Knowledgebase Web Hosting

Do I Need a Shared or Dedicated Server?

The overwhelming majority of web sites that you find online are hosted on shared servers. There are indeed benefits to hosting your web site on a dedicated server, as will be explained below, but for most people the significant jump in cost does not justify such a decision.

What's the Difference Between a Shared Server and a Dedicated Server?
The difference between a shared server and a dedicated server is that in the case of a dedicated web server, your web site has its own server where all of your web files and databases are stored. With a shared server on the other hand, you share server space with other web sites; sometimes it can be a few hundred web sites or even a few thousand, depending on the hosting company you choose. More reliable web hosts will keep the number of web sites on each shared server to a reasonable minimum, so that your site's load time isn't adversely affected. Before choosing a web host, it is a good idea to find out from the host exactly how many sites you will be sharing a server with.

In the diagrams below, look at the dedicated server setup (right) verse the shared server structure (left), where multiple sites are hosted on the same device:

To better understand the difference between shared and dedicated servers, think of the computer you're using right now. Are only your files stored on it, or do you share the computer's space with other members of your family or co-workers? It would be less economical for your family to have a different computer dedicated to each family member, unless a certain member of your family was using a very large portion of the computer's resources. In that case, the family member in question may need his or her own computer that is dedicated entirely to them. This is also true in the case of web servers. A web site that demands a large portion of the server's resources is less disruptive on its own dedicated web server, while a less demanding web site will function fine on a shared web server setup.

Which Should I Choose, a Shared or a Dedicated Server?
Unless cost is not (and will never be) a factor in your decision, when starting a web site it is usually best to store your site on a shared server at a reliable hosting company. We host this web site on a shared server at HostRocket.com, who has provided reliable hosting for several of CTF Media's web sites for more than five years. Paying five to fifteen dollars a month for a shared server (instead of $90+ for a dedicated setup) will give you time to affordably design and optimize your web site. Keep in mind that you can always upgrade later if you outgrow your memory space and bandwidth, which are usually quite considerable. When signing up for shared hosting, be sure to sign up for a dedicated IP address, as explained below.

Do I need a Dedicated IP Address on a Shared Server?
An IP address is a unique address given to each computer, including web servers. Dedicated servers usually have a single dedicated IP address unique to the server device (unless you're a reseller). Shared servers however, often share a single IP address across multiple web sites on the server. This can lead to many problems since search engines often identify web sites by each site's IP address. For example, let's say that you share server space with JoesCrackHaven.com and Google decides to ban JoesCrackHaven.com from its search engine (Joe could have been spamming the engine or doing something else that Google prohibits). Google will ban JoesCrackHaven by the web site's IP address, not by the site's URL (domain name). Unfortunately, since you share the same server IP address with Joe's site, your web site will be banned from Google as well, because the search engines ban by IP address, not by URL. In that case, when signing up for a shared server, be sure to choose a hosting company that allows you to have a dedicated IP address, which can cost an additional few bucks but is highly advised.