When we talk about hosting a domain on a shared server, a question mark arises:
Should I have a dedicated IP address that is assigned only to my account?
Why not an IP address which is shared with other accounts? When using a dedicated IP address, you have some benefits, but first, let’s see what an IP address is.
What is an IP address?
The IP acronym comes from the Internet Protocol and defines the unique IP addresses assigned to each computer that is connected to a network. The Internet Protocol address plays the unique identifier role, and it is used to provide us with the current location of a computer or website in a particular network.
What is the difference between a shared IP address and a dedicated IP address?
The difference between a shared IP address and a dedicated IP address is simple. The shared IP address is a single address that is used by several websites. In this case, the web server has to work harder to share the information with the correct website.
Having a dedicated IP address means primarily that the website has its address and can be accessed directly from the Internet using the IP address or domain name.
There are many reasons why it is recommended to use a dedicated IP address on a Shared Hosting server, some of the main reasons being:
1. An increased stability
The fact that multiple websites share a single IP address on the Internet shows us a clear picture of the difficulties that can arise on a single website. Imagine that a website hosted on a shared hosting server, like yours, was marked as infected, or that the IP address was entered into a SPAM list. Unfortunately, your website may indirectly have problems without having a connection with the other websites. However, a dedicated IP address allows you to control the reputation of your website and you are not affected by the activity of other websites.
2. It allows you to access the website whenever you need
Sometimes you need to check how the site looks without having a DNS domain set up and without launching the website on the Internet. Dedicated IP addresses allow you to access the server directly without changing the DNS settings of a domain.
3. It can help you with the reputation of your email server
As already mentioned above, using a shared IP address can cause unpredictable problems, and in this case, email services may be affected. There are situations when a user, sharing an IP address with other websites, manages to block the IP address to different destinations or even put it in the global SPAM lists. This could affect your email services. By using a dedicated IP address, these issues are isolated, and they don’t affect you.
4. It is a plus for the identity of the company
If you host your online store or any website aimed towards e-commerce and you want increased security for your customers, it is necessary to use a dedicated IP address along with an SSL certificate. Customers feel more confident buying from a website that uses SSL and a dedicated IP address.
5. It helps search engines crawl the website faster
Search engines, like Google, use the IP address of each website as a metric to rank it higher or lower in their search results. As a rule, links to websites associated with a shared IP address are less critical and can have a negative impact on SEO optimization and indexing. For this reason, it is beneficial to use a dedicated IP address.