Benefits of Having a Dedicated IP Address in a Shared Hosting Environment

An IP address is a unique string of characters used to identify any computer connected to the internet. Because websites are hosted on servers, the IP address always points to this server wherever in the world it is. This means that every website that is hosted on that server would have the same IP address. There are dangers to this type of IP address in a shared hosting environment.

What is a Dedicated IP Address?

A dedicated IP address is a unique internet protocol (IP) address that is assigned to one hosting account holder. This IP address points to a single website address and distinguishes it from other websites on the same server. While your domain name, the part in the URL after “www,” is your website address, the IP is the physical location of the server that holds the data of your website.

When a user types in your domain name, the web browser goes through the DNS process to locate the physical folder holding this website wherever it is on the internet. When you have shared hosting and therefore share the same IP address with dozens – if not hundreds – of other websites the web host would then map the domain name with the right website. If you had a dedicated IP address in a shared hosting environment, meanwhile, all you would have to do is type in the exact string of characters and you would be taken directly to the website in question. This would require prior ‘forwarding’ configuration by the hosting provider and has a number of benefits for your website’s performance and security. Here are a few.

Easy Access to Website

A dedicated IP address makes it easy to access your website. As stated above, you can enter the string of characters that make up the IP address and visit the website. This is true regardless of the user’s location or device. For example, you can visit gesatech.com by typing 184.173.221.228 into your browser.

At the same time, a unique IP address offers you the chance to quickly view the status of your website even when it is still under production. Instead of visiting the control panel before viewing it, the dedicated IP address allows you to see this and make any changes when you need it. This is possible even when you don’t have a domain name yet.

More Stability

In addition to having better access to your server, a dedicated IP address offers you more stability. A shared hosting environment exposes you to the inequities of other server users. If their activities lead to the blacklisting of that particular IP address, then this could affect your own website too. Using a dedicated IP address, therefore, shields you and protects you from their actions or inactions.

One way this plays out is in email delivery. Using a shared hosting environment means all emails are coming from the same server and the same IP address. If emails from one account holder on the server are being flagged as spam, this could affect the credibility of your own emails and lead to undelivered emails.

In the same vein, you could suffer the brunt of a DDoS attack if you use a shared IP address. A Distributed Denial of Service is when your site is bombarded with heavy traffic through a co-ordinated attack by cybercriminals till your website goes offline. The hackers normally gain control of a number of computers and direct their traffic to an IP address on the web. In the time when you website is offline, your true customers would be denied access to your service. Granted, you could still suffer if your dedicated IP address is targeted. However, you have better control of your reputation and security than is the case when someone’s action could put everybody else at risk.

A blacklisted IP address can also affect your ranking on Search Results Pages. A dedicated IP address, therefore, gives your website and email address a different identity and shields you from the corrupted perception associated with other blacklisted IP addresses on the same server.

Easy Application of SSL Certificates

An SSL certificate provides an important level of security by encrypting information shared between a web browser and a website. In browsers like Google Chrome, users can detect if your website is secured with an SSL certificate or not. This can potentially affect the trust you share with a customer. Having a dedicated IP address makes it easier to acquire the SSL certificate.

While a dedicated IP address used to be a requirement for purchasing SSL for your domain, a technology known as Server Name Identification (SNI) can serve as an interface to authorize the ownership of the domain. That notwithstanding, there are some hosting providers who do not support this technology. Also, there may be browsers and applications that are not compatible with SNIs. This has the potential of affecting the ability of users to access your website in certain locations and could pose a deal breaker for e-commerce stores especially. This means you would still need a dedicated IP address in some cases before you could buy an SSL certificate and build that trust between you and your online customers.

Conclusion

A shared hosting environment offers an affordable way of hosting your website and apps. Because you are sharing your website with many others who have the same IP address, though, bad nuts within the shared environment could affect your website’s reputation. A dedicated IP address offers you the chance to cloak and protect yourself even within this shared environment.