When you think of a domain name, you cannot ignore IP address as it is a backbone for accessing the internet. Every domain name works on the IP address, which works as an actual address. Instead of considering a long number (192.168.92.3), we are generally familiar with the domain name (www.mydomain.com). If we extend our talk about an IP address, there are two options – shared and dedicated IP address. Let us check them individually.
Shared IP Address:
Shared IP address is used for host multiple websites on a single server, where hundreds of different websites will share on a single IP address instead of having a unique IP for each domain. The action taken by a single website owner can also affect other websites. For example, if the IP address is blacklisted for spamming, the other websites mail services will also be interrupted.
The downside is that some countries have banned Shared IP address, so your client will not see your website if the censored website and your server are the same. If the shared IP address is banned, the mail linked to this address will also not work.
Dedicated IP Address:
The dedicated IP address is solely dedicated to each website connected with the internet. It allows each website to be hosted on its own IP address means it is a unique IP address assigned to your domain name. Upon typing dedicated IP address in the browser, it redirects users to website domain name.
You can view your website via its own IP address. During domain propagation time, you can access your accounts via FTP or web. Your website will have faster response during heavy traffic load. Large website or e-commerce website use the dedicated address. A dedicated address allows you to use an SSL certificate on the web and hosting account. A website that handles payment processing independently and not via third party payment process, it should have dedicated IP address. To get more speed, the dedicated address is an ideal choice because the traffic flows to the particular IP will be less compared to shared IP address.
Benefits of Having Dedicated IP Address to Your Website
There are ample of benefits using a dedicated address compared to shared address, few of them are listed as below.
Program/script requirement:
When you run a script or program on your site, it usually takes minimum 10 minutes. If your website is hosted on shared address, it may probably end up within 10 minutes while, in a case of dedicated address, the process can run more than 10 minutes or till the script does not use server’s memory. Even if your email program is sending frequent emails per minute and taking more than 10 minutes for sending emails, then you obviously need a dedicated IP address.
Higher Stability:
Dedicated address controls reputation of your website and won’t be influenced by other user’s action, whereas in shared address, your website too considered as a malicious if the IP address is banned due to spamming activity done by any user. In that case, you will have to suffer and the website will remain down in search engine results as well can be damaging your brand reputation and loss of business.
Less Downtime:
Domain name refers to the server and dedicated IP address allows accessing the server without changing the DNS setting. Even when your IP address is refreshed, there is a risk of downtime for a short time from the server while in dedicated address; you will get rid of such unwanted downtime. Due to sharing feature, websites consume server’s memory, so few users could face slow time in website loading while dedicated address offers constant website loading.
Email Blocked:
When a shared address is banned due to spamming action on the IP address, the email service associated with the same address will also be affected. While dedicated address used for email service saves your service from being blacklisted and your email will not be counted as spam mail.
SSL Security:
As we talked, if you have an online shopping website, you should have an SSL certificate and dedicated IP address to avoid issues of online security and slow website loading. There are many hosting providers that offer dedicated IP address along with an SSL certificate. SSL certificate secures online information that is exchanged between the website and the server. Users can safely enter login details when a website is secured with SSL protocol. Dedicated IP allows handling high traffic on an e-commerce website while serving customers and visitors.
SNI Technology:
SNI technology allows multiple SSL certificates on a shared address. It is necessary to have updated the browser, otherwise it can cause an error while handling SSL certificates on a shared IP address. Therefore, users will see a warning of untrusted connection. However, if the SSL certificates run on a dedicated IP address can avoid such warnings.
Separate Business Identity:
The dedicated IP address is used for a separate domain name and in the case of an e – commerce site; customers would like to deal with such websites. It creates an impression among visitors and customers as well establish a separate business identity. If the website is not handling third-party payment services like PayPal, Authorize.net, Google checkout, etc.
Conclusion:
By comparing shared IP address with dedicated IP address, it is better to go with dedicated IP address as it provides many advantages over shared IP address. When it comes to hosting a website on a shared server, it has always been an arguable issue. Besides all the above facts, it is quite comprehensible that Google considers website speed as a part of a ranking signal and if your website is hosted on a dedicated server then it might help you to stand in the search result.
