When comparing hosting plans, you may come across the terms “shared servers” and “dedicated servers.” If you do not know what these terms mean, it may be difficult to choose the best hosting package. Shared servers are servers that host many websites at the same time. These servers are connected to the Internet, making it possible for your customers to access your website. Even though each server hosts many websites, the websites are kept separate from each other on different partitions. Dedicated servers are servers that host only one site at a time in most cases. If you are just starting your website, shared servers are an affordable option. If you need more information about shared hosting please feel free to contact our support team.
Benefits of Shared Hosting
Shared hosting has several benefits, especially for small companies and companies that are just getting started in the world of online business. One of the biggest benefits is that shared hosting reduces the cost of owning a website. Instead of one company paying for all of the space on a dedicated server, each website owner pays for some of the space on a shared server. It is very common to get a full-featured shared hosting plan for less than $10 per month.
Another benefit of shared hosting is that someone from the hosting company takes over the administration of the server and related equipment. For someone who has little server knowledge, this is an excellent way to reap the benefits of having a website without having to spend time on server maintenance or deal with server issues. The good news is that you can take advantage of these benefits without having to sacrifice the exciting features offered by a Minneapolis Web hosting company like ours. You can still access your website builder, administrative panel, and other tools, but you do not have to worry about high costs and equipment maintenance.
IP-Based Hosting vs. Name-Based Hosting
There are two different types of shared hosting available. The first is IP-based virtual hosting, which is when a Web server is configured with multiple network interfaces. This makes it possible for each virtual host to have a different IP address. One of the benefits of using this type of shared hosting is that each site is able to use its own SSL certificate when there is a dedicated IP address. Without a dedicated IP address, a site must use a shared SSL certificate.
Name-based virtual hosting is when the virtual hosts serve multiple sites on a single machine. All of the sites have a single IP address. There are some drawbacks to this type of shared hosting. One of the major disadvantages is that name-based hosting does not support the use of HTTPS for secure websites. Because they share the same SSL certificate, there are some security issues associated with this type of hosting. One of the security issues is that a user may unknowingly grant file access to unauthorized users. When a website with a dedicated IP is not working properly, it is possible to contact the system using that IP address. This is not possible when multiple sites have the same IP address.
Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers are servers that host only one website. These servers are ideal for large companies that receive a great deal of website traffic each day. The major benefit of a dedicated server is that it eliminates the need to share disk space and bandwidth with other websites. However, a dedicated server is much more expensive than a shared server. Additionally, using a dedicated server places a lot of demands on the website administrator. If you run into a problem, you may have to spend many hours fixing it.
If you have a small business website with few photos, videos, and audio files, you probably do not need a dedicated server. If you are not sure what type of hosting plan you need, contact us today to discuss your options. One of our experienced technicians will be happy to talk with you about your Minneapolis Web hosting needs.