Choosing a web hosting account can be complicated for the average person. Should you get a shared hosting account or a dedicated hosting account? Is one better than the other? If you don’t get dedicated hosting, is your site at risk?

If you don’t know much about hosting, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with the wrong account. For example, many web hosting companies advertise dedicated hosting in ways that make it seem like a necessity for everyone, but that’s not always the case. Not every web project needs dedicated hosting. Many websites are perfectly fine on shared hosting plans. If you’ve been looking for a hosting account and are wondering if you need dedicated hosting, here’s why you probably don’t.

Simple blogs almost never require dedicated hosting

If all you have is a simple, basic blog, there’s little chance that you need dedicated hosting. For bloggers, shared hosting is usually enough. If you’re just getting started, The Blog Starter has some good tips for building a blog and getting a good hosting account with a shared hosting provider. 

There are a number of reasons people choose dedicated hosting, but most factors don’t apply to bloggers:

·  They need more server resources. Typically, large businesses that generate a lot of traffic need more server resources, and their needs exceed what a shared hosting plan can provide. Most blogs won’t generate the high amount of traffic that makes dedicated hosting ideal.

·  They need better security. Since shared hosting plans put everyone on the same server, it’s possible that one hacked account can cause others to get hacked as well. When there’s a lot at stake, the consequences can be devastating to a business. However, a hacked blog is easy to restore, provided you have a backup.

·  They need a lot of disk space. Hard drive space on a shared server is limited because available space is finite and must be shared amongst a large number of accounts. Most bloggers won’t need more than their fair share of disk space, and a dedicated hosting account would not be worth the cost.

·  They need customizations. Dedicated hosting allows you to customize the server in ways you can’t do with shared hosting. For example, with root access, you can modify certain code and set server configurations to run special applications.

Simple websites don’t need dedicated hosting

Simple sites, like blogs running on WordPress, family sites, informative sites, and basic ecommerce websites don’t typically need dedicated hosting because these types of web projects don’t require a lot of server resources. Still, some people choose to get dedicated hosting to play it safe. However, that’s not cost-effective when you’re on a budget.

If you have a budget for web hosting, simple needs, and you’re undecided, start with shared hosting. Chances are, your site won’t need many resources to start, even if you will in the future. Shared hosting accounts can cost as little as $5 per month when you pay for a year or more up front, but they still only cost around $15 to $20 per month upon renewal.

Starting with shared hosting will give you time to learn your way around a web hosting environment, and time to learn how to set up email accounts, upload files, and create databases. There’s no sense in spending $100+ per month on a dedicated server before you actually need the resources. It will only be wasted money.

Be careful about buying into advertisements

There are advertisements for dedicated hosting everywhere you look. If you visit any hosting provider, chances are, they’ll show you an ad for dedicated hosting that will make you wonder if that’s what you should get. Before making a decision, get professional input. If you have a website developer, you should get their opinion on what type of hosting account you need. Your developer will know best because they’re the one building your website.

If you start with shared hosting, you can always switch to a dedicated server later when it’s needed. In fact, most hosting providers will upgrade you automatically and you won’t need to transfer your files. They’ll do everything for you on the back end. Usually, the only time you’ll need to handle transferring your website (or pay for the service) is when you’re transferring to a new hosting company. As long as you stay with the same provider, upgrading your account should be a breeze.

Dedicated hosting is great – but it’s not for everyone

To recap, although it’s more expensive, dedicated hosting has quite a few benefits for those who need more features and resources, like security, customizations, bandwidth, and disk space. However, if you have a simple website, you’re on a budget, and don’t need many resources, then shared hosting is the better option.