Why Internet Businesses Must Use a Dedicated Server

For those that have a small web page for personal reasons, or have a very small business for which they need a very small website, a shared server might be all that’s needed. While these servers can be a greater first step for those new to the world of servers, and for small businesses that don’t have a lot of room in their budget, these can be a good option; but for medium-sized and large businesses – or an Internet business of any kind – dedicated servers are the only viable option.

When you choose a dedicated server, that server and everything on it, is completely yours. You don’t share storage space with anyone, and no other websites are hosted from that server. That’s important for business owners to know, because it also means that you’re not sharing bandwidth with anyone else. The amount of bandwidth you have available on your server refers to how much data you have on your server, and how fast that data can be sent out over the server.

When one person visits your webpage, they use a certain amount of that bandwidth in order to download the page. If they’re the only person looking at your page, they will only use a small amount of the total bandwidth available, which will typically be quite a bit. Because of that, their viewing experience will be a pleasant one and your webpage will download quickly for them.

However, nearly all businesses have more than one person visiting their website at one time. And as each new person visits the page, more bandwidth is used. As that bandwidth continues to get used by the visitors the page, it starts to slow down as it’s being downloaded by those visitors. If the server does not have enough bandwidth and suddenly gets an influx of visitors, it will shut down completely.

This is why it’s so important for online business owners to make sure that they are running their site from a dedicated server, no matter how big or small their business. Internet businesses rely solely on people visiting their website on a constant basis, and too many people at the same time – and bandwidth that’s not equipped to handle it – can lead to the entire business being shut down just due to a simple webpage crash.

Bandwidth, and its capabilities, can be seen by business owners as a highway. The more you have, the bigger your highway, and the better your customers are able to get to you. And when you own all of that bandwidth, you own the entire highway; and the only people on it are coming to see you and your business.

Shared servers have their place in the hosting world, but they’re not for businesses. And even small business owners who started out with a shared server have found that as the Internet grows every day, a dedicated server is the only option for their business.