What is the Best Dedicated Hosting for your Website?

In the hosting world, there’s three main levels of hosting:

Shared – shared hosting has many users on one server – ie. you are sharing server resources (space and bandwidth) with other users. The cost per user is inexpensive, but generally the performance and reliability of the server suffer as a result. You may also be more vulnerable to hacker attacks and spam.

VPS – a VPS, or Virtual Private Server, is a dedicated chunk of a server. You are allocated your own set of resources. VPS hosting is much more reliable than shared hosting, but is also more expensive.

Dedicated – With a dedicated hosting solution, you are given your own server. These are by far the most reliable hosting solutions, but it also requires some experience on the side of the user – as you will literally be managing your own server. It’s for this reason that many dedicated server users look for a managed solution – where the hosting company actually manages and monitors the server for you. Dedicated hosting solutions are typically for large traffic sites, or for web developers who host a large number of websites and want to be in full control of hosting resources.

Who is the Best Dedicated Hosting Provider?

These days, just about everyone offers a dedicated hosting solution. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best. Far from it. You could yourself buy a server and hook it up in your garage. That doesn’t mean you’re a) going to know how to operate it, b) know how to effectively manage it, or c) be able to provide the necessary backup solutions in event that your server goes down.

Selecting a Dedicated Host

The key to finding a good dedicated hosting provider is to use someone that:

• Specializes in dedicated hosting. Don’t pick a domain registration or website company that offers dedicated servers on the side, or as part of their overall offering. There’s a reason domain name companies are successful selling domains – that’s where they allocate their resources, and that’s how their company is structured. If you choose a hosting provider that is not specialized or focused on hosting as a service, you’ll typically pay for it in lack of customer service as well as poor server performance.
• Offers live, 24/7, U.S. based support – you want someone on the continent that speaks your own language and has a dedicated support staff on hand 24/7 to assist you with your needs. The last thing you want is to buy a dedicated server from a company that doesn’t work on weekends, or outsources all their phone support to another country.
• Offers a managed solution – running your own server is as difficult as it sounds. Unless you’re an experienced Linux or Windows user with server experience, you’ll most likely want your dedicated hosting provider to manage and monitor your server for you.

Alright, so you’re probably thinking – we must have someone in mind that fits the bill, correct? After so many years in web development, we have hosted with many companies. But there’s only a few that stand above the rest in terms of reliability and performance, and only one really that outshines the pack in terms of dedicated customer service and support. We are both happy clients of theirs, and now, because we’re such fans of their service, proud partners.

WRYW Editor’s Pick for Dedicated Hosting

Our award for best dedicated hosting provider goes to Rackspace. Visit them and request your free consultation today. You’ll get a one on one phone conversation with a real human being that will work with you or your organization to get you setup with a hosting solution that meets your needs. They are known for their fanatical support – as you’ll see written all over their website and in many customer reviews across the internet. If you’re looking for a solid dedicated hosting solution, look no further than Rackspace.

What Does Rackspace Offer?

• The Fanatical Support Promise™ – our commitment to you. And it’s not an empty promise with nothing behind it. It’s actually part of our Master Service Agreement.
• Hosting With No Worries – unlike colocation hosting and other low-end hosting providers, Rackspace immediately reduces the strain on your IT people by taking on the day-to-day burdens of constantly and fully managing a web environment.
• Very Live, 24x7x365 Support – we don’t mean one person manning the desks at 2:00AM. It’s teams of experts working at any time on any day.
• Your Very Own Dedicated Team – you will know your dedicated Rackspace Support Team and, they’ll know you. More importantly, the team is built around your needs, not ours.
• Experts by Any Definition – hundreds of certified experts, consistent industry awards and recognition and strong technology partnerships.
• 100% Network Uptime Guarantee – our Zero-Downtime Network™ guarantees you get nothing less than 100% Network Uptime. We’re so confident in our guarantee that we didn’t have to fill it with loopholes.
• 1-Hour Hardware Replacement Guarantee – sooner or later hardware will break. When it breaks at Rackspace, it’s usually fixed before you even know something is wrong.

Share Your Dedicated Hosting Experience

If you’re already a dedicated hosting customer, feel free to post below with your experience and share it with our community members.