Dedicated Server Usage
Continues to Rise
July 22, 2006
Ecommerce Gets Serious
The highly-competitive web hosting industry has seen an increase in the use of dedicated servers, in large part because competition for customers continues to drive down hosting costs. In addition, web hosts have had to increase their service offerings, providing more for less just to stay competitive.
The other reason dedicated server usage continues on the upswing is because of the phenomenal growth of the web as marketplace. During a recent telephone interview, Stephanie Rosendahl, CEO of the Austin-based hosting firm, Website Source, said, “Even start-ups are turning to dedicated hosting in anticipation of business growth in their very near future”.
Of course, this works to the advantage of consumers of hosting services who benefit from this heated, hosting price war. But what are the real advantages of a dedicated server and are they for everyone? Even at bargain basement monthly rates?
What are the advantages of a dedicated server?
Monthly hosting fees for a dedicated server are higher than those for shared hosting in which several websites share a server hard drive. So, if cost is the single-most important factor in deciding whether to go with a shared or dedicated server, go with shared. It costs less.
If cost isn’t the primary consideration, then consider the advantages of using a dedicated server to manage your websites.
Privacy
One server, one hard drive and you. That means you only upload those applications and tools you need. You’ll never have to cope with overloaded hard drives or conflicting applications. You are separate and distinct from all the rest.
Serviceability
You have direct access to your site any time, day or night. You can change the look, add content and handle customer care in real time, as in now! You can configure your server to your business specifications and needs, adding or deleting features to improve the visitor’s on-site experience.
You can also deliver immediate responses to customer inquiries and address customer concerns and complaints instantly, something not always possible with many shared hosting packages.
If you want to be in charge, if you want instant access to your clients, you’ll appreciate the benefits of a dedicated server.
On-Line Functionality
Important for businesses like site design companies, SEOs and other on-line service providers. A dedicated server enables you to access your clients’ web sites and update them, redesign them, reconfigure or create new features – right from the comfort of your office.
Yes, you may spend a few dollars more for that dedicated server, but you’ll earn a lot more by being able to do more and deliver more on-line services. You’ll actually generate positive cash flow from the additional outlay for dedicated hosting.
Faster service, increased productivity at lower per-project costs. That’ll grow your business. Big time.
Enhanced Reliability
“You’re always up with a dedicated server,” web host CEO Rosendahl stated.
That means you’re not twiddling your thumbs while the web host techs unclog your shared server after some newbie uploaded one too many bad lines of code. It can happen and when it does, you’re out of business. No sales. No online presence.
And if that’s not bad enough, if you happen to get spidered during the two hours of downtime, you’re going to get slammed in PR.
Who Should Have Dedicated Hosting & Who Shouldn’t?
If you’re not computer and ecommerce savvy, going it alone is probably not the way to go. Too many variables, too many opportunities for mistakes and, when you’re running an online business, you can’t afford mistakes. They cost money.
But if you have an idea of what you’re doing and you understand the basic functions of ecommerce apps like osCommerce and Apache, consider going dedicated – even if you’re just starting up. Starting with everything you need makes growing your business easier than adding a patch or app here and there down the road.
If you’re planning a commercial site – selling products – a dedicated server is the only way to go. Oh sure, you can start with shared hosting, but your digital foundation is much more solid with your own server. Issues of data security disappear. No fears of cross-server contamination, overflow or attack. You’re in your own little “building.”
If your site is heavy with data-dense content – Flash animations, sound files, lots of video clips – a dedicated server is almost a must. With shared hosting, you share bandwidth with other businesses on the same server so, if everybody’s doing business at the same time (the usual practice) those downloads may really dog, gumming up the works.
90% of web users will sit through a 10-second download. Only 10% will sit through a 30-second download. So, you’re likely to see lots of visitor traffic that won’t stick around for the show.
With dedicated service, downloads are accomplished at jet-propelled speeds so the eyeballs that show up will stick around to see that cool Flash animation on your home page.
Also consider dedicated hosting if you plan on storing a lot of personal information – yours and that of your clients or customers. Most good web hosts provide lots of server-side security – from custom-designed hardware to self-healing security software. All necessary.
But with a dedicated server, you’ve added another layer of security and seriously mitigated XSS (cross site scripting) intrusions or attacks from competitor sites. It’s a nasty, virtual world out there. A black hat competitor can hack your site and leave toxic data that will get you creamed the next time your site is indexed.
While a dedicated sever can’t stop this entirely, at least it puts you in control of your server security. You can install software to defend against XSS and not have to worry if your neighbor, sharing the same hard drive, is equally well-protected.
Crunch the Numbers
If you already use a shared hosting plan, develop some useful site metrics to see if it’s time to move up to a dedicated server for your business. For example, if visitors are leaving after five seconds, maybe it’s that long download problem, solved with your own server.
If you’re getting lots of traffic but your conversion rate is low, maybe customers are having difficulty with a slow checkout due to the sometimes-limited bandwidth of a shared hosting account.
Then, do the math. How many customers did you lose when your site was down? How many potential buyers left frustrated – never to return, BTW – because the checkout was too slow? How many split, tired of watching that slow, blue ribbon crawl as your 10- minute, introductory video downloads?
Sure, you’ll pay a little more for a dedicated server, but not as much as you once did. And you’ll get a big box of goodies – apps and tools – if you go with the right host.
So, shop around. Compare costs and features between different hosting companies. It’s a consumers’ market. If you’ve been waiting to kick off your digital dream, now’s the time to move.
Copyright 2006 © Website Source, Inc.
back to top
