Web hosting or VPS?

Both host a website, but one is a ready-made panel and the other is a machine to administer. The choice depends mostly on the stack, the level of administration you accept and whether you need email. WordPress does not have the same constraints as a PHP application with custom extensions.

Web hosting with KeyHelp

At https://web.neoheberg.fr, KeyHelp manages domains, files, MySQL databases, mailboxes, subdomains and SSL certificates. PHP 8.4 is available, along with FTP. There is no root access: resources depend on the plan.

This is the natural home for WordPress, a showcase site or a blog, with automatic backups depending on the plan. You publish files and a database without managing the system or the web server.

VPS

A VPS gives root access, Debian 13 and the ability to install Nginx or Apache, PHP-FPM, MariaDB or PostgreSQL, Redis, Docker and cron. You configure vhosts, certificates and the firewall. Public IPv6 is included.

In return, updates, monitoring and backups are your responsibility. A neglected VPS becomes more dangerous than a correctly operated web hosting plan.

Deciding criteria

• PHP extensions or an exact version: a VPS lets you install and compile; web hosting provides the offered version.
• Email: KeyHelp includes mailboxes. On a VPS, running a mail server is possible, but deliverability needs SPF, DKIM, DMARC and sending reputation; an external service is often more realistic.
• Multiple sites: KeyHelp manages domains; on a VPS you write the Nginx or Apache configuration.
• Cache and traffic: both scale, but a VPS lets you tune the server, cache and workers.
• Skills: without root or SSH, web hosting reduces the error surface.

Migrating between them

Export files and the database, lower the DNS TTL before switching, test with a subdomain or a hosts file, then change the records. Do not leave two mail servers active on the same domain: choose a single target before switching MX records.

For WordPress, update the site URL in the database after the copy if the domain changes, and check permalinks. Test the contact form and outgoing email after the migration.

Verify

Need	Web hosting	VPS
Simple WordPress	yes	possible
Included mailboxes	yes	no, set up separately
Specific PHP extension	no	yes
Docker	no	test first
Root access	no	yes

Check the PHP version your code requires, database size, mailbox count and expected traffic. If you need neither root nor system services, web hosting is simpler to operate. If you must install anything beyond PHP, take a VPS.