If you currently run or are planning to start up a website that deals in ecommerce, or runs any kind of service, you may want to think about your hosting requirements.

You will probably be expecting a great deal of traffic and you will want to make sure that your customers have a great online experience of your business, so perhaps you should consider using a dedicated server.

What is a dedicated server?

Normally when you buy hosting from a company, you use a shared server, which you share with other webmasters. You will each have a certain amount of bandwidth and disk space, as specified when you sign up for hosting.

The problem with this is that if you are expecting a lot of traffic, your visitors may experience delays and your site may have difficulty loading with extreme traffic. In these cases it is wise to invest in a dedicated server. This means that you do not have to share the server with anyone else. It is just for your website.

This has a number of advantages:

1. Security

Since no one else is sharing your web space, a dedicated server is far more secure. If you are trading in large amounts each day this kind of extreme security can be vital to protect you and your customers.

2. Storage

Of course you will have much more space. You can have far more images, videos and all sorts of other features.

3. Bandwidth

The bandwidth is all yours, so traffic coming to your site will have no problems accessing your site at full speed.

4. Control

Your own server means more control. There are no other webmasters to worry about, so you have many more control options.

5. Software

The possibilities for using various scripts and software are endless with your own dedicated server.

6. Speed

You will find that a large site with many features will load very quickly, as the server is all yours, so no other websites are loading from it.

Are there any disadvantages of using a dedicated server?

I expect you have already guessed what the big con in all this is. The cost. Yup, a dedicated server is a lot more expensive than regular hosting options. (You also need a lot of knowledge to secure and maintain a server. -red.)

I suppose you just need to think of the large difference it will make to your site. After all one security slip up and your ecommerce site could suffer far bigger losses than the cost of a dedicated server.

Is it time for me to upgrade to a dedicated server?

You will know when it is time for you to think about this option, when you begin to approach the limit of your current hosting option.

If you only have a basic hosting plan it may be possible for you to simply upgrade to deluxe and meet your needs, but if you already have the top package a dedicated server may be what you need. It is also an important consideration if your company deals with secure information, such as credit card details.