Which Is Better? – Technology

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When starting a website or a blog, one of the critical decisions you have to make is where to host your site and what hosting plan to choose. Two of the most popular hosting plans are shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Which of these two you choose will ultimately depend on your needs.

Apart from that, you will also need to decide where to host your website. This, however, you can do without much hassle by using HostScore’s test reports and reviews.

But before choosing your hosting service, you need to understand the two popular hosting setups. This understanding will allow you to make better-informed comparisons.

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Shared vs. Dedicated Hosting

Both shared and dedicated hosting plans store your website data in a single server. Therefore, users will not be able to tell which one you are using. However, the type of server that stores your data is different depending on which plan you’re using.

In shared hosting, your website lives in a server that also hosts other websites. In dedicated hosting, your website is hosted on its own physical server. Both of these setups have their own pros and cons. These differences are critical to choosing your hosting plan.

Differences between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Hosting

Server Resources

In shared hosting, resources such as data, CPU time, memory, and disk space are usually limited. This is because other websites share the same server. In most cases, the host will charge you more or even penalize you if you exceed your disk space. When you get to that point, you will need an upgrade to the next plan.

With dedicated hosting, all the resources of the server are generally available should you need them. Since they are dedicated to your website, there’s no resource sharing. This means there are few if any limitations. If you reach your bandwidth limit, you only need to order more bandwidth.

Required Technical Skill

When it comes to shared hosting, you do not need to have specialized skills. This is because the host provider takes care of the maintenance, administration, and security.

In dedicated hosting, your organization needs to have staff with IT and webmaster skills. In other words, your staff will be responsible for setting up the server, installing software, administrating the server, and generally managing it.

Security

With shared hosting, the hosting provider is responsible for ensuring a safe and stable operating environment. This means that the task of setting up firewalls and other security measures lies with them. However, there’s a higher risk of exploitation by other users in shared hosting.

In dedicated hosting, the responsibility for ensuring the security of your dedicated server lies within your organization. This means you need to have a highly skilled IT team to ensure your server security is airtight and reliable. But since you will be able to control the programs that will be installed, the risk of exploitation is low.

Website Performance

When using shared hosting, performance can sometimes be low due to unexpected bursts of web traffic. This can happen when a neighbor suddenly gets popular. It usually leads to slow response and loading times.

Such a scenario is highly unlikely when using a dedicated server. This is because you won’t be sharing resources with anyone.

Cost

In shared hosting, several users usually share a single server. This means the overall cost of running and maintaining the server is divided among many users and makes it more affordable.

In dedicated hosting, your company alone will be responsible for the costs, making it more costly. On the other hand, dedicated hosting offers more flexibility.

Which is the best?

Should I Choose Shared or Dedicated Hosting?

Choosing between shared and dedicated hosting basically depends on your needs and resources. If you are expecting a lot of traffic and you have the technical staff, choose a dedicated server. But if you are just starting out, you can confidently choose shared hosting. Then you can scale up as your traffic grows.

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