Webslice was built to include two different hosting platforms in one account: Webslice Containers and Webslice Serverless.
Simply put, Containers are designed for websites expecting consistently busy traffic. On the other hand, Serverless is great at autoscaling resources for websites with unpredictable traffic. As a Webslice customer you can run both options side-by-side, picking the platform that makes the most sense for each website you develop.
When should I use Webslice Containers?
Webslice Containers is our hosting platform for websites needing constant resource allocation. It’s most suitable for websites that you know will have a steady traffic flow.
Of the two Webslice platforms, Containers is our more traditional hosting product. As the name suggests, our Container servers are containerized. We’ve been developing the platform for over a decade, and there’s a community of agencies and developers who’ve been using Containers for years and love using it.
Many Containers, one server
You can run multiple Containers on the same server, with each Container designed to safely run one application in its own environment. If you’re noticing applications maxing out your Container resources, you can scale up your plan to access more powerful server specs.
Keep bills the same
No matter how many websites you’re running or how much traffic you’re getting, with Containers you’ll know exactly what your hosting bills will be each month. Whether you’re running static sites or huge applications with big demands, you’ll know exactly how much you’ll be paying.
If you’ve got an established website looking for a new home, or you’re building a particularly important website needing steady resources, Containers are the right choice.
We recommend you use Webslice Containers for:
Busy websites with steady or predictable traffic levels.
Projects where you need to know exactly how big your bill will be each month.
When is Webslice Serverless a better fit?
Webslice Serverless takes a different approach to hosting, automatically scaling your number of instances as traffic comes and goes. Instead of paying a flat monthly fee for idle resources, you pay for the compute you actually use.
Websites of any scale expecting periodically unpredictable traffic surges, from big sales or other spiky events, can benefit from Webslice Serverless’s near limitless scalability. You’re not capped by an individual server’s resources, but instead capped by the spending limits you put in place.
Scaling instances to your exact traffic needs can also pan out a lot cheaper for smaller sites because you’re paying for the resources you use, rather than a constant monthly fee. If you’re looking to minimize costs on a smaller or experimental site, Serverless is the way to go.
No unexpected bills
Adjust concurrency settings and set Spend Limits to control resource usage, safeguarding bills from getting out of hand. These tools prevent unexpected bursts from traffic spikes or malicious attacks from blowing out usage costs. Likewise, Minimum Concurrency lets you set the lowest number of instances serving visitors during off-peak times, minimising “cold starts”. This can be as low as 0 if you’d like. Check out our docs to read more about optimizing concurrency settings.
Pay as you go
Because Serverless uses usage-based pricing, costs will never be as consistent as Containers. But Serverless hosting will be cheaper if you’re using it in the right situations. If your website doesn’t get a steady flow of traffic and doesn't need constant resources, you won’t be paying for resources you don’t use.
We recommend you use Webslice Serverless for:
Websites that could experience unpredictable traffic spikes.
Small or experimental website projects.
Websites with low traffic where you want to minimize costs.
Websites where you expect big surges in traffic (from events like seasonal sales), where you want to jump in and increase concurrency limits, and reduce them again later.
Across the board
When you use both Webslice Containers and Webslice Serverless, you benefit from a shared suite of Webslice features. Every website hosted on Webslice has built in SSL that can be enabled with just one click. We run automatic daily backups on all websites, so your data is protected and recoverable if you encounter unexpected issues. If things go wrong on either platform, there’s 24/7 support available.
If you’d rather offload upkeep work like traffic and infrastructure monitoring and maintenance, you can take advantage of Support & Management services on both platforms. If excessive load knocks your website down at 3am, we’ll be there to fix it while you sleep.
Run websites on both
You don't need to force all your websites onto one hosting model. Run a production application on Containers side-by-side with your newest experimental project on Serverless. It all lives one dashboard, managed on one account, on a single invoice. Webslice lets you choose how to run your sites.