Do I need a Dedicated IP Address?

Professional website development includes many nuances. Some are very important while others are are simply helpful.

A dedicated ip address is a permanent numeric identifier for your website that is not shared with any other site. A shared ip address is a number that is shared with dozens and even hundreds of other websites all hosted on the same computer.

So, what is the advantage to having a dedicated ip address? Matt Cutts, head of Google's Webspam team, says there is none here.

The short story is that there are several ways that it can be detrimental to have a shared ip address:

♦ You own multiple related sites and link them to each other.
♦ Shared ip's can mean that you share an ip address with spam sites or bad neighborhoods.
♦ If you web host incorrectly configures their virtual hosting.

If you host with a quality web host, don't have multiple sites to link together, and aren't worried about the sites you share an ip address with, then a dedicated ip address is not necessary or even more beneficial.

The worst thing you can do is place your website on a cheap or free web host with poor service, uptime, and get a shared ip. This increases the likelihood that your neighbors are trash.