Dedicated servers are internet-connected computers used only by one client. They allow you full control of the server hardware and software. As your website expands to fit your growing business, you may find that a dedicated server is your best web hosting option.
The ability to configure your website environment anyway that works best for you is a chief benefit to having your own exclusive server. It’s also more stable and secure, as any problems with other sites don’t affect you. A dedicated server is more expensive than affordable alternatives like shared hosting, and requires some technical know-how. However, it’s the best way to provide a unique, secure hosting environment.
With internet sales growing, the need for robust ecommerce hosting is growing. Many traditionally brick-and-mortar retailers recognize the potential of selling online. A good hosting provider can help both small business entrepreneurs and established retail chains transition all or part of their business to an effective online solution.
A well-managed ecommerce site can support sales 24/7 and handle multiple concurrent visitors from all over the world. For optimal revenue, your ecommerce site needs to establish a bespoke solution that sets your business apart from a growing wave of competition. Your web hosting solution also needs to provide performance and security to build confidence in your customers and grow sales.
There are a few factors that will provide the best ecommerce solution compared to other types of website.
Uptime is critical, as every moment that your site is inaccessible could be driving away sales prospects. A reliable host can provide 99.9% uptimes. Hosting companies with a good technical support team will help you to quickly work through any issues that arise. You’ll need full support for your choice of software and features, including online shopping carts, customer reward programs, and third-party payment processors.
Capacity and stability should be the primary concern when developing your ecommerce platform.
Dedicated server hosting means you have sole use and complete control of your own physical internet server, right down to the root systems. You can configure the provided hardware for the best results and install any type of software that you want to use. However, managing your own server does require some technical expertise to be sure you aren’t disrupting your own online business.
Dedicated hosting is the most costly option because you have total control over an expensive server that’s owned by the hosting company. In return, you can install and customise your own complex applications and change hardware and software settings to get the best performance. You can also install any security features or utilities that will benefit your customers.
There are typically a range of servers available from a reliable host, so you can choose the CPU, RAM, OS, and disk storage capacity that will satisfy your business needs. You may want additional ports, UPS power backups, or hardware RAID for data redundancy. A dedicated server can also be used to host multiple websites for organising a range of business functions or related interests.
Among the factors that should influence you choice in a dedicated server hosting plan include a secure data centre, a high-bandwidth network, customer support options, and the latest hardware. You should also look for either managed or unmanaged hosting depending on your technology skillset. With managed hosting, the provider will set up and administer the hardware and software solutions that you select so you can focus on business development.
Growing ecommerce sites may need to store hundreds of images and data on a wide range of products. You might also need to store customer and prospect information, order histories, shipping and inventory information, loyalty programs, complex applications, and growing databases. This can amount to many gigabytes of data, so exclusive use of a large server hard drive allows your site room to expand without any data storage restrictions.
A stable network connection helps you to provide the best possible user experience (UX) to your website visitors. A dedicated server can handle large traffic volumes without interruption of services. Slow page or image loading, or even erratic performance for features like messaging or interactive elements will spoil the UX. This can drive away your visitors to competitor sites. By providing for smooth data flows directly to the host network, a dedicated server ensures the consistently quality experiences that your visitors expect.
Your dedicated server will usually be located in one of your hosting company’s data centres. A quality host will provide security both for your physical server and the data centre network. The server environment can be monitored both with software and surveillance cameras, intruder detection alerts, and routine checks by server engineers. A premier host will also give you options such as SSL certificates for automatic encryption, spam filtering, and more. A dedicated server provides the best protection against cyber attacks so that your financial and customer data is protected.
Though more expensive than limited hosting plans, hosting on a dedicated server can still be a cost-effective solution. It spares your company the expense of buying your own physical server and leasing high-bandwidth network connections. It also saves money over time on hardware maintenance and IT engineers. A stable, secure, and professionally managed environment also helps to avoid disasters like data breaches or malware that can be very damaging to your and your customers, and even ruin your business.
A dedicated server gives you the opportunity to create a unique website experience from the ground up. By choosing your own operating system and applications, you can create a user experience that competitor sites can’t imitate. You can also change and reconfigure it at any time you wish to further optimize the look and performance of your website and stay ahead of your rivals. The ability to make your own adjustments enables you to adapt easily to new technologies and consumer trends.
With dedicated server hosting, you can create any website environment you want. You can change various settings to optimise your website performance, database usage, or security. Provided you can gain the right knowledge and experience, you can create a high-performance solution that offers your customers the best possible user experience and engagement with channels like social media. This will boost conversion of visitors to buyers and continue driving up your sales revenue.
A website on a dedicated server becomes a completely separate environment. The right configurations operating through your host’s well-maintained network ensure that you’ll get maximum uptime and dependable performance. Greater reliability also means more uptime for increased profitability. When prospects and customers recognise that they can rely on your site for availability, speed, and responsive performance, they’ll have greater trust in your company and be more likely to purchase from you. You’ll also find that more of them become repeat customers.
Unlike shared or even VPS hosting, no other hosted clients can access or affect a dedicated physical server. You don’t have to worry about someone eating up your bandwidth with their traffic spikes or introducing a virus to your server. Nobody else’s files or apps will take up space on your hard drive or impact your processor. Your host may also provide additional features such as data backups, service level agreements, or options to customise or upgrade your hardware, such as opting for fast solid state drives instead of traditional spinning disks.
Choosing a dedicated server to host your ecommerce sites gives the most secure. flexible, and stable platform so your website can do what it’s meant to do: satisfy customers and boost revenue.
For any growing ecommerce business, the answer is yes. If you business model depends upon generating revenue through online sales, you’ll want to switch to dedicated hosting at some point to leverage its many advantages and grow your business even faster. Though it may cost you more, you won’t have the limitations of shared hosting or the need to constantly upgrade. You can do whatever you like with your server.
Only your own exclusive server can provide you the full control required to develop a unique custom internet presence. You can manage, change, and discover your best options for server configurations, hardware resources, and a unique set of software features and utilities. Dedicated server hosting will ensure you have complete freedom to customise and adapt your ecommerce website to evolving business strategies and changing consumer demands.
The stability, security, flexibility, and performance of an independent physical server will also help you to avoid many of the online issues you get with basic hosting that has other client sites competing for the same resources. High uptimes and a satisfying user experience will keep your customers coming back for more.
The dedicated hosting plans from UKHost4u provide everything a busy ecommerce business needs to improve its online visibility. We provide four different dedicated server solutions to scale to your needs. Each allows you full control and a stable environment within our UK data centres to ensure a guaranteed 99.9% uptime. You can choose your operating system, utilise remote-access KVM tools, upgrade your support plans, and take advantage of a low six-month starting rate. Our highly trained UK-based support teams can help you completely customise your own ecommerce solution.
To find learn about the wide range of options in our dedicated hosting plans, contact us at 0330 088 5790 or +44.131 541 23 28 or email sales@ukhost4u.com.
