Shared vs Dedicated Hosting - How to choose?

After purchasing a domain name, the next step would be to choose the right hosting option for your business, which can be tricky. With the wide range of options available, it can be quite confusing even for tech-savvy people as web hosting isn't an 'one size fits for all' solution. We will be comparing shared web hosting with dedicated hosting in this article and you need to have your short term and long term business goals in mind while choosing the right option.

Shared Hosting:

In this type of hosting, one physical server gets shared by multiple websites. Other accounts hosted on the server won't have access to your account, if you host your website on a shared hosting plan. With the server resources such as bandwidth and CPU usage being shared, the cost of shared hosting is low. In addition, shared hosting comes with tools pre-installed to manage your website files, database, emails, etc. Even with less to no technical expertise, a person can manage their website with a shared web hosting plan.

Shared Hosting would be a good option if

• you expect your website to have from a few hundred to a few thousand monthly visitors
• you don't have enough technical knowledge to manage a server
• you have a small budget
• your business is small to mid-sized

• Low Cost
• Easy to maintain

• Shared pool of resources
• If one website on the server draws too much resources, it can affect other sites on the server. Such sites would be either suspended or asked by the web host to be upgrated to a dedicated server by the web host.

Dedicated Hosting:

With dedicated hosting, you get the entire capacity and resources of the physical server by renting it from a hosting company. You have the liberty to install any software or application on the server. Large websites and those with heavy traffic would need dedicated hosting to function properly.

Dedicated hosting eliminates most problems with shared hosting and also reduces the risk of exposure to malware, when managed properly. To manage a dedicated server, you would need a certain level of technical skills. However, you can also choose one of the server management plans offered by the hosting company for the routine tasks. The owner would still be responsible for the setup and maintenance of the website and applications.

Dedicated Hosting would be a good option if

• you expect large traffic - thousands of visitors a month
• you run a medium to large sized business
• your website or application has large storage or bandwidth or CPU usage requirements