If you're looking for a web hosting company for your website, the first decision you need to make is if you are going to get a dedicated server or a shared hosting plan. A shared host is a much easier option and usually provides enough resources for the average website, but there are situations where a dedicated server is necessary. Be sure to evaluate your intentions before making your decision.
The first aspect you must consider is pricing and how much money you plan to generate with your website. Shared hosting plans can be purchased for extremely cheap ($5-$30 a month) and dedicated servers can cost anywhere from $60-$500 a month or more depending on your exact needs. Most start or websites utilize a cheap and efficient shared hosting plan when they start up and if they manage to surpass the hosting plans limits, they upgrade to a dedicated server.
But price shouldn't be the only deciding point. Changing servers later on can be a huge hassle which can result in the loss of traffic, links, server downtime, and mass confusion. Sometimes it is better off getting a dedicated server from the get-go which will save hassles later on. But if you decide to take this route, you better have a great website plan which should include monetization methods which will cover the cost of the server.
If you decide to go for a shared hosting plan, I would suggest to find one that offers Cpanel, supports a large amount of monthly bandwidth, and has a good support team. The last thing you want is your website to be down and have no customer service to attend to it. There are many great options for shared hosting plans and they are usually set up pretty fast.
However, with a dedicated server you have much more leniency and control. But you are usually responsible for managing your own dedicated server unless you sign into a managed dedicated plan. When you first get your dedicated server, you will need to go through several steps to secure and customize your settings. Although most server platforms are pretty secure out-of-the-box, it is still good practice to install a firewall, disable form-mail, specify your catchall e-mail address, update all services to the latest version such as Apache and Cpanel, as well as set strong passwords.
If you are unfamiliar with securing a server, there are many guides available that will teach you the basics. But don't be surprised when you hit roadblocks and hidden problems on your pursuit. Every dedicated server is bombarded with dictionary e-mail attacks and brute force attacks which can ultimately result in your server being hacked.
It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with server set up even if you choose to go with a shared hosting plan because if your website ever grows to the size where a dedicated server is needed, you will need to cross that bridge either way.
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