Last Updated on November 13, 2020 by Sunny Staff
Did you know WordPress powers more than 35% of websites worldwide? In fact, it’s the most popular content management system by far.
We can attribute this to WordPress’s flexibility, ease of use, countless features, and so on. However, you can’t guarantee the success of your site just by using WordPress.
You also have to think about web design, content, SEO, security, and hosting. For a start, let’s talk about dedicated WordPress hosting and how it can help you achieve your goals.
What is a Dedicated WordPress Hosting?
Dedicated WordPress hosting is “renting” a physical server for your site and your site alone. You’ll have full control of the server, and the only one using its resources. You don’t share it with anyone else, giving you security, power, and flexibility. It’s also designed and configured specifically for WordPress sites.
To better understand what it is, let’s take a brief look at the other types of hosting below.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the flipside of dedicated WordPress hosting – in short, with shared hosting, multiple websites are hosted on one server. Each website shares the resources of that server, including the RAM, CPU, and so on.
It’s great for entry-level websites without a huge need for resources. It’s also much cheaper, so you don’t have to pay for a dedicated server if you don’t need its benefits yet.
It’s also a good choice for beginners because it doesn’t have much room for customization. If you’re just getting started, you probably don’t know how to customize it anyway, right?
However, sharing the same server with other websites has a lot of disadvantages. One of which is that spikes in usage in other sites might slow down your website.
VPS Hosting
VPS (virtual private server) hosting is closer to dedicated hosting. It provides an environment that mimics a dedicated server, although you’ll still share the physical server with other websites.
Think of VPS hosting like renting a studio apartment in a building instead of renting a room in a house with a communal area. You get your own kitchen and bathroom, but you’re still sharing a building.
You’ll get more space and you have the resources all to yourself. You also have more control and flexibility. Still, you’ll be sharing with the other residents of the building.
Benefits of Dedicated WordPress Hosting
Dedicated WordPress hosting is more expensive than other options. So, what benefits does it offer that makes it worth the price? Check out if any of the benefits below are important to you.
1. Security
Dedicated hosting offers enhanced security because no one else but you have access. You ensure that you have full control of the physical access to the machine. It’s also easier to comply with HIPAA and PCI.
You don’t risk sharing the same space with malware websites and other malicious sites. Other sites in a shared server might not have proper security measures in place. This would also put your website at risk.
Furthermore, your dedicated server is also isolated from the hosting company’s services. Hosting companies have a separate secure data center for dedicated servers, too.
2. Resources
Like we said earlier, you won’t have to share your resources on a dedicated server. You get the full resources of a single server. You don’t have to worry about the other websites using up the server’s CPU and RAM.
Some other things can slow your website down at no fault of your own with a shared server. The other website might be running bad scripts, for example, or having a spike in bandwidth usage.
If you need more resources, it will be readily available to you. Even at peak times, you can still get peak performance.
3. Reliability
Server crashes are less likely on dedicated servers, as well. Data centers have many backup power sources so that the servers will keep running when the local power grids fail. They use various power sources to account for every possible power failure.
Furthermore, it’s up to you when to do your maintenance. Site downtimes are in your control. In shared servers, you can’t choose when the server will go down for maintenance.
4. Customization
With a dedicated server, you can always manage the system configurations according to your needs. You can customize the CPU, RAM, and storage space to your unique needs.
You can also load up the software you want to use, whereas you’re stuck with a shared server’s software. While this is helpful, it also limits you in what you can do. You might also get stuck with software you don’t even need at all.
You have root access to the server, so you have more control over the software and hardware. You can also monitor server usage because of this.
5. Scalability
In line with the above, you can also configure the resources to your needs. As your company and website grow, you’ll likely need more resources to keep everything running smoothly.
This isn’t always possible with other hosting options. That’s because you’re at the mercy of whatever resources a server has left for your website. You’ll have to share those with others.
Upgrading your server is easier than migrating to a new server when a shared server doesn’t cut it anymore. As such, you don’t have to take down your site for maintenance while you sort things out.
Get Managed Services with Your Dedicated Server
Dedicated WordPress hosting can provide your business with unlimited room to grow and the flexibility you need to get the most from your website. However, you’ll probably need experts to help manage it.
The good news is that dedicated WordPress hosting can come with managed services. If you’d like to find out how we can help unleash your website’s potential contact us today!
