Thinking of Migrating to Web Hosting? Check Out These Crucial Pointers

There comes a time when you might consider moving from a shared web host to dedicated web hosting, like when the shared host is already incapable of providing the bandwidth and uptime your website needs to run. This is often the case when your website has become successful and starts receiving a lot of traffic daily. Shared hosting means you are sharing resources and bandwidth with other websites who are in the same host. With a dedicated web host, you get all the resources and bandwidth to yourself. But, before you consider migrating to web hosting, make sure that you think these pointers through and determine what is best for you:

1. Performance – Some shared server hosting services may still be sufficient despite peak hours. This way, performance may not be so much of an issue. Otherwise, you will need to determine your website’s traffic levels, as this will be a factor in recognizing the potential benefits of migrating to dedicated web hosting.

Performance can be an issue when your content is heavy on images and other multimedia, like embedded videos and Flash, and if your website’s database is constantly busy. These factors will impact the traffic of your website. You should notice performance issues when your website starts slowing down and lengthy waiting times for pages to load. In some cases, visitors might see error messages from a database, too, or in worst cases, all pages cannot load due to an overloaded server. You can monitor the performance of your website by exploring error logs and by visiting your site during peak hours.

Once you decide that a dedicated web host is right for your business, make sure that it guarantees 99 percent server level uptime and that the provider supports your databases.

1. Security – Dedicated web hosting will provide more security for your website. If one of the websites in a shared web host gets hacked, your site could become compromised, too. Consider a dedicated server hosting service that is proven secure with the latest encryption technologies and that its security is updated at all times.
2. Server resources – Dedicated web hosting is often leased, but it comes with an entire PC package, which should have sufficient RAM and a fast CPU. Make sure you are given the chance to pick your server resources, so you can easily scale the dedicated server to your needs. And in case of an issue, make sure that the provider has a team of level-3 tech support specialists who are easy to contact.