When it comes to lease server space from one or another web host there are two ways to choose from: to buy shared hosting plan or to enjoy the benefits of dedicated server plan. First of all, you should understand that these are two completely different server types and choosing one of them will determine how the story of your business will unfold.
Shared hosting is less expensive then dedicated server that is the main reason of shared servers popularity. But cost must be the only one benefit because shared server also implies lower level of technical ability. In shared hosting environment web host performs all complex of administrative tasks. So, shared server represents a great solution for small businesses owners who lack technical skills or can’t afford leasing the entire server or just have low level of traffic. Though, shared hosting is good in aforesaid cases, it can have negative impact on the further site promotion and development.
Dedicated Server Benefits
Response time on the shared server directly depends on what is going on on the server in general. The server response can be slow down by the service interruption occurred on neighbor site.
In case one of web sites has a burst of traffic, your site can become completely inaccessible for more then one day. Such interruption on the shared server are out of your control and you can’t stop them. With dedicated server you have a lot of disk space and bandwidth that decreases considerably the possibility of downtime.
Dedicated server guarantees unlimited possibilities allowing you to install your own custom software applications, programming tools and database servers.
With the growth of your site, web applications become more demanding and traffic becomes more intense. Shared hosting plan implies that you can buy bandwidth and disk space in addition, but they can be not sufficient, moreover, this represents extra expenses. But you won’t be able to upgrade operating system, actual hard drive and RAM. Dedicated server provides you with large amount of all resources and allows you to upgrade them as your needs increase.
It can be really insecure to share the server with other web sites. It can happen that you share the server with knowledgeable hacker or on the contrary with individual who isn’t professional in dealing with programming. Dedicated server can be as secure as you need it and as you can make it. You can install your own security mechanisms to protect special files and mechanisms.