective of serving web pages — is also responsible for providing resources to run the operating system and powering the database and other system functions.
An example is cPanel, a popular interface for hosting providers. cPanel is an extremely resource intensive application that significantly reduces the capacity of a web server. This leads to downgraded website performance across the board. On the other hand, containerization enables us to utilize the maximum resource capacity of a web server for serving pages to your visitors by eliminating all the bloated software.
Portability
Another advantage of container-based hosting is that it is very portable. Containers can be easily moved from one host to another with very little effort. This makes container-based hosting ideal for applications that need to be deployed on multiple servers or in different environments.
This portability makes containers standalone environments, which means they are not tied to the configuration of the physical machine they are deployed on. This is critical for allowing containers to scale and move to another server inside a distributed environment. Portability is a big plus if you need to scale up or down your operations quickly and ideal for a large eCommerce website, event site, or Learning Management System (LMS).
One example of this portability is that containers can easily be moved to different servers – or even across different providers, such as AWS to Digital Ocean. Since containers do not rely on external server configurations and are standalone environments, they can be packaged, shipped, and deployed as is to any provider. This idea of “omnicloud” where your site can run in multiple cloud providers at once is something that is being adopted by many enterprise organizations.
Security
Security is an important consideration with hosting. Traditional web hosting involves running your website or application on a shared server with other websites. This can lead to all sorts of security problems, as a single website on the server can potentially compromise the security of all the others.
With container-based hosting, each website or application is isolated in its own container. This means that even if one container is compromised, the others will remain secure. This makes container based hosting a much more secure option than traditional web hosting.
Compared to VPSs, container based hosting also provides you with more control over the security of your website or application. With traditional web hosting, you are at the mercy of the server administrator. With container based hosting, you can implement the security measures that you feel are necessary to keep your website or application safe.
At Convesio, we have a ready suite of products already optimized and configured to ensure security, monitoring, malware detection with AI, and diagnostics.
Cost
For a variety of reasons, container-based hosting is more cost effective than traditional hosting. First, container-based hosting can be used to consolidate multiple applications and services onto a single server, thus reducing the overall number of physical servers required. This can reduce hardware costs, as well as associated costs like electricity and cooling.
Second, container hosts often offer pay-as-you-go pricing models, which can be more flexible and cost-effective than traditional hosting plans. You only pay for the resources that you actually use, rather than ones you might use.
Finally, container hosts can be used to scale applications and services up or down as needed, further reducing costs. You don’t need a DevOps team to scale resources at Convesio. Our platform can do at the push of a button, or you can manually select resources with simple sliders. It’s super easy and requires no technical knowledge whatsoever.
As a side note, container-based hosting also has a smaller carbon footprint than traditional hosting, which makes it sustainable and environmentally-friendly. Due to efficient resource management, fewer servers are required to power the same number of websites which significantly reduces power usage.
In summary, container based hosting can be more cost effective than traditional hosting for a variety of reasons. By consolidating multiple applications and services onto a single host, reducing the overall number of servers required, and offering more flexible and cost-effective pricing models, container hosts can help you save money. It also means that the resources you select will go farther. At Convesio, we can achieve higher performance with the same number of resources as a traditional hosting provider.
Wrapping Up
Container-based hosting is a superior solution to traditional hosting. It is faster, more portable, and more secure. It is also more cost-effective in the long run, as you’ll only use the resources that you need. If you are looking for a new hosting solution for your application, consider container-based hosting. You may be surprised at how well it improves your website!
Here at Convesio, we’re confident that container based solutions are the future of hosting. We’re committed to leveraging this new technology for a fast, smooth, and secure hosting experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the most popular open-source content management system (CMS) currently available. It was first released in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and has since become one of the most popular website creation platforms on the internet.
In fact, over 43% of all websites are powered by WordPress – including many of the largest brands in the world!
What is a Container?
A container is a standardized unit of software that packages up code and all its dependencies so the application runs quickly and reliably from one computing environment to another.
A Docker container image is a lightweight, standalone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run an application: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings.
Why Use WordPress in a Container?
There are many advantages to using WordPress in a container as opposed to other hosting methods. We’ll explore some of the most important ones below.
Containers Are Portable
One of the advantages of using containers is that they are portable. This means that you can easily move them from one environment to another without having to worry about compatibility issues.
For example, if you wanted to move your WordPress website from your local development environment to a staging or production server, you could simply export the container and import it into the new server.
This would ensure that your website would run exactly the same in the new environment as it did in the old one, without any compatibility issues.
Containers Are Scalable
Another advantage of using containers is that they are very scalable. This means that you can easily increase or decrease the resources that your WordPress website uses, without having to reconfigure your entire server.
For example, if you wanted to increase the amount of RAM or CPU that your WordPress website uses, you could simply change the resource limits for your container.
This would allow you to quickly and easily scale your website up or down as needed, without having to go through a lengthy and complicated process.
Containers Are Self-Contained
Containers are self-contained, which means that your WordPress website will not be affected by other websites on the same server. This is a common issue for shared hosting plans.
Containers don’t have this issue. For example, if another website on the same server were to experience a spike in traffic, your WordPress website would not be affected.
This is because each container has its own resources and does not share them with other containers on the same server.
Containers Are Secure
Another advantage of using containers is that they are very secure. This is because each container is isolated from the others on the same server.
For example, if one container were to become compromised, the others would not be affected. The infected container cannot spread to other containers on the server.
This is because each container has its own operating system and does not share any resources with the other containers on the same server.
Containers Are Fast
Another advantage of using containers is that they are very fast. This is because containers are lightweight and do not require a full operating system. For example, if you wanted to deploy a WordPress website in a container, it only takes seconds or minutes.
In contrast, if you were to deploy a WordPress website on a traditional server, it would take hours or days, depending on the size of the site.
Why Use WordPress Container-Based Hosting?
There are many advantages of using WordPress container based hosting. We’ve listed some of the most important ones above. Container based hosting is portable, scalable, self-contained, secure, and fast. This makes it an ideal solution for hosting WordPress websites.
If you’re looking for a reliable and affordable container-based hosting solution for your WordPress website, we recommend using WordPress Container Hosting.
WordPress Container Hosting is a great choice for those who want the advantages of container based hosting without the hassle of managing it themselves. With WordPress Container Hosting, you get all of the benefits of container based hosting without having to worry about the technical details.
If you’re looking for a fast, secure, and scalable way to host your WordPress website, we recommend using WordPress Container Hosting.
