To properly understand this topic, it is very important to know what a dedicated server is.
What is a Dedicated Server?
A dedicated server is literally a server entirely dedicated to your website and all its needs. All resources of the server are utilized by only one individual. A dedicated server is not shared by multiple users as is the case with shared servers.
Due to the exclusivity of the dedicated server, it offers greater speed, reliability and security. The owner also has absolute control over the entire server and can set it up however he or she deems fit.
We must also note that a dedicated server is ideal as mundane issues such as huge traffic to a server neighbor bothering you. It’s like owning your own car. You do not have to go through the hassles of sharing a seat on a bus with several other people. You get to have your own space and you are at liberty to drive wherever you want to and however you want to.
It is that exclusivity that makes a dedicated server very ideal and appealing. Due to this exclusivity, dedicated servers allow for faster speeds in connection, stronger security which means decreased risk of cyberattacks, round-the-clock uptime, and so on.
A dedicated server has a lot of advantages such as absolute control, managed to host, resources not being shared with other server users, customization possibilities, and the most important of all, increased site speed. But for the purpose of this topic, we shall delve deeper into how increased site speed is a huge benefit of using a dedicated server. Understanding this benefit will further help us understand the difference in speed of various dedicated servers based on the location of a dedicated server, and if that difference in speed matters.
Increased site speed
The content of the server loads faster because there is no traffic and due to the absence of other users, more resources are available for the sole user of the server.
Increased site speed leads to improved SEO. What this means is that your website earns points for loading time.
Bottom line?
Increased site speed means:
More return traffic, more conversions, and more page views would lead to a notable increase in customer satisfaction and wider customization possibilities.
Site speed is not only necessary because of the rankings and SEO. It is also very important for people who will be visiting your site. Surely, you do not want to have a slow site in a bid to avoid competitors from looting your customers.
While seeking hosting services, there is no denying the fact that speed is one of the top factors to be considered as it matters a lot. However, the specific location of a dedicated server can have a direct effect on the site speed and this is what many people fail to realize.
Understanding how location affects latency
Latency is that period between when a user clicks on a link on a website and when the page clicked on actually loads on the user’s application layer. Generally speaking, your latency will be higher, the farther away your data center is from the location of the users. It will be lower, the closer the data center is to the location of the users. Lower latency will give rise to faster processing times which means different things depending on the context of which the hosting is being used.
It is quite evident that low latency is very essential and the best way to ensure low latency is to make sure the data centers are located in a central area, or at least closer to prospective customers.
Is there a difference in speed based on dedicated server location?
The answer is yes. The location of your dedicated server will have a substantial effect on the speed of your site. The closer the server is to the location of the audience, the quicker the site will load on their devices. Therefore, taking into consideration the locations your provider offers is very crucial.
How the location of a dedicated server affect the difference in speed of the site?
We must note that no website loads immediately. Not even websites that have been extensively optimized. They could take at least some milliseconds and anything lower than one second is usually adjudged to be extremely fast.
There are numerous factors that influence how fast a site would load. In fact, if a file is heavier, it would take a longer time to load. However, distance is also very important when it has to do with performance. After all, if you are further away from the site’s server, it would take a longer time to load.
Conclusion
There is a difference in speed based on the dedicated server’s location. The speed of a site as we have come to know is very essential to a site as it affects the kind of traffic that would come to the site.
Therefore, it is important that a dedicated server be located at a place that is closer to the targeted audience and not far away from them as it would determine how fast the site would load.