Searching for the best affordable Cloud VPS capable of managing high-traffic websites without a hefty price tag? It’s a tough quest, particularly with cloud VPS (Virtual Private Server) offerings. Having navigated this challenge myself, I appreciate the need for balance.
This article will present my personal experience with Hetzner, showcasing their excellent and economical Cloud VPS server options, all priced below $6 monthly. Additionally, I’ll explore the tactics I used to effectively run three WordPress sites on Hetzner’s €5.18 monthly plan, accommodating over a million visitors each month.
Personal Experience with Hetzner
Based on my personal experience, selecting a hosting provider that is both cost-effective and robust enough to manage high-traffic websites is essential. Hetzner’s Cloud VPS service has been an outstanding choice in this regard. With their €5.18 monthly plan, I managed to install and run three WordPress sites seamlessly. Impressively, even with a combined monthly traffic exceeding one million visitors on my sites, the performance of Hetzner’s €5.18 VPS remained untroubled.
Hetzner VS Hostinger VPS
Hetzner’s Cloud VPS stands out with its significant 20 TB bandwidth allocation, while Hostinger’s VPS package offers 4 TB of bandwidth and 4 GB of RAM for $4.99. Although Hetzner’s bandwidth is advantageous for high-traffic websites, Hostinger’s RAM, hPanel, and other server management technologies give it an edge in 2024.
Efficiently Managing the Server and WordPress Site on a Cheap Cloud VPS
When working with a limited budget, it is essential to optimize the management of your server and WordPress site to handle high traffic effectively. While high-resource servers may be costly, there are still ways to achieve an efficient setup. Here are some budget-friendly tips:
Installing Ubuntu 22.04 OS
Hetzner’s €5.18 hosting package falls under the unmanaged category, requiring some manual setup. I chose to install Ubuntu 22.04 as the operating system for the server. Ubuntu is a popular choice due to its stability, security, and extensive community support.
Installing CyberPanel + OpenLiteSpeed Server
To streamline the management of my server and enhance the performance of my WordPress sites, I decided to install CyberPanel and OpenLiteSpeed. CyberPanel is a user-friendly control panel that simplifies server management tasks, while OpenLiteSpeed is a lightweight web server known for its speed and efficiency.
Efficient Management of WordPress Assets
To ensure optimal website performance and faster loading times, I utilized the .webP format for image compression. By uploading media files in this format, I significantly reduced file sizes while maintaining image quality. This resulted in faster page loading speeds and a smoother user experience for visitors to my WordPress sites.
Choosing a Lightweight Theme
Selecting the right theme is crucial for efficiently managing a high-traffic website. I opted for a lightweight theme like Astra, Generatepress, known for its speed and performance. Its minimalist design and optimized code allowed for faster page rendering, reducing the load on the server and improving overall website performance.
Utilizing Performance-Enhancing Plugins
In addition to a lightweight theme, I made use of performance-enhancing plugins. One such plugin is LiteSpeed Cache, which helps to minimize HTTP requests, leverage browser caching, and optimize code, resulting in faster page loads and an improved user experience. These plugins can significantly enhance the performance of your WordPress site without straining your budget.
Leveraging a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Using a content delivery network (CDN) is crucial for high-traffic websites. I utilized the free Cloudflare CDN, which ensures quick content delivery to visitors worldwide, regardless of their location. By caching static content and distributing it across their edge servers, Cloudflare reduces the load on your origin server and significantly improves page load times. This translates to a smoother user experience, increased website performance, and improved handling of high traffic volumes, all without exceeding your budget.
Bonus
After reading this blog, I hope you can determine which VPS is best for your high-traffic WordPress site. If you decide to purchase any package from these two companies, you can use our affiliate link. By using this link, you will receive a 70% discount and also support us.
Buy: Hostinger VPS
Note: I’m switching to Hostinger in 2024 due to their hPanel, improved RAM, and server management system, as well as their payment policy and attractive offers. If you’re reading this note, I recommend joining Hostinger for their excellent in-house technology. You can verify this by checking the website HTTP header where I’m currently using Hostinger.
Conclusion
My personal experience has shown that adopting a mix of strategies, including the use of Ubuntu 22.04, CyberPanel with OpenLiteSpeed, the Free Cloudflare CDN, the .webP format for media files, and selecting a lightweight theme and plugin, can significantly enhance website performance and efficiency. These optimizations have enabled me to offer a seamless and rapid user experience, despite the high traffic levels my sites experience. By choosing Hetzner’s cost-effective Cloud VPS packages along with these methods, it is possible to efficiently handle high-traffic websites within a reasonable budget.
