Why I Still Choose Boring VPS Hosting Over AWS in 2026 (And How It Lets Me Ship Faster)

I prefer renting servers and hosting websites on them over using AWS, GCP, or Azure services for my web projects. This approach allows me to focus more on the application rather than the infrastructure. I install Linux, configure web servers like Apache or Nginx, run my application, and set up backups and monitoring. I do not need multiple dashboards and separate charges for each component.

I believe in simple solutions that get the job done. My usual stack includes Nginx as a reverse proxy, an application process, PostgreSQL, and background workers. This setup can run on a single machine if the requirements allow. I configure Nginx with TLS, proxy settings, and other necessary directives. I supervise the application using systemd, with an unprivileged account, restart policy, and no need for a cluster to handle failures.

For small jobs, I use cron jobs, while for continuous background work, I employ daemons. I make sure my background tasks are retryable, prevent overlapping executions, record completion, and alert on missed runs. I keep my job state durable when necessary. Instead of relying on EventBridge and Lambda functions for background work, I prefer simpler solutions that do not complicate my engineering efforts. I focus on understandability and quickly identifying the root cause of issues when they occur.