Have you ever wondered what to do with your VPS (virtual private server)? Have you ever wondered what a VPS (virtual private server) can do for you?

What exactly can you do with an always-on, always-connected virtual machine with server-class CPU, dedicated RAM, and fast SSD read/write speeds?

Basically anything, right? Well, as long as you aren’t breaking the law or violating your VPS hosting provider’s terms of service…

You really can do anything as simple as host a website, all the way to launch a multiplayer online game with friends. So, whether you’re just diving into a brand new VPS for the first time or are looking for extra ways to take advantage of your virtual private servers – you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at what you can do with your VPS…

Web Hosting

Web hosting is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the uses of VPS, given that this is what a VPS is mostly used for.

VPS hosting offers a way better value-for-money and, more importantly, it’s way more effective than cheap alternatives like shared hosting. When it comes to performance, nothing beats a strong VPS with dedicated RAM, super-fast disks, and a server CPU.

Host a Web Server

Hosting servers through VPS is another increasingly common use. As the name suggests, a virtual private server can do all the things a regular server does.

For example, you can run a static site from your VPS. It’s enough to run a web server software, like Apache, Nginx, or OpenLiteSpeed, and upload your HTML files.

The potential of hosting a server doesn’t stop there, of course. The installation can also be automated with help from the meta-package lamp-server for Ubuntu, and the Centmin Mod script on CentOS for a web server based on Nginx. You can also easily install WordPress, or a flat-file alternative to it, on your LAMP stack.

Using your VPS for server hosting is the best way to get the most out of it. Servers perform a variety of functions, many of which are explained in our following points.

Save Money By Self-Hosting Apps

Choosing to self-host your web projects instead of using SaaS alternatives saves you the money you would otherwise be paying to companies who charge monthly fees for you to continue using their software.

On a VPS, you have your own server for your own software and are in control of everything you host. Self-hosting does most of the time require more skill on your part, but the money you save is definitely worth it.

Many business software options, like Dropbox and Slack, are sold as SaaS. However, there are a number of self-hosted alternatives to these. In most cases, these alternatives are just as good and sometimes even outperform the SaaS options available.

The main difference, however, is that they are often completely free, and you can host them yourself on your VPS. This can save your business a lot of money since enterprise-level SaaS can sometimes cost you a small fortune.

Finding alternatives to common SaaS software is as easy as doing a Google search. For example, you can check out our tutorial on how to install Nextcloud, which is an extremely popular open-source alternative for Dropbox.

You can even find enterprise-level apps like ERP software that covers everything from CRM to HR to accounting (like ERPNext, for example). This has the added bonus of making you less reliant on SaaS platforms and giving you complete control over your company data.