Web Hosting Articles > Shared or Dedicated  Web Hosting

So you have finished building your website and you now need to decide whether to choose a dedicated host or to go for a shared server to host it.

What are the differences and the advantages of each plan?

In a word, under the shared hosting plan, you share server resources with other websites: memory, space and bandwidth. This is ideal for small websites that don’t need much resource to run. Under the dedicated plan however, the user leases the whole web server.

Now let us look into more details at both plans: dedicated vs. shared host.

The biggest advantage of shared web hosting plans is its affordability: Because you share hosting resources with many other websites, you also share the server’s running costs and this brings down your monthly hosting bill. Due to the huge competition in this market, you also get good value for money in terms of space and bandwidth.

Shared web hosting plans are also convenient and efficiency: Because they are run by professionals, you need not worry about that aspect of things and concentrate on building your website. Additionally, shared web hosting is efficient as you only use resources your actually need. And you have the option to buy more if you reach your allocated limit.

Finally shared web host solutions are user-friendly: Most web hosts provide a user control panel through which you can easily upload and delete files as well as access webmaster tools such as site statistics.

Let us now consider dedicated web hosting solutions.

The key advantage of dedicated host plans is the exclusivity you enjoy. You don’t have to share web resources with anyone. Because you don’t have to share your server with 200 other websites, you also enjoy more control over what is loaded on the server. Dedicated web hosting is ideal for websites with huge traffic. If your website attracts a heavy traffic, you will require plenty of bandwidth each month and dedicated web hosts usually offer unlimited bandwidth.

Finally dedicated servers have they own IP address so you don’t run the risk of being blacklisted if other websites on your server get blacklisted by search engines for spamming or illegal activities.

In conclusion, before choosing what plan to go with, carefully consider you needs in terms of web space, bandwidth and memory. But you also need to keep in mind you future needs as your website’s size and traffic grow.