Three common server types would include shared, dedicated, and cloud-based servers. Here we explain the differences between each one.

Your website requires a server to be visible online. This is like a plot of land on which your website sits, a foundation to support it to stay online and be functional. Three of the main types of servers are explained below. Each have their own traits and merits which separate them from the other. Your website designer will be able to tell you what server suits your website best. Here at Ireland Website design, we can look after the server-side of things for you so that once your website is designed, it is ready to go live straight away.

Shared Server

As the name suggests, a shared server sees your website on the same plot of land as other websites. Think of this like a housing estate – each website is like a house lined up beside another house. This is an efficient use of space and probably the most common type of server. The downside to this is that the shared aspect can affect your website. If one website goes down for whatever reason, there is a very strong possibility that your website will also go down as a knock-on effect. Think of this as a power outage in a housing estate because all of the houses are on the same electrical grid.

Dedicated Server

With a dedicated server, your website has an entire server to itself. Think of this like a countryside house on its own spacious piece of land. With this, your website is unaffected by any other websites and is entirely self-contained. Therefore it is a self-maintained space with more breathing room to function. Dedicated servers can sometimes work out more expensive because of these traits, but the trade-off results in a server that is independent and unaffected by outages or speed lag caused by websites on a shared server.

Cloud-Based Server

A newer type of server, the cloud-based server hosts your website completely online and in the cloud and does not rely on any physical hardware for serving purposes. Keeping in line with the modern paperless office theme, cloud-based servers find favor with businesses who like to keep soft copies as opposed to hard copies in general. Cloud-based servers work by leasing space to you to host your website and they include both shared and dedicated server options. Your website designer should be able to consult you as to how much space you need if choosing this cloud-based option.

The expert web design and web development team here at Ireland Website Design can guide you through what is the best server option for your modern and responsive business website. We can organize and implement all of this for you so that your website goes live in one easy and smooth transaction.