Dedicated Hosting: When is it Necessary?

Dedicated hosting entails your website has its own server all to itself. It provides enormous power and flexibility, but at a high cost. As a result, it's critical to do your homework before purchasing this type of plan. 

As you may be aware, shared hosting places your website on a server alongside other users. This option is adequate for personal blogs or very small businesses. However, it is not the best option in terms of performance, and you lose flexibility because you cannot configure things yourself (since you have to share with others).

A virtual private server, on the other hand, gives your site its own space, separate from other sites, while still sharing a server. Because your site is isolated from other users, its performance should be more consistent. You also have a little more leeway in terms of how your server is configured.

If you need the most power for your money, however, dedicated hosting is the best option. However, as you might expect, the downside is cost, which can reach three figures per month in some cases. Fortunately, by the time your website requires one to handle traffic, it may be well worth the investment.

When Dedicated Server Becomes A Necessity

1. your website needs to be able to handle increased traffic

If you anticipate that your website will grow rapidly, it may be a good idea to invest in a dedicated server now. When your traffic spikes, for example, if your site is still using shared hosting, its performance may suffer significantly. Higher bounce rates and revenue loss can result from this. Allow yourself enough time to migrate your site and settle its performance before any potential problems arise.

According to FXBlog, your website should be prepared to handle traffic spikes of up to 30 times your normal daily volume to account for promotions and special events. If you are not prepared, your site may crash or provide a poor user experience.

2. Security Concerns for Your Website

Security is critical for all websites, but especially those that handle sensitive information. This could include sensitive customer information, credit card numbers, or confidential emails. It is critical to safeguard this information and your website against viruses, hacks, and other threats.

With a dedicated server, you have complete control over the security of your website. This means you can tailor the features you require to meet the specific needs of your website and stored files. Of course, you're also in charge of how these features are implemented, but that's one of the advantages of flexibility.

Some hosts, however, provide fully-managed and semi-managed maintenance plans. In a nutshell, you can frequently specify what you and your host will be responsible for, which means you can entrust mission-critical functionality to an expert while handling all other concerns directly.

3. You Value Having Control Over Your Server.

The final reason you might prefer a dedicated server over other options is simple: control. We've mentioned it in previous sections, but dedicated hosting gives you complete control over how you use your server.

You can, for example, select your preferred server software. You have the option to prefer NGINX's resource control over Apache's. You can also change the hardware specifications and install your own operating system (OS). As a result, dedicated hosting may be an appealing option for advanced web developers and those with unique and specific needs.

4. You want your page loading times to be as quick as possible.

Page loading times can have a significant impact on almost every aspect of your website. Slow pages can result in low engagement and high bounce rates. A dedicated server can assist you in optimizing this aspect of your website to the greatest extent possible.

On a shared server, you won't know when the server's resources are being used elsewhere, which could cause your site to load slowly. Choosing a dedicated server ensures that you have the bandwidth you require to improve your page loading times.

Some Dedicated Server Hosting Providers

Rank	Web Host	Setup Time	Disk Space	Expert Rating
1	InterServer	8 minutes	250 GB - 12 TB SSD	★★★★★ 4.8	Get started on Interserver Now
2	Bluehost	6 minutes	500 GB - 1 TB	★★★★★ 4.8	Get started on Bluehost Now
3	Hostwinds	6 minutes	120 GB SSD - 12 TB HDD	★★★★★ 4.7	Get started on Hostwinds Now
4	HostGator	6 minutes	512 GB SSD - 2 TB HDD	★★★★★ 4.6	Get started on Hostgator Now

Bottomline

If your website is having difficulty keeping up with increased traffic, it may be time to migrate it to a dedicated server. This is essentially a server that only hosts your site, and it can not only improve the performance of your site, but it can also improve page loading times and help you optimize security.