Having a website hosted on the Internet nowadays has become much simpler and faster than it was a few years ago. The options of hosting services have grown, as has the quality of the servers. The agility of the process has also evolved and today, in a matter of a few days it is already possible to have a website hosted and functioning normally.
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In this post, we will talk about the main characteristics of each one, explain the advantages and disadvantages and give tips so that you correctly choose the service that most suits your needs.
Characteristics of Shared Hosting
In shared hosting, a single server hosts tens to thousands of other sites besides yours. That is, the same server is responsible for storing and managing the connections of several sites at the same time.
By diluting hardware costs among multiple clients, shared hosting becomes much cheaper than dedicated hosting, ranging from $ 2 up to $ 100 per month. The higher prices make this type of service very popular.
Advantages
The main advantage of this service is its lower cost, which favors the adoption of this modality by professionals, small and medium companies and even bloggers.
Another good thing is that the contracted company has all the responsibility for maintenance, backups and the correct operation of the server, you just need to upload your site. In addition, there is full user support through chat, email, ticket system or phone. This way, anyone can manage without the need for advanced technical knowledge.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of this service is its limitations since your site can only use a part of the server resources so that other sites also have their share of memory, disk space, and processing.
Imagine that the server is the trustee of a building, and the hundreds of residents are the sites that are hosted. If all the residents want to use the ballroom, the receiver will intervene, as there is no way everyone can use all the resources at once. A shared server works in a similar way, as resources are limited, only a small percentage of the resources are offered, which may vary from server to server.
Generally, websites or blogs with many visitors tend to suffer more from shared server performance, since many accesses require more server resources, which, because limited, can lead to site instability problems.
Although it has good security, for some projects that require a high level of security, such as eCommerces that store credit card data for thousands of customers, this option is not the most appropriate.
Dedicated Hosting Features
As its name implies, this hosting model offers a server totally dedicated to your site, that is, a computer with all the resources, memory, space and processing available to your site, without having to share it with third-party sites.
As the costs to maintain a server are high, you will need to pay for them alone. Dedicated server plans can be found from $ 100, but the amounts can exceed up to $ 1,000 monthly.
Advantages
The higher price is justified by the greater resources you’ll have access to by hiring this service and by its superior performance, which allows you to host the “heaviest” sites and hold high amounts of simultaneous connections without any instability.
Here you will need to have technical knowledge because you are the one who will manage the server. You will be able to access the desktop area and install applications and make the settings that you think are necessary for your needs. The sole responsibility of the company will be to keep you connected 24 hours a day and to provide technical support whenever necessary.
As in the example given above, it is as if only you lived in the building without a trustee to limit your actions. You do what you want and use the spaces as you wish.
Disadvantages
The only disadvantage of this service is its higher price, between $ 500 and $ 1,000 per month, which for small businesses and bloggers may be impracticable.
In addition, the need for technical expertise may disrupt the more laymen users or require the hiring of specialized personnel.
Still, hiring a third-party company is cheaper than maintaining a server internally, since it requires investments in hardware, software, security, trained personnel to handle any type of problem, and it is necessary to maintain the right temperature to increase the life of the server.
Which to choose: shared or dedicated hosting?
To properly choose the service that best suits your needs, some aspects need to be analyzed. The first one is about the need for your website/blog.
If you have a website or blog that does not receive a large number of hits, it is best to opt for a shared hosting. For these cases, a shared server can handle, since a low number of accesses does not compromise stability. And if your accesses start growing, you can migrate to a dedicated server.
But if you have a virtual store, a blog or website that receives a large number of hits, or even if you need more control to manage it, or if they are essential services that cannot be unstable or go offline maybe you need to consider hiring a dedicated server. In addition to providing more security, your site will hardly suffer problems, but remember that in this mode a higher technical knowledge is essential.
The right choice between shared or dedicated hosting will depend on the features and features that your website needs, in addition, of course, the available budget.
But now that you know the features, advantages, and disadvantages of each, it is easier to decide which one best meets your project’s expectations.
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