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Looking for Shared Hosting plan with a dedicated IP address, but not sure of the benefits? Read this post! It contains all of the necessary information that will help you understand more about why it is useful.
A shared hosting option is known to be the most budget-friendly way to get a site online. It is the second-fastest-growing segment of the web hosting industry with a growth rate of 10.4% in 2019.
Shared web hosting maintains several websites on a single physical server. The considerable interest in this type of hosting solution could be explained by the fact that the individual prices are kept low as there are a few users that contribute to the server maintenance costs.
Shared hosting is a suitable choice if you plan to set up a small to middle size site.
How to Choose Better Shared Hosting Plans
If you choose a shared web hosting plan for the build of your new website, your site data will be kept on a server that hosts the information of a few or other websites.
Each customer of a shared web hosting server has access to features like databases, disk space, monthly traffic, FTP accounts, email accounts and other add-ons depending on his personal plan.
The most common case scenario is that companies offer one shared IP address for all sites hosted on their shared hosting server platform.
Hence, when you purchase a shared hosting plan, your website will be associated with the IP address of the sever. The same goes for all other websites hosted on the same server.
Even though oftentimes, a shared hosting plan goes hand in hand with a shared IP address, you should know that this is not always the case. The information, whether a shared IP or a dedicated IP is included in a shared hosting plan, will probably be mentioned in the “features” description of the plan.
Reading this article means that you want to learn more about the role of a Dedicated IP address as well as more about its compatibility with a shared hosting plan.
Below you will understand what a Dedicated IP is and how its technical specifics reflect on the performance and the SEO of your website.
What is a Dedicated IP Address?
Let’s start with the basics. An IP address stands for Internet Protocol. It consists of four groups of digits or octets, which are separated by dots (Example: 94.155.64.729). This address is used to connect all websites on a server to the Internet.
An IP address identifies a device — a server or cluster of servers. A single server might host dozens, or hundreds, of websites just like in the case of shared hosting services.
The default IP address that you will receive as a customer of a shared hosting plan is usually a shared IP address. This address is the same for all websites that are hosted on the same physical machine as yours.
A significant disadvantage of a shared IP address is that the actions of the other sites can directly affect the performance of your website.
The term Dedicated IP address or also called Static IP can be understood literally. It is referred to a domain that has its own IP address.
To have a Dedicated IP for your WordPress site, for example, you should choose a hosting plan that features it or ask your hosting provider to assign it as an additional service. Prices of a static IP usually vary between $3 and $5 per month.
Why is a Dedicated IP Better?
Having a dedicated IP address for your website can be beneficial both in terms of security and liability:
- 1. A dedicated IP address prevents your site from being banned in case a server neighbor is caught trying to perform spam attacks or other forbidden actions.
2. Most of the hosting providers allow owners of Dedicated IP to set up a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) quickly.
The SSL certificate is a crucial factor for your website or business as it enables an encrypted connection and acknowledges that the connection to your website is secure.
Here we should mention that since SNI (server name identification) was developed, hosting providers have been able to use multiple SSL certificates on a single IP address. So if you have your own domain but still don’t have a dedicated IP you, can still use an SSL certificate. Have in mind that this technology runs smoothly on all modern browsers and servers, but older computers, including all that are running Windows XP, won’t be able to validate an SNI certificate. Both the client and the server should support SNI so that it works well.
- 3. It is a common belief expressed by some bloggers and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies that Google favors websites that have a Dedicated IP address.
4. A Dedicated IP address can prevent your website from being blacklisted because of detected suspicious/harmful activities performed by other websites that are hosted on the same server and share a single IP address.
Can a Dedicated IP be Purchased With a Shared Hosting Plan?
If most of the Dedicated, VPS and Cloud hosting plans come with a Dedicated IP as a standard feature, most Shared hosting plans offer it as an extra.
So, yes, you can upgrade your shared hosting plan with a Dedicated IP in exchange for a small monthly tax.
What we could advise you is to contact the support team of your current hosting provider and discuss your desire with them so that you can make a proper decision together.
Should You Add a Dedicated IP?
By Purchasing a Dedicated IP with your shared hosting plan, your guarantee that your site will be the only one on the Internet that will be using that unique IP address.
For example, if someone typed this IP address into his web browser, he would see your web site come up. However, this could not be considered as a significant advantage in cases when your website will target a small to a medium number of people, which is usually the case when someone uses a shared hosting plan. In general, not everyone needs a Dedicated IP for his website.
Consider the needs of your website, choose a reliable shared web hosting provider, and make the best decision about the IP address related to your domain with the help of a technical support member.