Shared hosting is often compared to houses where you may have your own room but share spaces without flatmates. Maintenance costs are shared with neighbours, and the better the quality of your neighbours is, the more beneficial the set-up will be. Shared hosting is not for everyone, but many companies have experienced significant advantages after selecting it.
When you opt for shared hosting, you share a server and resources with other companies. It is renowned for its low costs and can be ideal if you’re setting up a new site and aren’t expecting a great deal of traffic to begin with. If you’re running a small website or a blog, shared hosting could be ideal for your needs. Shared hosting is actually the most common form of hosting, and you could find yourself only paying between 5-10 dollars a month for a suitable package which is a lot cheaper than many other types of hosting.
The lower your bandwidth needs are, the more likely it is that shared hosting will benefit you. Your server will be set up by the host so you can easily upload your site. Only a simple configuration process will need to take place before your site is in operation. You won’t need any specialist knowledge of setting up websites and will usually get access to a simple control panel so you can manage your site or sites with ease.
Do you have a small website?
Shared hosting tends to be much cheaper than the alternatives, which are VPS and dedicated servers. Customer support standards are generally better than you might expect. If one site goes down, all sites on the server goes down, which forces hosting companies to resolve issues in a speedy manner. If you only need a few e-mail accounts, cost is a big issue and you’re running a new website, shared hosting could be ideal. It’s also likely to benefit you if you only have a small website with a few basic features.
Anti-spam protection
One disadvantage to using shared hosting is that the behaviour of other sites on the server can affect yours. If another site uses a resource-hungry plugin or application, this can have an impact on your website. This is why it’s a good idea to use a service that doesn’t put a huge number of sites on a single server. Any reputable shared hosting provider will offer anti-spam protection to block unwanted e-mails so they don’t reach your device. This will save you time as well as bandwidth.
If you have big considerations when it comes to attracting visitors and getting as much traffic as possible, a larger hosting option may be more suitable. Nonetheless, scores of companies have taken advantage of shared hosting without experiencing problems. Unfortunately, some companies do choose to cram their servers with hundreds or even thousands of sites, so it’s wise to look for one that doesn’t come anywhere close to this number. If the price for a shared hosting plan seems particularly low, it may be best to spend a little more to get the quality and efficiency that you desire.
Concentrate on what you do best
Another good reason for using a shared server is that the admin and maintenance of it will be overseen by the provider, so you can focus on what you do best without having to fret about technical issues. You may also be able to get MySQL and PHP support. When it comes to disadvantages, the biggest drawbacks of shared server hosting is that shared servers can be particularly vulnerable to hackers, and if one site is targeted by malicious types, the whole network will be affected. If a server is swamped by requests or becomes overloaded, it could grind to a halt. You won’t normally get the range of quality features associated with dedicated hosting and you will only be able to use the software that has been chosen by the provider.
A suitable option for many
Though shared hosting is cheap on the whole, it’s never wise to opt for the very cheapest option available to you as it’s likely to cause regret. If you have decided that shared hosting is for you, consider opting for the most reputable and reliable shared hosting provider that you can afford. Opting for shared hosting doesn’t have to mean settling for a lacklustre hosting experience.