Best Dedicated Hosting Services – Forbes Advisor UK

The benefits of a dedicated server may be worth the added cost, so you may not even need to read this section. If you’re on the fence and wondering whether it’s worth increasing your monthly cost tenfold, then you may want to keep reading to see what you’re getting with your own server.

Server uptime guarantee

You’ve likely seen web hosts boast 99.9% server uptime. That’s nearly 100%, so it has to be good, right? No server is going to be up 24/7. Web hosts have to perform maintenance, and so occasionally servers will be down. Hosts will tell you when the server will be down, and that downtime doesn’t count toward the guarantee.

However, if your server is down at any time other than the scheduled maintenance, you’re likely entitled to a portion of your monthly fee back. It’s a good idea to keep an uptime monitor running to either claim the money-back guarantee, or see whether it’s worth moving to another host (if there’s too much downtime). After all, if your server isn’t up, no one can visit your site(s).

Managed vs. unmanaged dedicated hosting

Most web hosts offer two options for a dedicated server: unmanaged or managed dedicated server hosting. A managed server costs more because the host maintains the server for you. According to GoDaddy, you can expect to pay around 50% more for managed dedicated server hosting compared to self-managed options.

So only choose an unmanaged server if you don’t mind doing the work. You’ll install a control panel, maintain security, apply patches and maintain updates yourself. Go with a managed server if you want the web host to handle security and maintenance for you—this is a better option if you’ve never performed server maintenance before.

What to know about HDD and SSD

A classic hard disk drive (HDD) is a mechanical hard drive on which you store files. It’s a far cheaper option for personal computers and servers alike.

However, a solid state drive (SSD) is faster, offers better overall performance and uses less energy and power. In fact, according to GoDaddy, NVMe SSDs offer speeds up to 25 times faster than HDDs.

So, it comes down to your needs. If you aren’t concerned about speed and want an affordable, large storage option, go with HDD. If price isn’t a concern and you don’t need as much storage, SSD is a better choice.