Originally Published on Gigenet.com on May 22, 2013 By Staff
When business owners plan to launch or upgrade their ecommerce site, they will often be presented with the issue of choosing dedicated or shared hosting. There are key differences between shared hosting and dedicated hosting so it is important to do the research before making a choice. Below is a guide on the key differences between shared hosting and dedicated hosting:
Sites Hosted on the Server: With a shared hosting package, there are other sites that are hosted on the server along with your website. A dedicated hosting plan means that your website is the only site hosted on the server.
Bandwidth or Disk Space: With shared hosting, the amount of disk space and bandwidth you are allotted is limited because there are others sharing the server. You will be charged if you surpass you allotted amount. With dedicated hosting, bandwidth and disk space are dedicated to you only so there is no sharing and no limitations on the amount of space available space.
Costs: With shared hosting, server resources are shared among several users, so operating costs are divided up among the users making it cheaper. Because a dedicated server is dedicated solely to one user, it cost more.
Required Technical Skills: With shared hosting, you will not require much technical skills as maintenance and security are managed by the shared hosting provider. With a dedicated server, you will need webmaster skills to set up, administer, and manage the server. However, fully managed dedicated hosting plans are available which will be more expensive.
Security: With shared hosting, the hosting company installs firewalls and server security applications and programs. Securing a dedicated server will be your responsibility. You will be able to control the security programs you install and because you are the only one on the server there are less chances of acquiring viruses, malware and spyware. There is a higher risk with shared hosting because of others using the same server.
Blacklisting Of Website: In a shared server, there is more of a risk of being blacklisted by search engines because someone else on the server engaging in such practices as spamming may get the entire IP address blacklisted. On a dedicated server, you will not get blacklisted unless you engage in unethical internet practices.
Server Performance and Response Time: On shared hosting, with other sharing the same resources, allot of traffic can be generated which could drain resources such as bandwidth which could lead to slow response time and slow loading time. This does not happen on a dedicated server because you are not sharing resources.
Level of Control: A dedicated server offers more control over the server as they can add their preferred programs, applications, and scripts. You will have improved flexibility and security which is very beneficial.
The hosting type that you choose will depend on your budget, server and website needs, and the amount control that you desire. No matter which type of server hosting you choose, it is important to make an informed decision.