Stop putting it off: Why you should upgrade to dedicated hosting
The key to delivering lightning-fast load times and exceptional user experiences lies in your web hosting infrastructure.
Shared hosting may suffice for small websites, but as your business grows, you’ll quickly outpace its capabilities. This can lead to missed opportunities and lower conversion rates.
The solution? Dedicated hosting.
In a world where 47% of consumers expect a webpage to load in under two seconds, high performance is paramount. Additionally, could you afford to lose 7% of your revenue?
Just a one-second delay in page response time can affect conversion rates.
In this article, we’ll explore why dedicated hosting is the smart choice for businesses seeking unparalleled performance, security, and scalability.
Key points
- Dedicated hosting ensures exclusive access to a physical server's resources, ensuring enhanced performance, security, and control for growing businesses.
- Upgrading to a dedicated server offers faster loading times, improved website speed, and the flexibility to scale resources as needed.
- Managed dedicated hosting services offer comprehensive support, including server management, security, and 24/7/365 technical assistance.
- Investing in a dedicated server allows your website to work harder for you, providing the foundation for success with unparalleled speed, security, and scalability.
What is dedicated hosting?
Dedicated hosting is a tool for regaining control of your business. A physical server is leased to a single client, meaning you have exclusive access to all of the server’s resources. These include CPU, RAM, and storage.
Unlike shared hosting, where multiple websites reside on the same server and compete for resources, dedicated hosting provides a completely isolated environment tailored to your specific needs. Think of shared hosting as having an apartment compared to dedicated hosting, which is like having an entire office building for yourself.
When you choose Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting, you gain full control over your server. You can customize server configurations, install any necessary software, optimize your setup, and choose your type of dedicated hosting.
This level of flexibility allows you to build a hosting environment that aligns with your website’s requirements, ensuring optimal speed, reliability, and security.
Why upgrade to a dedicated server
Upgrading to a dedicated server is the ideal solution for businesses that have grown beyond shared hosting. With exclusive access to server resources, you’ll experience enhanced performance, increased data security, and full control over your hosting environment.
Sharing resources with other websites often leads to slower speeds and potential security risks. With dedicated server hosting, you don't have to worry about this. Dedicated server hosting provides an entire server for your business. This allows you to install custom software and configure settings to optimize your website for peak performance and easily scale as your business grows.
Enhanced performance and speed
Website performance and speed are essential factors in delivering a positive user experience. Slow-loading websites can frustrate visitors, leading to high bounce rates and lost opportunities. Imagine an online retailer running a flash sale, and their website crashes due to a sudden surge in traffic.
Dedicated servers offer faster loading times and improved website performance with more processing power than shared hosting, as the server’s resources are exclusively allocated to your website.
For example, a gaming website or media company regularly publishing high-resolution images and videos benefits from a dedicated server’s enhanced performance and disk space. Dedicated resources enable handling large file sizes and high traffic volumes without compromising speed or user experience.
Increased security and privacy
Data breaches and cyberattacks often lead to large financial losses and damage to a company’s reputation. A 2024 report from the International Monetary Fund found that the cost of data breaches has quadrupled since 2017. You can reduce your vulnerabilities by outsourcing to a third-party data center such as Liquid Web.
With dedicated hosting, your website is hosted on a separate physical server, isolated from other websites. This gives you an extra layer of security.
For instance, with a dedicated server hosting option, a healthcare provider handling sensitive data can implement strict access controls, encrypt data, and ensure compliance with industry regulations such as HIPAA. This level of security and privacy is crucial in maintaining patient trust and avoiding costly data breaches.
Dedicated hosting companies like Liquid Web offer advanced security features, including firewalls, intrusion detection, and DDoS protection, to safeguard your website against potential threats. By investing in dedicated hosting, website owners can prioritize data security and privacy.
Full control and customization
This allows you to tailor your server to your specific business needs, optimizing its performance for your unique workload. Root access to your server gives you the option to install custom software, libraries, and applications that may not be available on shared hosting platforms.
For example, a software development company may require specific tools and frameworks to build and test their applications, like VMware. With a dedicated hosting server, they can easily install and configure these tools to streamline their development process.
Additionally, having full control over the server environment enables businesses to fine-tune performance settings, such as memory allocation and caching, to ensure optimal performance.
Scalability for growing businesses
As your business grows, your website will need to accommodate increasing traffic and resource demands. Dedicated servers allow you to easily scale your resources to meet these growing needs without experiencing downtime or performance issues. Dedicated hosting allows you to upgrade your server’s CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth as required, ensuring your website can handle random spikes in traffic or sustained growth over time.
For instance, an eCommerce business may experience a surge in traffic during the holiday season. With a dedicated server, they can quickly scale up their resources to house the increased demand, ensuring that their website remains fast and responsive for all customers. When the peak season ends, they can scale back down to control costs, making dedicated hosting a resource-intensive yet cost-effective solution for growing businesses.
Improved reliability and uptime
Website downtime is costly for your business, leading to lost sales, reduced productivity, and damage to brand reputation. With dedicated hosting, your website has more stable connectivity and is less prone to downtime and technical issues than in shared hosting environments.
Plus, because you’re not sharing resources with other websites, there’s less risk of your website being impacted by the actions of other users.
Dedicated hosting providers typically offer robust infrastructure and proactive monitoring to ensure high levels of uptime. For example, Liquid Web guarantees 100% network uptime in their SLA.
On-call tech team included: How managed services work
Managed hosting services provide a comprehensive solution for businesses outsourcing their IT needs, including server management, server security, and technical support. This means you don’t have to worry about having an in-house IT staff or dealing with server maintenance.
With Liquid Web’s managed cloud services, you can leave the complexities to the experts and focus on growing your business.
When you opt for managed dedicated hosting, your provider takes on the responsibility of maintaining, monitoring, and updating your server infrastructure. This includes 24/7/365 proactive monitoring, ensuring any potential problems are identified and resolved before they impact your website’s performance.
For example, if your website experiences a DDoS attack at 3 AM, Liquid Web’s managed services team will be there to mitigate the threat and keep your website up and running.
Or, if a new intern accidentally misconfigures your server settings, you can quickly get help from Liquid Web’s knowledgeable customer support team. They’ll work with you to resolve the issue and get your website back on track, minimizing downtime and ensuring a seamless customer experience.
With managed services, you get unfiltered access to Liquid Web’s experts, who are dedicated to keeping your website fast, secure, and reliable.
The 8 signs it’s time to get Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting
Are you tired of dealing with website downtime, slow loading speeds, and limited resources each time you send traffic? Do you find yourself worrying about your website’s security and reliability? If you’re experiencing any of these issues, you may want to consider dedicated hosting.
Here are the eight reasons why dedicated hosting is right for you:
Traffic spikes are causing downtime or slowdowns
Slowdowns and downtime can frustrate visitors and damage your brand’s reputation. When your business is growing and your website is attracting more attention, it’s crucial to have a hosting solution that can support the increased demand.
Liquid Web’s dedicated web hosting can accommodate high traffic volumes, ensuring that your website remains lightning-fast and responsive, even during peak times. With dedicated resources and expert support, you can confidently handle traffic spikes without worrying about the performance or availability of your website. Don’t let a successful marketing campaign or a viral post catch you off guard — invest in dedicated hosting to ensure your website is always ready.
Your business requires specialized software or custom configurations
Off-the-shelf hosting solutions may not always meet the unique needs of your business. Dedicated hosting can provide the flexibility and control you need if you require specialized software or custom configurations.
With Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting, you have full access to your server. You can install and configure the exact software stack your business requires.
For example, if you’re running a complex eCommerce platform or a custom-built application, you may need specific libraries, frameworks, or performance optimizations to ensure optimal functionality. Dedicated hosting gives you the freedom to tailor your server environment to your specific requirements without the limitations imposed by shared servers.
Downtime is becoming common
Every second of downtime can cost your business customers and revenue. Whether you’re running an eCommerce store, a SaaS application, or a business website, ensuring maximum uptime and reliability is crucial.
Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting is designed with uptime in mind, providing you with a stable and dependable platform for your online presence.
Plus, Liquid Web takes uptime a step further by offering a 100% network uptime guarantee backed by a proactive monitoring team that works around the clock to find and fix potential issues before they impact your website.
By minimizing costly downtime, you can focus on growing your business and providing a seamless experience for your customers.
You need to scale
As your business and website grow, it’s essential to have a hosting solution that expands with your needs. Shared hosting plans quickly fall short as your traffic and resource requirements increase.
With dedicated hosting, you have the flexibility to easily ramp up your resources as your business grows. Whether you need more CPU power, RAM, or storage, Liquid Web makes it simple to upgrade your server configuration.
This flexibility ensures that your hosting server can handle more traffic and complexity without sacrificing performance or reliability.
You need more tech help
Running a website can be complex. And when problems arise, you need a hosting provider that can get you back on track quickly. Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting comes with a team of premium professionals who are ready to assist you 24/7/365.
Whether you need help with server configuration, troubleshooting, performance optimization, or troubleshooting, our experts are just a phone call or chat away. With Liquid Web’s team of experts, you can zone in on your business initiatives while leaving the technical details to us, saving you time and reducing stress.
Low performance is damaging your search rankings
In search engine optimization, website speed is a critical factor. Faster loading times bolster user experience, contributing to higher search rankings. With Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting, your website benefits from the raw power and optimized server configuration tailored to your specific needs.
By delivering lightning-fast load times, your website can gain a competitive edge in search results. Investing in dedicated hosting can help you improve your search engine visibility and drive more success for your online business.
Costs are out of control
Managing an in-house IT infrastructure can be expensive, with costs ranging from hardware purchases to staffing and maintenance. You can reduce your IT costs and overhead without sacrificing performance or reliability by choosing Liquid Web's dedicated hosting.
With a dedicated server, you’ll benefit from a predictable monthly cost that includes all the hardware, software, and support you need. This streamlined approach to hosting allows you to allocate your resources better and invest in other areas of your business, such as marketing or product development.
You’re planning ahead for long-term solutions
As your business evolves, your hosting needs will change. Choosing a hosting provider that can support your long-term goals is essential to avoid costly and time-consuming migrations down the road. Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting is designed to be a scalable, long-term solution for your website.
You can future-proof your online presence with dedicated hosting from Liquid Web and build a stable, reliable foundation to support your business growth for years to come.
How to make your website work for you
Your website powers growth for your business by reaching new customers and converting leads.
So why choose dedicated hosting? You’re investing in a solution that empowers your website to work harder for you. With unparalleled performance, reliability, and support, Liquid Web’s dedicated hosting provides the foundation you need to succeed online.
Whether you’re trying to improve your search engine rankings, handle high traffic volumes, or streamline your IT costs, using dedicated servers from Liquid Web delivers the power and support you need. Take the initial step towards an optimized online presence — explore Liquid Web's dedicated hosting plans today.
Related Resources
Trending
Neil Golden
Neil contributed to solving the complex puzzle of evolution for a long time by obtaining his Ph.D. in Archaeology. These days, he digs the Linux servers in his role within the Liquid Web Monitoring Department instead of Paleolithic stone tools in the caves on archaeological sites. Instead of mammoths, he is now hunting for bugs on Linux servers. He has written numerous scientific and technical articles because writing is one of his biggest passions. In his free time, Neil composes music, reads novels, and travels the world.
Keep up to date with the latest Hosting news.