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In today’s digital world, your website is often the first impression customers have of your brand. But a great website is only as good as the hosting plan behind it. Choosing the right hosting plan can feel overwhelming with all the options out there. It can feel like hosting providers are speaking a different language. At ISOCNET, we’re here to simplify the process by helping you align your hosting choice with what best fits your needs.
What is Web Hosting?
Let’s start by clarifying what web hosting is. Web hosting is when your website files stored on a server (very large computer) often in a Data Center (a place just meant to run servers at their optimal performance always available on the Internet) that run 24x7x365 so anyone can get to your website from anywhere, anytime. Not all “webhosting” packages fit all websites. Some need more than others.
Types of Web Hosting
Shared Web Hosting
Shared web hosting is where most websites live. Many websites are small, brochure websites that do not get consistent heavy traffic. They use a portion of a server, because the website files are not very big and do not require a lot of resources. Shared Web Servers are still connected to a very big server. If 100 sites on the server are only getting 1,000 visitors a day, the sites can perform very well.
Dedicated Web Hosting
Dedicated web hosting can be delivered in different ways. Very few websites require dedicated equipment. However, in some cases, business owners may decide to own their equipment their website runs on or have a dedicated server to run on. While it does require more technical expertise and management, it can also provide more security enhancements and resources.
In today’s world, most systems are virtualized. In a virtual hosting environment, you put a bunch of server resources together, to be divided up in virtual servers. You get everything a dedicated server does, but you can change resources with the click of a button. You get better uptime, because a virtual environment is smart and evenly distributes and moves virtual servers around within the environment for optimal performance and uptime. The reboot and restore process is also lighting fast compared to a physical dedicated server.
Factors to Choosing the Right Hosting Plan
To pick the right web hosting, you need to understand how many visitors are coming to your website, what they are doing on your website, and the technology your website is created on.
Traffic: How many people are coming to your website?
The more people that come to your website, the more resources you may need and possibly faster Internet speeds. The more people visiting your website, the files must be downloaded or interacted with from that server. One thousand visitors a month, compared to thousands of visitors per day, will have an impact on the needed resources.
Most users have experienced trying to download a large file and it slows everything down! For a web hosting server, the more files it is trying to push out at one time, the more resources it may use. Therefore, it is important to understand your traffic to make sure your site has the right resources to perform.
Just because you have a busy site doesn’t mean you have to have a bigger web host, but it can play a vital role.
Functionality: What are people doing on your website?
The functionality of your website can play an impactful role in the type of hosting you need. If a visitor is just looking at web pages, downloading PDF’s and filling out forms, your website is likely to do great on a shared web hosting platform and not need a lot of resources. If your website has a lot of functionality and customizations, it will most likely need more resources, and a dedicated virtual server may be the answer. For instance, websites that do a lot of video streaming, or are interactive, where you can create your own designs will require more resources.
AI is being used more and more, whether it be a chat bot or another form of functionality. AI processes through a ton of information (data) to then process a response. That type of functionality will require a lot of resources and often a dedicated environment. Particularly one that uses a lot of processing power.
The more functionality, coupled with the amount of traffic you have, will call for more resources = dedicated environments (virtual or physical)
Technology: What is your website built using?
There are a growing number of technology stacks and language websites can be built in. Some stacks may require a dedicated server just to run. Not all technology stacks can be run in a shared environment. It is also important to communicate with your web host what the website is built on.
WordPress is the most widely used website platform or content management system today. There are unique settings and platforms that will do better for a WordPress site compared to a .NET site. Things like caching and compression can go a long way.
| SCENARIO | SHARED HOSTING | DEDICATED HOSTING |
| Website Traffic | – Low to moderate traffic – Less than 1,000 visitors a day |
– High traffic – Thousands of visitors a day |
| Functionality | – Simple websites – Viewing pages, downloading PDFs, filling out forms |
– Advanced functionalities – Video streaming, interactive features (e.g., creating designs), AI-driven tools |
| Technology Stack | – Basic technology requirements – Platforms like WordPress with standard settings |
– Complex or unique technology stacks – Platforms like .NET or custom frameworks that need specific configurations |
| Resource Needs | – Minimal resources – Suitable for shared environments |
– High resource demand – Requires dedicated virtual or physical environments |
Hosting isn’t just for websites!
ISOCNET helps with hosting your business line of application to help your business thrive from anywhere, with the locality and security of our data center!
