In technology savvy companies and accounting firms cloud hosting is really popular. If you are thinking about hosting a website or accounting software then both shared hosting and dedicated hosting are efficient in streamlining your business processes. Both of the plans assure that you are rendered best-in-class security, uptime, and round-the-clock access. But different users have different needs, and hence it is important to make the right choice. Accounting firms prefer to host Quickbooks and other accounting software on the cloud.
With QuickBooks hosting, you can access your QuickBooks software from a cloud server where all your data is stored. With the credentials, you can use the software and access the data remotely. For any business to be successful, a highly functional website is necessary. Cloud-based web hosting makes the business more accessible to its customers since many customers connect with a business through their website.
So you might have decided that you have to host software, website, or an application on the cloud, but have you decided whether to choose between a shared hosting plan or a dedicated hosting plan? The basic difference between dedicated hosting and shared hosting is that a shared hosting plan is used by multiple clients, whereas dedicated hosting is for a single client who can access the full-fledged cloud setup.
Let us dig a little deeper into dedicated hosting and shared hosting, to see what sets them apart.
A key difference between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Hosting
In a shared server there are other customer’s websites, apps or software hosted too. The root server access is with the server provider. You will get your own cPanel access but the amount of bandwidth, priority you are allotted is limited because it is a shared server and you need to pay extra if you surpass the allotted bandwidth. If you use a dedicated server you can adjust according to traffic spikes and miscellaneous performance stress. It increases security making it difficult to hack which is suitable for the large corporate accounts. Shared hosting is more cost-effective and dedicated hosting gives you full control over the server making it more scalable and secure.
What is Dedicated Hosting?
Dedicated hosting is a web hosting option where a physical server is solely dedicated to a business customer. The customer has complete control over the server. They can customize it according to their need for performance, control, stability, scalability, and security.
Dedicated servers are more expensive because the price is influenced by the number of resources that are provided like bandwidth, storage space, RAM, software packages. Some of the popular dedicated hosting providers are HostGator, GoDaddy Hosting, A2 Hosting, InMotion, etc.
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting is a hosting option where a single physical server hosts multiple user sites, apps, or accounting software. Each user gets access to a segment of the server and in that segment, their site, accounting software, or app is hosted. A shared server can host hundreds of different users.
Usually, you’ll have no knowledge of who you are sharing your server with and each customer has a limit on the total amount of server resources they can use but that will depend on which hosting package you choose. Some of the popular shared hosting providers are Bluehost, WPEngine, Hostinger, HostGator, Dreamhost, etc.
| Feature | Dedicated Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Cost | Relatively more expensive, as it provides an array of features, like better support, security. As only one website, app, or software is hosted on multiple servers, there is the benefit of exclusivity. | Relatively cheap when compared to dedicated hosting. Has a number of websites and software simultaneously hosted on the same server, hence bringing down the price for each user. |
| Number of Apps | For a dedicated hosting plan, the user enjoys the freedom to host as many apps or software as they wish for on the dedicated cloud setup curated specially for them. Thus it’s suitable for bigger businesses | When using a shared hosting plan, a user can host 1 software/app on the shared cloud environment. All this makes it more affable for smaller businesses. |
| Scalability | More room for scalability as compared to shared hosting. Easier to accommodate high growth with dedicated servers as there is no competition for resources. | The majority of the shared hosting plans are non-scalable. This means if there is a high fluctuation of traffic on a particular website, it might face lag or huge downtime. |
Comparison between shared hosting and dedicated hosting
Technical expertise of the staff:
If you are using shared hosting then your staff does not need technical knowledge. Maintenance, security, and administration is provided by the shared hosting provider. The cost of recruiting a whole IT team, managing your servers is cut off but if your business requires a dedicated server and you do not invest in that then disadvantages of choosing shared hosting will be visible in a few days.
Cost and pricing:
Pricing and tariffs are other areas where shared hosting paces ahead of dedicated hosting. Since a shared hosting plan has multiple clients using the same server, the prices are bound to be lower. It is the ideal choice for startups and small accounting firms with fewer customers. With it’s attractive and more economically viable pricing, shared hosting is what most businesses with a smaller budget go for.
Security:
Shared hosting servers are shared with other users as well, this provides the opportunity for security breach and if it is successful your team will not have the control to fight back. The experts of the hosting company do establish firewalls, server security applications, and other security programs. On a dedicated server, your IT team has full control over the server’s security, and since it is purely dedicated to your organization the chances of catching malware, spyware and other viruses are low. So in security dedicated hosting is the clear winner but if you are going for shared hosting then choose a reputable hosting company.
Scalability and Flexibility
When it comes to scalability and flexibility, dedicated hosting triumphs over shared hosting. Dedicated hosting plans are really flexible and scalable. They can be adjusted easily according to traffic influx, storage space requirement, user capacity, and in terms of several software being hosted. Now, we wouldn’t exactly say that shared hosting plans are non-scalable, but they sure do fall behind in this aspect.
Sure, even with shared hosting plans you get scalability, but it is not as flawless. The maximum flexibility that you get with shared hosting plans, is that you can have your HDD space and size of individual databases increased but you can’t upgrade the CPU power of the shared hosting solution, and neither can you increase the amount of RAM being used. This is because shared hosting is a pooled service and other clients are sharing the same server and cloud setup.
Performance and control:
If your business is expanding and traffic is getting huge then the server may finish up its bandwidth resources. This leads to slow response and loading time. It is not your fault but the customers may not understand that. If another website is getting high traffic then you may get stuck. This is very unlikely in a dedicated server which is why using dedicated servers lead to better performance.
Hosting QuickBooks on a dedicated server ensures optimal performance too as you do not have to share resources with other users. Most QuickBooks dedicated server providers offer you private servers with high-performance computing and multi-network connection, that provides fast access to QuickBooks data and software without any lag. You can decide which hosting option is best for you by analyzing the amount of speed, connectivity, resources, storage you want.
If your website is getting lots of traffic it may be better to think about buying a dedicated server. The same way if your firm is getting a lot of big clients it is smart to invest in a dedicated server. In shared hosting,, the hosting company controls the server and acts on your behalf while they do their best to provide reliable service. Many organizations prefer full control over the server because that provides custom options. Your organization can add programs, setup applications and scripts to suit your business needs.
Dedicated Hosting or Shared Hosting: which hosting option meets your needs?
This is where we draw towards the end of our comparison and to summarize it all, dedicated hosting and shared hosting are both good options based on your requirements. As when it comes to pricing, shared hosting takes a win being cheaper and more affordable. It is a perfect plan for those on a budget or for people who are just starting. But when we talk about server features, scalability, number of apps being hosted, overall seamlessness, speed, and performance, then dedicated hosting is the clear winner.
All the features packed into dedicated hosting make it an ideal choice for medium and large-sized businesses that need to host multiple apps and software. Medium and large businesses generally have IT teams that can manage dedicated servers. Shared hosting is for those who are dipping their toes into cloud hosting and have smaller requirements or just one app/software to host. Based on your needs and budget, we hope you can make an informed decision.
