Many individuals and small businesses start with shared hosting. When a website only consists of a few sales pages and doesn’t expect more than a few hundred visitors a month, then that can be a sensible and economical decision. However, when individuals and businesses truly establish themselves as a successful web business, they can overcome the limitations of sharing a host with other businesses. Then it’s time to consider a dedicated host, which means the server computer is upgraded and set up just for that business. For example, did you know that you can share your server with hundreds of other websites? You have no control over these other websites, and yet your own website’s performance, and even credibility, may depend on them. It’s not that difficult for savvy surfers to figure out where your site is hosted and what other websites it shares space with.
You may have a website that sells religious books only to find that you are sharing a web server with websites that advertise adult material! Even if you understand that your own company has nothing to do with this, and you may not have been fully aware of this, it’s a bit like putting a church supply store next to a bar or lingerie store. You can be judged by your neighbors.
Beyond sharing a web server with nasty websites, you can also share with other sites that experience sudden bursts of traffic, or even attacks, that affect their server’s performance. Your site may slow down, or even stop working, and you will lose business. Internet users are very impatient, and when they have to wait more than a few seconds for your page to load, they will make sure to hit the back button.
The last point to consider is control. If you share a server, the hosting company will most likely apply very restrictive security to keep all account holders out of other people’s accounts. However, if you plan to build a massive site or maintain a few dozen of your own sites, you won’t have this problem and the restrictions will only prevent you from using some software.
You may not have searched for a dedicated server before because you thought it was too expensive or complicated. However, you can find companies that will set up and manage your server as part of the package, making everything as simple as shared hosting! You can also find packages that start at less than $100 a month. If you’re serious about your online business, it might be time to consider dedicated hosting!