A shared hosting account is where you rent a small amount of space on a server, shared among many other users. This is a cheap way to get started online. Still, it has many disadvantages – you will encounter email delivery problems because of spam complaints against other sites on the same server. You will find your site grinding to a halt when someone else does heavy database work on your server. You might even find your site going down because of a denial of service attack against someone else hosting hacking or piracy-related material on your server.

Most webmasters on the net today are familiar with what the industry calls “shared” web hosting accounts. A shared hosting account is where you rent a small amount of space on a server, shared among many other users.

This is a cheap way to get started online. Still, it has many disadvantages – you will encounter email delivery problems because of spam complaints against other sites on the same server. You will find your site grinding to a halt when someone else does heavy database work on your server. You might even find your site going down because of a denial of service attack against someone else hosting hacking or piracy-related material on your server.

By upgrading to a virtual dedicated server. A virtual dedicated server lets you run your sites as if you had your own “dedicated” server, except it is cheaper because you are just using part of a server split into multiple virtual dedicated servers.

This requires some time learning the necessary Linux skills to ensure your server runs smoothly.

Many hosting providers will have a “premium” support offering that includes a bit more hand-holding – this is recommended if you don’t have much experience with Linux or are new to virtual dedicated hosting.

With the increased speed and bandwidth that a virtual dedicated host offers and no shared hosting headaches, the move is one you will never regret.