Shared Vs Dedicated Hosting - Which Is The Better Of The Two

Website owners just starting out choose to work with a shared hosting plan to get familiar with the system. As their business expands, many migrate to a dedicated server because of the added benefits it brings along. However, not all are able to make this decision at the blink of an eye because money is a determining factor. Even if your budget allows an upgrade to a dedicated server, you don't want to regret your decision in any way. This article looks at shared and dedicated WordPress hosting in greater detail bringing out the major differences between the two. Compare the two and make a decision that best suits your business needs. Shared vs. Dedicated The difference between the two is clearly indicated in the name. In shared hosting, a website rents space on a server shared by many other sites. The number of websites sharing a server varies based on the hosting company. If you go for the dedicated hosting plan, it means that you rent an entire server for yourself. Either the company has its own server or it asks the web hosting company for the dedicated plan. This main point of distinction brings in the other differences between shared and dedicated hosting. They are as follows. Bandwidth and Disk Space In case of shared servers, every site is allotted a limited amount of disk space and bandwidth per month. If the site oversteps this limit, they are charged with bandwidth penalty. A dedicated server is free of such restrictions as the choice of an individual server acknowledges your need for greater disk space and bandwidth. Server Performance, Level of Control and Response Time All these three variables are influenced by the number of websites sharing a server. A dedicated server wins hands-down in this regard. Sharing a server means sharing system resources. Other sites' scripts might slow your website or cause the server to crash. To add, the server serves requests in the order it receives it, on a first-come-first-basis. So, if there is another site on the server that brings in a lot of traffic, it might slow down page loads for you. A dedicated server also gives you greater control over your website allowing you to add your preferred applications, programs and scripts. Security In terms of security, the scale tips in favor of both. For shared hosting, the hosting company installs firewalls and security programs while for the other, it is your responsibility to install security measures. You can secure your website by installing high-tech security features. However, the chances of acquiring viruses, spyware and malware are higher on a shared server. If a hacker manages to intercept one website by hacking into the server, he will be able to gain access to your site too. Cost If cost is your determining factor, shared hosting is your best bet. The operating cost is distributed amongst all the renters and hence the cost becomes quite reasonable. The cost is the biggest drawback of the dedicated hosting plan. It costs nearly double of what you would be paying for a shared hosting plan.

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