Super Simple vs Self Hosted

Self-hosting static websites gives you complete control over your infrastructure, but it comes with significant operational overhead. Super Simple Host is designed for developers and agencies who want the benefits of hosting control without the burden of server maintenance, security updates, and infrastructure management.

This guide provides a comparison to help you decide whether self-hosting or a managed platform is the right choice for your projects.

Feature Comparison

SSL Certificate Management

Self-Hosted: You're responsible for obtaining and renewing SSL certificates. While Let's Encrypt offers free certificates, you need to:

Install and configure certbot or another ACME client
Set up automatic renewal scripts and monitor for failures
Handle certificate validation (HTTP-01, DNS-01, or TLS-ALPN-01 challenges)
Configure your web server (Nginx, Apache, Caddy) to use the certificates
Manage multiple certificates if you're hosting multiple domains
Debug certificate renewal failures before they cause outages

Certificate renewal failures are a common cause of unexpected downtime. Many developers have experienced the panic of discovering expired certificates after a cron job silently failed.

Super Simple Host: SSL certificates are automatically provisioned and renewed for all your domains. Add a domain in the dashboard, point your DNS, and HTTPS works instantly. No configuration files, no renewal scripts, no monitoring required. Certificates are managed transparently across all your websites.

Multiple Domain Hosting

Self-Hosted: Hosting multiple websites on a single server requires careful configuration:

Configure virtual hosts or server blocks for each domain
Manage separate document roots and file permissions
Set up individual SSL certificates for each domain
Configure reverse proxy rules if needed
Maintain separate configuration files and keep them organized
Restart or reload the web server after configuration changes
Debug conflicts between virtual host configurations

As you add more websites, configuration becomes more complex and error-prone. A misconfigured virtual host can break other sites on the same server.

Super Simple Host: Host unlimited websites from a single dashboard. Each website gets its own isolated environment. Add domains, subdomains, and aliases with a few clicks. No server configuration required. Changes are applied instantly without affecting other websites.

Zero-Downtime Deployments

Self-Hosted: Achieving zero-downtime deployments for static sites is more complex than it appears:

Files can't be atomically replaced - users may see partially updated sites during deployment
Need to implement blue-green deployment or symlink switching strategies
Must carefully manage cache invalidation to avoid serving stale content
Coordinating web server reloads can cause brief service interruptions
Race conditions during deployment can serve inconsistent page assets
Requires deployment scripts or CI/CD pipeline configuration

Without proper infrastructure, users may see broken pages during deployments when HTML references assets from the new version that haven't finished uploading yet.

Super Simple Host: Every deployment is atomic and zero-downtime. New versions are fully prepared before switching traffic over. Users never see partial deployments or mixed asset versions. Instant rollback available if issues are detected. The platform handles deployment coordination automatically.

Versioning and Rollbacks

Self-Hosted: Version management requires planning and discipline:

No built-in deployment history - you must design your own versioning system
Rollbacks mean manually deploying a previous version from Git
Need to keep old builds around if you want instant rollback capability
Must track which version is currently deployed across multiple websites
Difficult to compare what changed between deployed versions
No audit trail of who deployed what and when

When a deployment breaks something in production, you're under pressure to quickly redeploy an older version. Self-hosted setups rarely make this easy.

Super Simple Host: Complete deployment history for every website. View all previous versions with timestamps and deployment details. Roll back to any previous version with a single click. Compare changes between deployments. Instant rollback means recovery from issues in seconds, not minutes. Full audit trail of all deployments and configuration changes.

Analytics and Metrics

Self-Hosted: Understanding your website traffic requires additional infrastructure:

Parse and analyze web server access logs (large files, requires custom scripts)
Or integrate third-party analytics like Google Analytics (privacy concerns, cookie banners)
Or self-host analytics tools like Matomo or Plausible (additional servers to maintain)
No built-in dashboard - need to configure visualization tools
Log rotation and storage management to prevent disk space issues
Processing logs can impact server performance

Most self-hosted setups either have no analytics or rely on third-party JavaScript tracking with its associated privacy and performance concerns.

Super Simple Host: Privacy-friendly analytics built into every website. View traffic metrics, page views, visitor counts, and referral sources directly in your dashboard. No configuration needed. GDPR-compliant without cookies or tracking scripts. No cookie banners required. Zero performance impact on your website.

Server Monitoring and Uptime

Self-Hosted: You're responsible for keeping servers running:

Set up monitoring for server health, disk space, memory, and CPU usage
Configure alerts for downtime and performance degradation
Monitor SSL certificate expiration dates
Track web server error rates and response times
Be on-call to respond to server issues, even at night and on weekends
Debug infrastructure problems when they occur

Infrastructure issues have a habit of occurring at the worst possible times. Someone needs to be available to fix them.

Super Simple Host: Fully managed infrastructure monitored 24/7. We handle server maintenance, security patches, and incident response. You get the uptime guarantees of a professional hosting platform without being woken up by downtime alerts. Focus on building websites, not maintaining servers.

Security Updates and Patches

Self-Hosted: Keeping your infrastructure secure is an ongoing responsibility:

Apply operating system security updates regularly
Update web server software (Nginx, Apache) to patch vulnerabilities
Configure and maintain firewall rules
Implement DDoS protection or use a CDN
Monitor security advisories for software you depend on
Schedule maintenance windows for updates that require restarts
Balance security with stability - updates can introduce breaking changes

Security vulnerabilities are discovered regularly. Delaying updates puts your websites at risk, but applying updates without testing can cause unexpected downtime.

Super Simple Host: Security is our responsibility. We maintain infrastructure, apply security patches, and implement DDoS protection. Your websites benefit from enterprise-grade security without any configuration or maintenance on your part. Security updates are applied transparently without affecting your websites.

CDN and Global Distribution

Self-Hosted: Serving content globally from a single server means higher latency for distant users:

Single server location limits performance for global audiences
Integrating a CDN requires additional configuration and cost
Cache invalidation becomes more complex with a CDN layer
Need to configure cache headers correctly for each asset type
Managing multiple servers in different regions multiplies operational overhead

Super Simple Host: Optional global CDN distribution included. Replicate your website across data centers worldwide with a simple toggle. Automatic cache management and invalidation on deployment. Optimal performance for users regardless of their location.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Self-Hosted: You're responsible for backup strategy:

Configure automated backups for website files and server configuration
Store backups in a separate location (additional cost)
Test restoration procedures regularly
Document disaster recovery procedures
Plan for various failure scenarios (disk failure, server compromise, data center outage)

Many self-hosted setups have inadequate or untested backup procedures until disaster strikes.

Super Simple Host: Automatic backups for all deployments. Every version of your website is preserved. Instant restoration from any previous version. Infrastructure redundancy built in. Your websites are protected against data loss without any configuration.

Configuration Management

Self-Hosted: Configuration scattered across multiple files and locations:

Web server configuration files (nginx.conf, apache2.conf, etc.)
Virtual host or server block definitions
SSL certificate paths and configuration
Custom rewrite rules and redirects
Environment-specific settings
Need to remember syntax for each configuration system
Configuration errors can break websites or prevent server restart

Super Simple Host: Single supersimple.json file in your project root controls all configuration. Version control your settings alongside your code. Declarative configuration for domains, redirects, rewrites, security, and more. Configuration is validated before deployment, preventing errors.

Cost Comparison

Self-Hosted Infrastructure Costs

The advertised cost of a VPS or dedicated server is only part of the total expense:

VPS hosting: $5-20/month for a basic server, more for higher performance
Domain costs: Similar for both options
CDN costs: $0-100+/month depending on traffic (optional but recommended)
Monitoring tools: $0-50+/month for uptime monitoring and alerting
Backup storage: $5-20/month for offsite backups
Time cost: Hours per month on maintenance, updates, troubleshooting

Beyond direct costs, consider the value of your time. Server maintenance, security updates, troubleshooting SSL renewals, and responding to outages add up quickly. Even if you enjoy infrastructure work, these hours could be spent building websites or serving clients.

Super Simple Host Pricing

Straightforward pricing that includes everything:

$10/month - Unlimited websites, 250GB bandwidth, 25GB storage
Automatic SSL certificates for all domains
Zero-downtime deployments with instant rollback
Privacy-friendly analytics built in
CDN and global distribution included
Client APIs (AI proxy, form backend)
No maintenance, no monitoring setup, no security updates to manage

Higher tier plans add CMS, member areas, and agency features for client management and billing.

When Self-Hosting Makes Sense

Self-hosting isn't wrong for everyone. Consider self-hosting if you:

Need custom server software - Running specific services or server-side processing that managed platforms don't support
Have specific compliance requirements - Regulations that mandate particular infrastructure or data residency beyond what hosted platforms offer
Already have infrastructure expertise - Your team includes dedicated DevOps engineers who manage servers as their primary job
Want maximum control - You need low-level control over every aspect of the stack and are willing to trade convenience for it
Have existing infrastructure - You're already running servers for other purposes and adding static hosting is incremental

For most developers and agencies, especially those focused on building websites rather than managing infrastructure, a managed platform eliminates undifferentiated heavy lifting. The time saved on server maintenance can be invested in building better websites or serving more clients.

Migrating from Self-Hosted to Super Simple

If you're ready to eliminate infrastructure maintenance, migration is straightforward:

Sign up - Create a Super Simple Host account and start with a new project
Deploy - Use Git integration or CLI to deploy your website files
Test - Verify your site works correctly on the temporary URL provided
Configure - Add supersimple.json if you need redirects or special routing
Switch DNS - Point your domain to Super Simple (SSL configures automatically)
Monitor - Verify traffic switches over and your site operates correctly
Decommission - Cancel your VPS and monitoring subscriptions

DNS changes typically propagate within minutes to hours. You can keep your old server running during the transition period if you want to ensure a smooth cutover.