Jenny,
First a brief intro to each type:
Shared Virtual Hosting:
This is the least expensive option, and appropriately is the lowest performer. Effectively this is 1 physical server with usually one Web Server serving many websites through a virtualised service - usually presented to you via a control panel - this will allow you to add domains, configure your site, set-up mail etc etc. You will not have access to the server itself (as in remote access to the OS).
Benefits:
- Low Cost
- Low Maintenance
- Simple-to-use
Drawbacks:
- Contention with other websites on that server
- Poor code by another site can easily effect your website
- Severely limited control over the OS - you cannot usually install anything, or change the webserver configuration
- Security could be an issue - though if a good hosting provider, this should be locked down so that this is not an issue (and if you're not knowledgable, it is probably more secure than your own system)
Dedicated Server:
This is the opposite - you have an entire physical server all to yourself, and have almost complete control over it - you can add your own software, configure the webserver, stop / start services etc etc. It is the most expensive but usually the best performer, and can usually be built in the way that you want - e.g. you can max out your RAM if your application is memory intensive.
Benefits:
- Highest Performance system
- No Contention with other websites
- Highly Configurable
- Remote Access to the server
- Upgradable - e.g. new software & hardware
- Usually more personalised (and knowledgable) support from the hosting provider
Drawbacks:
- Highly Configurable - you can easily mess it up !
- Remote Access to server - you can easily mess it up - and make it insecure, make sure you know what you're doing if you take this option.
- Expensive
Semi-Dedicated Server:
This is the middle ground - lower cost than dedicated, but also more contention. This is (usually) a single physical Server hosting multiple virtualised OS instances which you will have access to as per the dedicated hosting.
Benefits:
- Not as expensive as Dedicated
- Many of the benefits of the Dedicated hosting
Drawbacks:
- Physical resources are shared - contention usually isn't an issue unless the virtual server has problems, but it is a possibility
- Hard to upgrade the hardware - due to the impact on other users.
OK, so with that in mind you need to consider exactly what you want - the main things to consider are: Functionality, Performance and Reliability. (There are more).
Functionality - support for scripting standards: ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, JSP, CGI etc - hosting features like control panels, DNS management, Email, webmail, SSL support Database Support (MSSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Access, etc)
Performance - bandwidth per month is a simple indicator, but not the best, you need to consider the size of the server (RAM/Processor/Network Cards etc), whether it is shared or dedicated, and the network capacity of the hosting provider - i.e. how big is the pipe between the hosting provider and the internet backbone.
Reliability - this includes SLA's (Service Level Agreements) uptime guarantees, maintenance management, support services and response times for incidents.
I prefer to pay more for a mid-market solution (your current host will be low-end) - high end is usually enterprise hosting at a specialised datacentre - e.g. CapGemini - these costs are from £5k-10k per annum for a Wintel server and can reach well in excess of £30k for a Unix Multi-Processor Server, so probably out of reach just yet... ;-)
So, if I was you, I would be willing to pay more for a more RELIABLE service that has the relevant FUNCTIONALITY and a reasonable PERFORMANCE capability. RELIABILITY is key when you are hosting a commercial site - if people cannot reach it because it aint workin' - then you've lost a customer.
With this in mind, you may want to start with a shared hosting provider that provides all of this at a reasonable rate and gives you the room to grow.
Here is an excellent Hosting Provider, that (for the money) provides a massive functional service with 24x7 online support and (IMHO) the best for the price I could find after a lot of searching:
- Link:
IX WebHosting
They've been voted the Best Webhosting provider several years running in this
poll
If you look through that same poll you will see other options as well - most of which are worth a look.
I would also strongly recommend
GoDaddy Hosting - the only thing that stopped me from using them is their limited MSSQL Database Sizing (Max 5MB if I remember correctly) - and they offer quite a configurable set of dedicated servers as well as virtual dedicated and shared hosting.
You might also find
fasthosts interesting - but it can get a bit expensive once you add all the options
Finally, you DO NOT need a dedicated server for a commercial site, but it helps. You DO need SSL though - this is essential for any commercial site. You should definitely look into MS SQL Server for the database but MySQL can also work for simpler/smaller sites. PHP/ASP are quite similar in terms of appropriateness - ASP.NET can make a big difference in some scenarios, but in many it is on a par with ASP (in terms of selection criteria for a small Commercial site) - however if you don't know either, go with ASP.NET,
Hope that helps.
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