Depending on the type of website that you are hosting it will require assessing whether or not you actually need distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack protection. DDoS is often used to attack controversial websites and websites that can be blackmailed to stop the DDoS attack. If your website is not that popular or doesn’t make a lot of money or isn’t political or controversial then the chances of you getting attacked is not that great. If your website is a major ecommerce website, a political blog, or a site that will have a lot of angry visitors then you should be prepared for possible DDoS attacks.
If you know your website will be targeted by criminals or individuals that would like to take down your website. You should be prepared for a DDoS attack. There are web hosts that will provide a basic layer of DDoS with their servers and others that will simply null route your IP or even suspend your account if a DDoS attack occurs.
Type of web host – DDoS protection
Shared web hosting – Your account will likely get suspended
Business web hosting – Your account will likely get suspended
VPS – Your IP may get null routed until the attack stops
Dedicated server – Your IP may get null routed until the attack stops
Dedicated server with basic DDoS protection – Basic DDoS will be prevented
If your website will attract DDoS attacks then you should make sure to inquire with your web host what kind of DDoS protection or what their policy is if you get attacked with a DDoS.
The best time to get DDoS protection is before the attack happens. Do not wait until you are under attack to find a solution.