Aplus.net Blog

So, you’ve got your domain name — it’s time to build a website for your online business. First, however, you need to make sure you understand the difference between the two main types of web hosting.

The most popular and widely used model is shared hosting. Shared hosting means that the server hosting your site also hosts other users’ content — you’re “sharing” a server with other renters. It’s the most cost-effective way to get your business online, but, because you don’t have exclusive access to the server, it has some limitations.

Because it’s inexpensive, shared hosting is the clear choice if you’re looking to host a website for personal uses, or your business is such that you only expect low to medium amounts of traffic. And because your hosting provider handles most of the back-end configuration, you do not have to be very tech-savvy to enjoy the full range of benefits.

Dedicated hosting is the opposite. With a dedicated server, you’re the only customer on the computer. You have complete control over that server; you decide what goes on it and what it’s used for. You decide whether it hosts one site, or ten. Or a hundred.

Dedicated hosting lets you tailor applications such as databases, software, and email capabilities to your preference. It’s also much better at accommodating websites with high traffic or dynamic-media intensive content. With a dedicated plan, you can even resell your space (or bandwidth) to others. For developers, these advantages are essential.

However, this freedom requires knowledge. To take full advantage of these benefits, you must learn how to configure and optimize the dedicated server hardware you’re using.

If you anticipate a lot of traffic and growth in the coming years for your online business, you’ll want to go with a dedicated plan. However, you can always start out with shared and upgrade later; there may be some minor inconvenience involved when the time comes to switch, but it’s probably the most cost-effective way to go if you’re unsure of your business plan and/or capabilities.

Tomorrow we’ll explore just what kind of shared or dedicated plan is best for you. If you have any questions in the meantime, drop me a line in the comments or email Jeff at askjeff@aplus.net.