Reap the benefits of an individual server for your site

Enjoy total control over your site specifications

Choosing a web hosting plan can be overwhelming if you don’t know the space. There are so many different options at different price points with different technical outlines, it can be difficult to tell what your business website needs. While smaller plans like shared hosting and even virtual private servers (VPS) have their benefits, but if you’re looking for the total control offered by a premium plan, that means you want a dedicated server. This is just what it sounds like: the entire server is dedicated to hosting and running your website, and nobody else’s. When it comes to dedicated hosting plans, it’s hard to beat the service and support of Liquid Web.

Aren’t all hosting plans dedicated to my site?

The answer is both yes and no. Shared hosting plans, and even a VPS, both have you sharing a server with other websites. You’re generally guaranteed a certain allocation of the resources like storage and bandwidth, and there are solid “partitions” in a sense to keep your site separate from your server-mates. A VPS has even stronger partitions, allowing more protection and fine-tuned control over your slice of the physical server. But at the end of the day, the site still lives on a shared server with other websites. Hosting providers like Liquid Web can’t feasibly give you control over the whole thing when other sites are involved.

Dedicated servers take away the risks from other sites

With a dedicated server, the server’s entire purpose is to host your website. Shared hosting comes with some inherent risks. If a site on the server is attacked or breached, even though it’s not your site, you’ll still suffer the lack of resources as the bandwidth is hogged by the bad actors. And if the attack did make it through to the server, your site would be at risk too since it lives in the same space. Hosting providers have sturdy security, especially Liquid Web, and they work hard to prevent this from happening. But the risk (though small) is still there.

Dedicated servers remove that whole component of security. You don’t have to bear that seed of worry about the security of everybody else on your server. If your site is secure, it makes that much more of a bulwark against bad actors. And if you are targeted, you have the entire server’s resources at your disposal to blunt the attack.

A dedicated plan gives you total control

Beyond the peace of mind from improved security, a dedicated server gives you more granular control over the entire machine’s settings and resources. Liquid Web can’t give you control over a shared server, but with a dedicated plan, you’re paying for the whole thing. With their expert support, you can set up rules and allocations to match your business needs as they grow and change over time. If you’re expecting a surge of traffic from a Black Friday sale for instance, there’s not much anyone can do for you on a shared hosting plan. But if you have a dedicated server from Liquid Web, they can work with you to ensure your site is set up for success.

The same goes for security protocols, not just on your site but on the server as well. The exact specifications will change on a per-site basis, but you can set up safeguards in case of attack beyond what a shared hosting plan can offer, and Liquid Web is available around the clock to combat any attacks in the worst case scenario.

Which plan to choose?

The main benefit of a shared hosting plan is the savings in the price. An entire server to yourself can be expensive, and the main benefit of a shared hosting plan is that you share that cost along with the server resources. You only have to pay for your specific allocations, and a VPS is similar though slightly more expensive due to the other benefits it comes with. For some businesses, like those that are smaller or who don’t handle any sensitive data, a shared hosting plan of some kind may make sense.

But for bigger companies with a lot of traffic, or those that need to deal with sensitive data, the price tag of a dedicated hosting plan is certainly worth it. You’re in charge of the entire server, and can allocate resources on a sales day or security breach protocols with exact specifications. Plus, you totally avoid the inherent security risks of sharing a server with other websites.

Get help migrating today

When it comes to premium service, it’s hard to beat Liquid Web and their dedicated hosting plans. Their support is always available, and they’ve been in the business long enough to know the best practices in the hosting industry, from security to performance and beyond. When Mr. WPress clients come to us for help, we’re always delighted. But if you’re already paying for the top-of-the-line customer support from your hosting provider, we’ll direct you there first to get free support (that’s how confident we are in them!). We’ll be here to help build the website, and with extraordinary circumstances, but you can rest easy knowing Liquid Web will be there to keep your site running 24/7.

Need help migrating to a new plan on Liquid Web? Don’t hesitate to explore the options on their site, and reach out to us or them with any questions on the process or which plan to choose.