The answer varies to the level of expertise you have. We will explore all the options when it comes to best hosting for node js and MongoDB in this post. There are loads of options available out there and it is easy to get swayed and choose something incompatible with your needs.
I will talk about three models of implementing the Node Js and MongoDB. Let’s begin with the first one:
Personal Hosting Setup
If you have built the Node JS and MongoDB app at your local computer then with some configurations you can make your app accessible to the whole world. However, that comes with the downside of learning how to set up the server environment, making it security proof, having it accessible for the whole world and offer the same user experience.
That surely sounds like a lot to me. If you are beginner that is a daunting task and a big learning experience. If you can learn how to set up the server by yourself you can scale your services by offering others the hosting for their Node JS and MongoDB apps.
It is a way the entrepreneurial thought process evolves. So you will not only be making money of your own application but also can make income out of those who are using your hosting environment as a solution. The cost of running a server at your own end will be covered by the investment made by others. You can also end up making a net profit from the hosting.
Even if the experience goes bad the number of new things you will learn will have positive impacts on your CV and future job prospects.
Host it on A VPS
You can also host your web app on some cheap VPS like Digital Ocean. The downside is that you will have to learn how to configure the VPS by yourself. There are plenty of youtube tutorials already available that can help you get through this.
In fact, more material is available to learn how to set up the VPS than to start your own machines as an app server. If you plan to move to option 1 as discussed above then first experimenting and start off with the VPS can be a good option.
It can be a safer move, you can save more money, observer how your application is performing. What further tweaks you can do to improve your hosting performance. You can get A2 hosting for this purpose.
Use Managed Hosting
The third and probably the easiest method that you can quickly use and go-live is by using managed hosting of platforms such as Heroku to host your application and place the MongoDB on the cloud hosting platform of Compose.
So you are spending a lot of money on this solution especially for an application that is going to start from zero. But the missing headaches of managing everything will help you focus more on improving your application and increase the services.
Indeed, this is a more expensive way to go about the hosting process for a Node Js and MongoDB application but actually is the best way for someone just starting out. The initial cost is high but you get a chance to see how your application will behave with the ideal condition.
If you experience any problems with respect to your application it will help you quickly take out hosting as one of the probable causes and focus on other aspects to specify the problem. Sooner or later you will have to get into application performance parameters and judge how you can go about improving the overall user experience
Final Thoughts
I would suggest you to consider VPS hosting as an initial solution as it is the mid-range solution for hosting the Node JS and MongoDB application. You can easily learn through Youtube how to set up the server in the right way for optimized communication between the application server and the MongoDB.
A2 hosting provides reasonable VPS charges for a starter package. As your application picks up the momentum you can look for an investor or a joint venture to move towards managed hosting.