When we consider creating an e-commerce, one of the biggest dilemmas is knowing what type of server we need: a dedicated or shared one?
The differences between the two are quite notable and it is really important to know the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
So we have prepared a small guide to make it easier for you to choose between a dedicated server and a shared one.
Hosting the website on the server.
In a shared hosting plan there are other pages hosted on the same server and in a dedicated server there are not.
Basically a dedicated server is a machine all to yourself.
Bandwidth and hard drive space.
In shared hosting, the amount of hard disk space and bandwidth is limited since there are more pages hosted on your same server. That is why if the space or bandwidth limit is exceeded, you will be charged an amount for it.
On the other hand, in a dedicated hosting the bandwidth is unlimited and the hard disk capacity is considerably greater and will be limited by the capacity of the hard disk you have installed.
Price.
The price of shared hosting is much lower than that of a dedicated server since the maintenance costs are divided among all the users of the hosting plans that have been hosted.
On the other hand, on a dedicated server the costs are for a single user.
Technical Knowledge.
With shared hosting you won't need a lot of technical skills, as maintenance and security are provided by the hosting provider itself. The same goes for dedicated servers, as long as they are managed by the service provider.
The latter is very important and that is why our recommendation is that if you do not have much knowledge of systems and need a dedicated server, hire a managed one.
Security.
This is a key point from our point of view. In a shared hosting plan, the risk of suffering malware attacks and similar is much higher than in a dedicated hosting plan. The reason is very simple: as there are more users sharing the same server, it is much more difficult to control possible security holes caused by CMS installations that are not updated, scripts, etc.
On the other hand, on a dedicated server, since you are the only administrator, you will be able to implement the security policies you need and monitor them with much less difficulty than on a shared hosting server.
Inclusion in SPAM lists.
On a shared server there is a higher risk of being blacklisted, since if another user of the server is spamming and is blacklisted, you will also be blacklisted by sharing the same IP address. On a dedicated server, unless you are the one spamming, you will not be blacklisted.
Server performance and response time.
In a shared hosting plan, performance is much lower than in a dedicated server, since when dividing the use of bandwidth, microprocessor, memory and hard drive with all users, the speed of the server will depend on the other hosting plans. In an e-commerce, response time and loading speed are vital.
On a dedicated server, however, the resources are 100% yours, allowing you to optimize loading times, stop unnecessary services, etc.
Level of control.
After what has been indicated in the previous points, it is very clear that the level of control on a dedicated server is total and much higher than that of a
shared hosting plan.
Ultimately, the type of server to hire will depend on the budget and, above all, on the type of e-commerce you are going to create. If it is going to be the core of the business activity, we recommend a managed dedicated server since you cannot depend on what other users do to have more or less resources on the machine.
Furthermore, if we need to connect our e-commerce with an external application such as an ERP or CRM, a dedicated server is necessary; with a shared server, the limitations would make the connection very difficult.
It is not necessary to start with high performance as usually all service providers allow scalability in performance at any time.
If you have any questions, please contact us. We are specialists in dedicated servers and hosting plans for Prestashop.
