Consumers seek fast end-to-end encrypted file storage, niche servers, video streaming servers, apps only available on a local OS, and affordable consumer GPU. VPS hosting is emerging as a viable option for niche industries. Shared hosting remains popular among niche creative industries.
Catering to emerging trends is essential for a host’s bottom line. According to data from Global Industry Analysts, website hosting is projected to reach $252.4 billion globally by 2030.
People are struggling to find fast end-to-end encrypted file storage, niche servers, video streaming servers, apps that are only available on a local OS, and generally, niche apps no one seems to be hosting well. In addition, the market for game servers for a particular platform or game and private email servers is oversaturated.
VPS vs. shared vs. cloud hosting for niche industries
A solid VPS hosting platform can support multiple niche sites, up to 50 sites with low traffic. If needed, you can change each site’s IP. There are more SEO benefits as well. VPS hosting providers account for 10.3% of the web hosting market, and their portion is expected to reach $8.3 billion by 2026, which comes to an increase of 16.2% a year on average. Managed VPS hosting providers are expected to grow by 16.5% a year on average.
Shared hosting will suffice for smaller niche websites with low to moderate traffic. It is an affordable option for beginners, where multiple websites share resources on a server. It remains popular among niche creative industries. It’s expected to increase by 15% a year on average, reaching $72.2 billion by 2026. Niche websites may require more resources and improved performance as they grow and start getting more traffic.
Cloud hosting is also a feasible option for niche sites and industries, especially sites with unpredictable traffic spikes. Multiple servers work together to improve scalability and flexibility, making sure the site stays online even during a major traffic surge. In 2024, Google Cloud holds a share of just over 7%.
Trends: Hardware vs. software
Consumers raise the issue of affordable storage pricing. A dedicated hosting provider is likely to charge a high monthly fee for extra hard drives. The user ends up paying the full price of the drive in a few months, after which they keep paying on a monthly basis.
Another hardware niche is off-site tape. This is only available as part of different cold storage tiers at leading platforms like GCP, AWS, and Azure, and it’s rarely small-scale or standalone.
Cheap GPU servers are another niche. A significant part of the GPU hardware on the market targets machine learning and mining. A lucrative niche would be an affordable consumer GPU for a basic remote desktop box.
The subject of a niche in software is more complex. Niches could include hosting for accounting software, non-PHP-based billing software, or headless commenting engines. There are generally two extremes when it comes to content management systems. On one extreme, you have Strapi, which is completely headless, and you need to implement everything yourself. On the other, you have systems supporting templates like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. One relatively common and pesky issue is when the template has to account for customizations based on the user interface. This is something Joomla templates tend to suffer from. There is a market for platforms without any UI-based customization, similar to Hugo, but with a backend.
How to create a custom hosting package for niche sites and industries
Before creating a custom hosting package, website traffic, bandwidth, storage needs, technical features, and special configurations must be considered. Custom hosting plans let users adjust resources as their needs evolve.
Custom hosting allows for resource allocation based on individual needs, e.g., CPU, disk space, RAM, etc. Finally, users can include specialized features, such as special security measures, specific software, or configurations.
