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I came across some really interesting articles debating on the subject of web hosting. This may have always been a dilemma for many people especially those non IT-savvy ones. So, I decided to share some of the points which I find important for you to know before deciding if you would just pick a package from some web hosting company or get your own server and set it up in your office or home
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Factors
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By Hosting Company
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Self-Hosting
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Cost
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Using a shared web hosting is the most cost effective option because you only need to pay a very small fee either monthly or yearly for the space you use. This is because web hosting companies are hosting multiple sites on the same server and you are sharing with all of these sites.
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Self hosting is more expensive because you would have to buy all the hardware and software that will be used in your own server.
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Technical Knowledge
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For a non technical person, it is best to have your server hosted by someone else. Web hosting companies offers you technical support if you face any problems leaving you hassle-free and worry-free.
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If you are a technical person and have had experience in setting up a web server, then you will not have problems setting up the server
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Maintenance and Upkeep
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Web hosting companies will also be in charge of maintenance and upkeep of your server. Basically, you do not need to know anything to continue having your server around.
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You will need to handle your own maintenance and upkeep of the server from time to time.
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Flexibility
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You do not have the flexibility to expand your website without expanding the package or allocated resources you were given.
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You can easily expand your website and you can even use your web server to host other web application you may have in the future.
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Time
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All you need to do is seek for a package and sign up with the hosting company. This will only take minutes of your time and some companies provide you assistance in uploading your site to the server with a fee.
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From setting up to maintenance, having your own web server really takes up a lot of your time.
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Space
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You will need to select and sign up a package to use a shared web server. This package will usually limit your data space and usage. Most of the time you don't get the full space that they offer in your package. Thus, you do not have the flexibility to use as much space as you want unless you upgrade to another package and with a fee of course.
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You own the server, all the space in the server is basically yours. You are free to use as much as you want without limitation.
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In summary, share web hosting or dedicated web server has its pros and cons. What is important is what you need and how much you have for your budget. Be really careful when selecting the packages or web hosting companies, go through a few of them and make the necessary comparison.
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