In reviewing web hosting plans, many web site owners are faced at some point with the decision of whether or not to pay for a dedicated server. A dedicated server is one which holds your site(s) exclusively. It’s not shared with other sites. You then have the option to put one site or many on that piece of hardware.

But the decision is never easy. There are multiple considerations to take into account, far beyond just the higher dollar outlay that inevitably accompanies a dedicated server option.

Performance is (or should be) a prime consideration for the majority of site owners. Studies show that when a page doesn’t load within about 10 seconds or less, almost everyone will give up and go elsewhere. The delay may be caused at any of a hundred different points in the chain between the server and the user. But often, it’s the server itself.

In any case, it’s important to eliminate the server as a possible bottleneck, since it’s one of the few points over which the site owner can exercise some control.

That need for control extends further than just performance, however. Other aspects of the user experience can benefit or suffer from server behavior. Security is a prime example. With the continuing prevalence of spam and viruses, a server can easily get infected. Having only your site(s) on a single server makes that issue much easier to deal with.

With fewer sites on a server, there is less likelihood of getting infected in the first place. Also, since you will place a higher value on security than many others, it’s easier to keep a dedicated server clean and your site well protected. You can use best practices in security to fortify your site. Having other sites on the server that you don’t control raises the odds that your efforts are for nothing.

One way your efforts can get watered down is through IP address sharing. Less sophisticated hosting services will often assign a single IP address to a single server and multiple sites. That means your site is sharing the same IP address with other domains. That leaves you vulnerable in several ways.

Virus or spam attacks may target a particular IP address. If you have the same one as another site, one that is more likely to attract hostile intentions, you suffer for and with someone else.

In other cases an IP address range is assigned to the server, with each site receiving its own address from within that range. Though better than the one IP:server scenario, this still presents a vulnerability. Many attacks try a range of IP addresses, not just a single one.

But even legitimate sources can give you trouble when you share an IP address or a range. If another site engages in behavior that gets it banned, you can suffer the same fate if they ban the address or range. If the miscreant that shares your server/IP address or range is himself a spammer for example, and gets blacklisted, you can inadvertently be banned along with him. Using a dedicated server can overcome that problem.

There’s a certain comfort level in knowing what is installed on the server you use, and knowing that you alone put it there. But a dedicated server option may require increased administration on your part. If you’re not prepared to deal with that, you may have to pay still more to have your dedicated server managed by someone else.

All these factors have to be weighed carefully when considering a dedicated server plan

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Here are some of the things that could guide you when selecting the right hosting company to run your website:

Data Center location :
This is the place where server web hosting company operates. If your web site visitors targeting area is in the same country as yours, I suggest that you select a web hosting company that put the local web server in the your country. However, if you want your site can be accessed easily from outside the country though, you can search for providers that provides web hosting servers that operate in the data center internationally.

Reputation and Reference :
Whether the web hosting company has good reputation for its ‘uptime’. Web hosting company that has a good reputation, surely has list of satisfied customers and this web hosting company usually do not mind if customers ask for a reference from the satisfied customers. If the web hosting company refused to provide a reference, you should search for web hosting companies that want to show them a list of customers satisfied with the services provided. This is because the web hosting is not just business, but also a partnership. You have to trust the web hosting company before selecting a place for your website.

Web Application Server Support :
Please check whether your server web hosting company meet the needs of your web site applications. Make sure that the web hosting company’s servers run Windows, if you build an application that is intended to function in the Windows server. The same also applies if you want to use Linux-based servers, namely the Apache Web server.

Back Up :
Check whether the hosting company provides backup protection incase the potential loss of web site datas. Having your datas backed up will be more safe for your sites so if anything happens with your sites, you could upload the latest backup than have to recreate your site from the beginning.

Technical Support :
Whether the support is available 24 hours(such as support via email or phone).

Facilities Control Panel :
To make it easier to manage your web hosting account (such as ftp change password, add email accounts, change the quota for an email account, etc.), you could visit Plesk (www. parallels. com), Ensim (www.ensim.com) and cPanel (www.cpanel.net) to examine the benefits or features offered by each compared with the control panel for your hosting management.

Price Range :
make sure you select a web hosting company that offers a reasonable price for services that were promised.

Here are some webhosting companies which offers great deals for their services :

BlueHost
HostGator
HostMonster
Lunarpages

By : Melina

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