Confused about the different types of servers and hosting plans? You are not alone. Every week we get calls from site owners who are unsure if the server their website is hosted on is best suited for their needs and what other options they have.

We could write several books about each types of servers, their pros and cos. Today we will keep simple since this post is dedicated to non-IT website owners.

=1= Basically there are two types of servers a standard website would be hosted on (think of it as a parking space for your website/car).

– Linux

– Windows

=2= At Business Website Center, we tend to favor Linux servers as we found them to be stronger and more flexible. In general, a Windows server would use a website written in ASP while a Linux server would be for a website using PHP. We feel (like many other webmasters) that PHP is a far greater form of coding. Yahoo!, Google, Wikipedia, etc… all use PHP so maybe there is truth if what we are saying. We recommend our customers to host on a Linux server unless they need to use ASP coding on their site.

=3= Most websites are just fine on an economy package and a shared server. A shared server means there are several websites hosted on the same server. Everybody has their own private folder. Every site is fully separated and secured. These types of hosting requires no maintenance on the part of the site owner since the hosting company or your webmaster would handle this part for you. Every 2 to 3 years, your server would need to be upgraded by your hosting company to keep up with new Internet requirements.

=4= If you own a very large website or using some type of platform that requires lots of space and gigabits, then you would need a dedicated server. This is when everything gets complicated. You would need a webmaster who knows how to install a server operating system, server applications and much more. At times, it might even require an IT company to service your server.

Dedicated servers can be very expensive. Their monthly payments range from $100 to hundreds of dollars per month if it requires heavy maintenance and management.

Nowadays there are VPS which stands for Virtual Private Server. It is the new affordable way to have a dedicated server.

Here is a good example of who might need this type of dedicated server:

We are currently building a high end shopping cart for a client with lots of fabulous functions. They have a POS in their store (point of sale system), an accounting system and a shipping software which require them to use a Magento shopping cart platform. Magento due to its “needs” must be hosted on a dedicated server. A shared plan cannot give it the space and speed it needs to work at full capacity. We chose a VPS for them, create the server environment which will be able to grow with them.

As you can see, there are options. Your selection of the best server for your site is an important discussion which you should have with an educated webmaster or IT consultant who handles websites (not just office IT set-up… different skill set).

If you have questions, feel free to contact us at
(707) 794-9999 (Pacific Standard Time). We are happy to help you with your hosting needs.