When creating a new eCommerce website, one of the first choices you need to make is choosing the best hosting for your business.
Shared hosting servers are often used for small websites or businesses. Still, if you expect your website to grow or have a lot of traffic, you need a hosting solution that offers more flexibility, security, and performance.
This is where dedicated servers come in. This guide will explain what a dedicated server is and the benefits of using a dedicated server.
What Is Dedicated Server Hosting
A dedicated server gives your website its own individual server, meaning you don't have to share resources with other sites or applications. This allows websites with high traffic demands to provide a consistent and reliable user experience, even during large traffic spikes. You also have full control over the server's configurations, like software and security.
Dedicated servers play an important role in the daily operation of your company, allowing it to run smoothly and efficiently.
How Do Dedicated Servers Hosting Work
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When you rent a dedicated server, it is kept in the hosting provider's data center and connected to the internet through the host's network infrastructure. The host also provides power and backup power through batteries and generators.
As the customer, you lease the machine and have access to the data center's resources like internet bandwidth, electricity, air conditioning, and physical protection. You control who can access the server, which ports are open, what services it runs, what programming environments are allowed, and what happens in case of problems.
A dedicated server is a good option if you have some technical knowledge and can manage and configure the server yourself or have someone in your business responsible for managing IT infrastructure.
How Dedicated Hosting Enhances Your eCommerce Site
1. You Have 100% Control Over Your Server
With a dedicated server, you have full control over the configuration, such as the software installed, user accounts created, services, ports, language, resources allocated to different programs or directories and defenses against potential attacks.
You can also monitor everything on the server, such as network activity, server load, and memory usage. This level of direct monitoring allows for better troubleshooting compared to other types of hosting.
Additionally, if you have multiple websites, you can bring them all under one dedicated server, giving you the resources you need to keep multiple high-performing websites.
2. Get Greater Security For Sensitive Customer Data
If your business deals with sensitive information, such as customer data and credit card numbers, a dedicated server can help you improve your website's security.
With a dedicated server, you have your own Internet Protocol (IP) address and the ability to create customized security measures for your website's specific needs. Your team can:
- Set up or improve firewalls.
- Use the anti-virus and malware program of your choice.
- Implement an intrusion detection system (IDS).
- Develop a tailored disaster recovery plan.
- Restrict administrator access.
- Ensure data is protected with encryption when stored.
- Encourage users to have strong passwords and regularly update them.
3. Improved Speed and Load Times
Speed and responsiveness are important for search engine ranking. If your website is slow because other websites on a shared server are using too many resources or if other websites on the same server use unethical practices, your website may be penalized and ranks lower in search results.
Also, the faster your website loads, the more conversions you will get and the slower your website loads, the fewer conversions you will get. Website speed is very important for conversion rates, as shown by the following statistics:
- Each additional second of load time causes a 7% decrease in conversions.
- A one-second delay in response time results in 11% fewer page views.
- 40% of shoppers leave a website that takes more than three seconds to load.
- 46% of people who leave an online shopping cart say that slow website speed is the reason.
A dedicated server is a good choice if you want a high-performing website. It will give you the bandwidth you need to improve page loading times. It’ll allow you to add custom features to your website, such as video streaming, MP3s, and animations, without long loading times
4. More Customization
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You have complete control over the hosting environment when you rent, colocate, or run a dedicated server in-house. You can customize the hardware to fit your specific needs.
It can be used for various things, such as emails, app backends, media storage, content management, gaming, and dev ops. And because you have complete control over it, you can even use it for multiple things simultaneously. A dedicated server can be a versatile tool for all your networked computing needs.
5. Can Handle High Traffic Volumes
With shared server hosting, a sudden increase in traffic can cause poor website performance, crashes, high bounce rates and lost revenue due to limited bandwidth. A dedicated server ensures you're prepared for traffic spikes, which can give you an advantage over your competition.
6. Focus on Sales, Not Server Management
With a dedicated server, you can leave the technical details to the server provider, freeing up your time to focus on sales and marketing. It takes care of server maintenance tasks for you, such as keeping your system secure, managing traffic, and updating software. This frees up your time to focus on building your business, growing your customer base, and increasing sales.
Key Takeaways
If your website is having trouble handling an increase in traffic, it might be time to move it to a dedicated server.
As a quick recap, here are some reasons you should consider getting a dedicated server:
- Get hosting so you have full control over the server.
- You can ensure better security for sensitive customer information.
- Your website loads faster.
- You have more options for customization.
- Can handle high traffic.
- You can focus on growing your business rather than managing the server.
With a dedicated server, you can provide your customers with a reliable and consistent user experience, which is crucial for the success of your eCommerce business.
