Shared versus dedicated Web Hosting – which is the best option when it comes to selecting a web hosting option? You may be overwhelmed, or at the very least confused, by all of the options available. There are some common terms that you will run into time and time again, and they are shared and dedicated. It is important to understand the difference between these two types of hosting options.

Web Server

When you develop a website, it must be stored on a server. A server is essentially a computer, but it is a special computer, in that it is networked and designed to respond to requests sent to it over the Internet. A unique IP or Internet Protocol address is assigned to each server. An example of an IP number is 123.45.678.9.

Shared Server

When you select shared hosting, you are essentially sharing a server with other website owners, and all of the websites on that server also share the IP address. However, each site is unique because of its domain name. When your site is on a shared server, it also shares all of the resources of that server with the other sites that reside on it, such as disk space and bandwidth.

Think of it as sharing a house. While you enjoy greater benefits, such as paying less money in bills, there are also drawbacks to consider, such as being subjected to the consequences for someone else’s actions. This can be either in terms of slower performance of your website, because space and bandwidth are being used by other sites, or in terms of the effect that software one site owner uses may affect your site. This happens more often on a Windows server than on a UNIX server.

You must also consider the load placed on the server. Think in terms of a semi-truck. A semi can only haul so much weight, and by law, they can’t go over a certain amount of weight. If the semi is already more than half loaded, it doesn’t matter how much overall weight it is allowed to haul. The only thing that matters at that point is how much weight or space is left in the semi.

The same holds true for your Web Host. It doesn’t matter how many servers they have, or how much overall disk space they have. What matters is how much is used, and how much is available. Just as a semi can haul freight for multiple clients, a server can handle server requests that are made from multiple clients websites, but only up to a certain point.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU is an abbreviation of Central Processing Unit, which is an original term for processor and microprocessor. Most servers have more than one CPU, because one CPU can only handle so many requests at a time. In fact, many servers will have up to 16 CPUs. Even with 16 CPUs, however, there are still only so many requests that this bunch of CPUs can handle.

Memory

Memory works the same way. Memory is an electronic storage place for data and information that your computer’s microprocessor can obtain very quickly. This is a resource that is shared by every site on the server. When it fills up, it is full. No matter how much there is, there are still limitations. Because of shared resources, some processes get delayed when that resource is used up by other processes.

So, how is your server, or the server that you plan to host your pages with scoring in the area of used resources? Ask them. Don’t believe them if they tell you that they can’t determine that information – they can. They have reporting systems, and they know exactly what is going on. They can provide you with a statistical report.

If you are considering shared hosting, it is vital that you find out how much of the resources are being used, and how much is available, before you select your Web Hosting Company. If a majority of the resources are in use, find another host. Otherwise, you are leaving yourself wide open for a multitude of problems.

Dedicated Server

A dedicated server, on the other hand, means that you have an entire server to yourself. It isn’t shared with anyone else, the IP address is only used for your site, and all of the server’s resources are yours to use.

Before you go for that much lower price, however, take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and apply those advantages and disadvantages to the site that you plan to develop.

With shared hosting, you will typically be allotted a smaller amount of bandwidth and disk space. If your site requires a great deal of bandwidth and disk space, it may actually be cheaper, and more reliable to go with dedicated hosting. With shared hosting, if you exceed your allotted disk space or bandwidth, you may have to pay a pricey penalty for it.

Your Website’s Load Time

Because the resources are shared, the speed at which your visitors are able to load your website in their browsers may be affected by how much traffic the other website owners on that server are receiving, and vice versa. This is definitely something that you should take under consideration. Typically, you will have no way of knowing what other sites reside on that server, or how much traffic they receive.

You can ask your Web Hosting Company how many sites are sharing the server, and they will tell you. However, they won’t give you much more information than that, and in the end, the number of sites that reside on the server doesn’t make the difference. It is the amount of traffic that those sites receive that matters.

Who’s Sharing the Server?

Just as you want to know who your neighbors are at your home, you also want to know who your neighbors are on your web server. Unfortunately, that information isn’t going to be made available to you, and you run the risk of having a less than ideal neighbor run a script on their website that affects the entire server in a negative way. You will also be affected if another site owner who is sharing the server with you is a spammer, in that their IP number will get banned – which essentially means that you also get banned.

Maintaining a Dedicated Server

With dedicated hosting, you don’t have those problems. Instead, you have other problems. For instance, you will be responsible for the server. While the host will usually install software and hardware upgrades (if you are renting the dedicated server, as opposed to buying it), you may have to pay for those upgrades. You won’t have to worry about what other people are doing, because the only thing that affects the server, other than the software and hardware running it, is you.

So, how do you decide which one will serve you best – shared versus dedicated Web Hosting? Again, consider your site. Large sites that expect a great deal of traffic will most likely be better off with a dedicated server, while small sites with only moderate traffic may do well with a shared server – as long as they are willing and able to take the risks associated with it.