When ordering our Shared and Reseller Hosting packages, you’ll notice we upsell Dedicated IPs.
A lot of new customers are confused as to what exactly is the purpose of a dedicated and why they need one.
Email Deliverability
Last year I blogged about how a dedicated IP address can improve your email deliverability with shared hosting. In short, it only takes one outdated WordPress installation / theme/ or plugin to cause havoc with email deliverability on an IP address.
Internet service providers such as Microsoft, AOL, etc. will block emails from IPs that are known to spam. Much of this is credited to the development of real time blacklisting which alerts ISPs in real time of a malicious IP.
If you don’t have a dedicated IP then you’re sharing an IP with many other customers. Since it only takes 1 outdated WordPress plugin to cause issues, you can see how you’ll benefit greatly from a dedicated IP address.
Reverse IP Lookups
There are many tools / websites that utilize reverse IP address lookups. If using a dedicated IP address you can make the appearance like you’re hosted on a dedicated server, when you’ll actually on a Shared/Reseller account.
Many larger businesses like this as it makes them look “more professional.” I personally used to do this when I ran a lot of affiliate marketing campaigns so my competitors couldn’t discover all my websites on the same server (i.e. one IP per domain).
Some Resellers also like all the websites that they resell, show up under the same IP. This helps them stay organized as to what sites actually belong to them on the network.
SSL Certificates
Back in the “old days” you used to have to have a dedicated IP address in order to get a SSL certificate (i.e. https).
At Name Hero we have enabled Server Name Indication (SNI) allowing us to present multiple certificates on the same IP address. Using our auto-SSL module, this is how we’re able to offer unlimited and free certificates to all customers across our network.
If you want to purchase an extended validation certification, or even a wildcard, you may benefit from a dedicated IP address however it is not a requirement.
How To Get A Free Dedicated IP
Our Corporate Reseller hosting package and our Basic Business hosting package come with one complimentary dedicated IP address. Additional ones can be purchased at $29.95/year (about $2.50/mo).
Personally, I don’t see why you wouldn’t get a dedicated IP as it only has benefits. There is no disadvantage to having one, it will only help your web hosting experience.
Feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions getting yours setup!
Ryan Gray is the founder and CEO of NameHero, one of the fastest growing independent web hosts in the United States. Ryan has been working online since 1998 and has over two-decades experience in Internet Entrepreneurship.
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