Investing in a website is one of the best decisions you can make for your company. Where you host it is just as important as the site itself. If you are a newbie to website building it is recommended that you sign up for a shared hosting plan. However, if you start needing lots of additional space to do more with your website, it may be time to upgrade to a dedicated server.
Here are some other reasons why you may want to invest in dedicated server hosting include:
- You stream lots of videos and high-resolution photos on your site
- You need enhanced security for the type of business you transact on your site
- Your website’s requirements and needs have changed and you need more control and flexibility
- Your website has been experiencing more downtime because of shared hosting issues
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What is dedicated server hosting?
A dedicated server is a hosting option where a single business or customer uses a server. This allows you to do more while increasing your website’s speed and uptime.
You have full access to all the bandwidth, RAM and storage on the server. You are even able to control the configuration of the software.
Once you decide to go the designated server route, you’ll find that they normally use two main types of operating systems, Linux and Windows. The hosting platform you go with will use either one or the other. It is up to you to select the platform with the software language you speak.
Top things a Dedicated Server Hosting should offer
Here are a few factors you should look out for and consider during your search for a dedicated server hosting that best suit your needs.
- Bandwidth– strong bandwidth and RAM to deal with high traffic.
- Hardware/Security–secure up to date hardware, and operating system, updated monitoring tools for added security.
- Managed/Non-managed– whether you will manage your own configuration or pay a support team to do this for you.
- Uptime/Reliability– High uptime and availability of tech-savvy support team to assist with technical issues.
Benefits of dedicated server hosting
1. Improved Uptime
It’s important that your website experiences little to no downtime. Every second you are not online you are losing potential customers and revenue.
Dedicated servers facilitate high traffic volume, without affecting your website’s speed and uptime. What’s better is that most dedicated servers have a fail-safe to keep your site online even if there are server and software issue.
2. Improved Security
There are always cybercriminals lurking online. Protecting your website is a top priority. Dedicated servers come with the added bonus of higher security compared to other server configurations.
By sharing a server, it’s sometimes possible for your website to be affected by threats and attacks on other websites on the same server. Having a dedicated server removes this threat. The best webhosting providers will offer top of the line monitoring tool so you can track the progress of your site. You can also take advantage of mobile friendly SSL certificates for end to end website encryption for safer communication online.
3. Personal IP address
Each dedicated server comes with its own unique IP address. When you share a server, all the other websites on it share the same IP address. Plus, if one of the other websites you share an IP address with is spammed, causing it to lose rank, yours will too.
With dedicated hosting plans, you bypass that issue. You can enjoy 99.9 % uptime that will help boost your website’s reputation, increase traffic and improve your SEO ranking.
4. Quick and easy to customise & scale website
A dedicated server makes it possible to easily organise your storage and processing power specific to the needs of your website.
Our dedicated servers are up to date and have the latest Intel Xeon processors. Not only that, we are also housed in the UK’s fastest network.
A dedicated server is also flexible in the sense that it facilitates update and hosting solutions as both your needs and technology evolve.
What do you pay for when you use a dedicated server?
There are many benefits to using dedicated hosting, but it comes at a cost. Luckily, the price is dependent on your needs and so you can pay for just what your website requires.
Your selection of service provider, the amount of space and speed you require and the length of your contract will influence the final price.
Here are some factors that can affect the cost of your dedicated server.
Software license fees
Since you no longer operate in a shared environment, you are now responsible for your own software licenses. This price will vary depending on the operating system and the type of server used. Servers running Windows and other optional software like cPanel and SQL Server will come at a higher price.
Managed vs. unmanaged
Coming from a shared environment you may be used to never having to lift a finger for the day-to-day running of your site. This is because shared hosting servers manage the heavy lifting for you, doing updates, software configuration, monitoring and security fixes.
You can still enjoy this comfort if you go the route of a managed dedicated server plan. Normally, you can choose between managing your website yourself or pay the server provider to do this for you. It’s all up to you. Just bear in mind that choosing a managed dedicated server plan will cost more.
Support cost
Whether your dedicated server is managed or unmanaged you will need additional support. Will the service provider offer support on an inclusive basis or as an additional cost?
It may seem cheaper upfront to pay an additional cost (such as pay-per-ticket) however, this option may cost you more in the end.
We have no hidden charges. Our excellent dedicated server support team operates 24/7/365 and backs all our dedicated server plans.
Are you in the market for dedicated server hosting?
Have you outgrown shared hosting? Are you looking for greater customisation and increased security for your site? If you have answered yes to one or both of the questions, a dedicated hosting provider may be your best option.
Do your research and choose the plan and platform that’s right for you.
At hosting.co.uk our dedicated servers offer fast, high-quality performance. You can check out our plans to select the one that suits your budget, security needs, bandwidth and speed.
