When you want to use email or have a website to show to the world, the time has come to get a server. Websites at their simplest are just a bunch of interconnected files. Some websites also use databases to help provide the content on the pages and do clever things.

If your not thinking of buying, configuring and managing your own then you need to hire some space on someone else's.

The cheapest solution is to be on a shared server, renting a piece of space along side other sites. There is a downside. Like a passenger on a bus, you have little control on where the server is going. If the web hosting company you use want some special software put on or some security enhancement added, its tough unless all the other passengers on the server want the same.

A virtual private server is the next best...It feels like a dedicated server, there are blocks between all the different clients on the server so they cannot see each other and interfere with each others files..in theory. There is now some changes your web hosting company can do for you and their clients, but still some aspects that cannot be changed unless all want the same change.

A dedicated server is exactly what it says on the tin..dedicated. The company that uses it is in charge of its destiny.

At softforge we use dedicated servers to host our clients, we do not share with other companies.

We use linux servers with php, mysql (don't worry if that means nothing to you its just the languages that the server uses) and keep up to date with patches and security fixes.