When it comes time to choose where to host your website, you will have plenty of options at your disposal. Beyond deciding which company to host with, you will also need to decide what type of hosting package best suits your needs.
Shared hosting is one of the most popular hosting options for those who are building their first websites. But what is shared hosting and does it make sense for your website?
Next, we dive into what shared hosting really is and what kind of person could benefit from a shared hosting package.
Let’s get in!
Shared hosting allows multiple websites to use a single server. Usually you will have no idea who or what websites you are sharing a server’s resources with. Usually each client will have a limit on the total amount of server resources they can use, but this will be defined by their hosting package.
Shared hosting is easily the cheapest and cheapest option for your needs. However, the budget price has limitations, which we will see below. Since most hosting companies offer the same amount of space and storage, it is important to choose a company that you can trust.
Advantages of shared hosting
- It is by far the cheapest accommodation option you will have available. The typical price for this style of hosting will range from $ 2.99 to $ 9.99.
- Most hosting companies have multiple levels of hosting available, so you can upgrade your hosting package over time. This makes shared hosting a great place to start.
- Shared hosting usually comes equipped with a built-in cPanel, making it easy to manage your site.
- You don't need to do any technical maintenance on your server end as this is usually included in part of your hosting package.
Simply put, shared hosting can be a great option for website owners on a budget or for those just starting to use the website. You can always upgrade to another hosting package over time, as your budget allows, so you’re not stuck with this level of hosting forever.
Disadvantages of shared hosting
Shared hosting sounds pretty good – it’s affordable, has solid uptime, and is easy to manage. But it has certain drawbacks.
- Loading time can be much slower than dedicated servers.
- The server can be overloaded by other sites that share it.
- As your site begins to receive higher levels of traffic, you will begin to notice that your site could start to perform much worse.
- You never know who your neighbors are. Although rare, other sites on the server may pose a risk to your own site.
- Customization options are lacking to really get the highest level of performance from your website.
For most people just starting out online, the advantages of shared hosting will greatly outweigh the disadvantages, especially if you are trying to get a site up and running as quickly as possible and have low tech skills. It is also important to note that a responsible web host will inform you when your traffic reaches a level that it is time to upgrade, and will monitor and shut down any sites that pose a risk to others on the server.
Alternatives to shared hosting
There are no specific alternatives to a shared hosting plan. There are upgrades, but no alternatives that are as cheap as shared hosting.
Alternatives to shared hosting include dedicated WordPress hosting, running a VPS server, and other semi-dedicated hosting options. All of these will end up costing more than a basic shared hosting plan, but will give you higher levels of customization and performance.
Shared hosting is a great option for first-time website users whose sites don’t get a lot of traffic. Remember, you can always update or change hosting environments over time.
