Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting: Which one is better for you?
Web hosting is generally categorized in terms of the type of server involved. If a number of websites from several unrelated clients are hosted on the same server, the server is known as a shared web hosting server as the server’s space, bandwidth and other resources are not allocated to a single user but rather they are shared amongst a number of users. In contrast, a dedicated server is one where a single user, entity or organization leases or purchases the entire server to host any number of websites. The server’s resources, in this case, are only shared amongst those users which the dedicated server owner chooses to share with at his own discretion.
Shared servers offer several benefits to paid hosting customers. It costs less to have a web hosting account on a shared server as opposed to having one on a dedicated server. This results from the fact that a shared web hosting customer does not have access to all the server’s resources. Users can decide how much space and bandwidth they require and pay to acquire the same from their web host. The maintenance of these servers is the responsibility of the web host who also provides support for issues that may arise as a result of server-side hardware or software problems usually at no extra charge.
Shared servers, however, do have certain limitations as well. As server resources available to a user are restricted, these tend to run out fairly quickly, thus requiring the user to constantly upgrade their hosting plans to add more resources in order to ensure that their sites continue to operate without interruption. Such servers may also become overcrowded resulting in performance degradation since web hosts usually add as many accounts to a server as its resources allow in order to maximize their profits. Organizations that run large websites or e-commerce operations attract a lot of web traffic from around the globe which can bog down a shared hosting server resulting in slow server response which can affect all other websites hosted on the server. As a result, these websites require dedicated servers more often than not so that they are able to run smoothly and with greater uptime. The web host determines which software, scripts and other features to install on a shared server. At times, this can turn out to be a major stumbling block as it limits a user’s ability to use software and applications which might be essential to their business or personal needs. Web hosts also normally disallow a large number of commercial scripts and web apps from running on their shared servers because of resource usage and security concerns. Some examples are ColdFusion, Ruby on Rails, YouTube clones or even .NET. Consequently, users have no choice but to turn to dedicated hosting options in order to be able to use such scripts.
Dedicated servers give the user more freedom to maneuver, greater control and scalability options. A large chunk of bandwidth is available which ensures that the server doesn’t slow down when a website experiences increased traffic. The user gets to decide what web applications to install on the server and when to upgrade its resources without having to wait for approval from the web host and can monitor resource usage from scripts and sites running on the server. Despite all the benefits, a dedicated server does have a heftier price tag compared to shared hosting plans. The server owner is also responsible for any hardware or software upgrades and all associated costs whereas this is the responsibility of the web host on shared servers.
When it comes to choosing between shared and dedicated servers, it all boils down to a user’s requirements and how much control they really want to exercise on the web server. Although a dedicated server may appear enticing with all that it has to offer, it could become quite a cumbersome task to maintain one considering the costs involved, particularly when all you need to do is host half a dozen websites.
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