It might be hard to believe in today’s environment, but not long ago launching a website on the internet was a tricky proposition. Domain registration, navigating technologies with obscure acronyms like FTP, DNS, and HTML, and locating space on a network attached computer with ample bandwidth were tasks that seemed to be the province of hardcore techno-geeks, both frustrating and discouraging for the typical business. Today the opposite is true. With choices that range from simple websites that can be created with a few mouse clicks to complex, multi-server applications, there are so many options that it’s become confusing for totally different reasons. The good news is that almost all flavors of web site hosting boil down to two basic categories- shared and dedicated.
Simply put, shared hosting involves multiple customers using the same resource pool, while dedicated hosting resources are limited to individual customers. This can be easier to understand by comparing hosting to retail sales approaches. At one end of the scale is shared hosting. This is similar to renting a table at the local flea market. The cost of entry and commitment level is very low. Vendors share infrastructure resources like parking and utilities. For people that are selling a product they make at home, weekend antique dealers, and folks looking to make a little money on the side, this can be a fine solution. For people building a more traditional, established business, it’s not such a good fit.
Without disparaging retailers at the other end of the scale, there are certain requirements that come to mind when we think of a “legitimate” business, and a physical location is at the top of the list. This accomplishes many things, but most importantly it builds customer confidence, establishes credibility, and it gives the business the ability to fully manage the customer experience.
Consider again the example of the rented table at the flea market. One week you may have a neighbor that is selling rap CDs and blasting their wares out of a boom box. Another week you may have a family garage sale at the table across the aisle, with a gaggle of screaming children driving away potential customers. A third week you have to deal with traffic and no parking thanks to an afternoon concert event. This lack of control is a terrible obstacle to building business and revenue.
Shared hosting has many of the same downsides. Shared hosting involves putting multiple customers a single server, creating a very low cost of entry, but opening the door to resource shortages if a particular user has a spike in traffic. For someone running a site for personal reasons, this isn’t much of an issue. For a business that depends on their website for revenue, it’s intolerable.
Dedicated hosting is akin to putting your website or network application in its own building. Resources are set aside for the use of one client, and one client only. The activities of a neighboring website have zero impact on performance and availability. There are dedicated server and dedicated virtual server options to suit every need and every budget, from simple brochure sites to complex applications. A dedicated hosting solution gives you power, performance, and flexibility, reaping significant economy of scale advantages without the cost of trying to do it in house. If your company website is effectively relegated to a rented table at the flea market, it’s time to consider dedicated hosting.
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