Today, in an age where the digital space has transformed business to a greater extent, having a presence online is non-negotiable. Whether you are a company, blogger, or an individual, showcasing your work or service on the web is no longer an option, but it is a necessity. If you are planning to have the best website with a limited budget, then you must buy shared hosting. Since it is one of the most ideal hosting solutions to begin with. Whether you want to buy hosting, compare different hosting types, or just learn the basics of shared hosting, you’ll get all the information in this blog in order to make an informed decision.
What Does Shared Hosting Mean?
Shared hosting is probably the most popular among the cheapest hosting services, and it basically means that you share a server and its resources, like CPU, RAM, and storage, with other websites. Shared hosting is mostly used by small websites, blogs, or businesses that do not need a lot of resources or traffic support.
Although shared hosting has some disadvantages, there are many upsides that the individual can enjoy, including cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and lower technical demand. If you are searching for hosting to create a simple website or blog, shared hosting is a good solution.
Shared Hosting Key Capabilities
Before going for shared hosting, it is extremely important to understand the key aspects of shared hosting:
- Storage Space and Bandwidth
Generally, most of the shared hosting plans do come with some limited disk space and bandwidth. Though most of these are okay for the majority of small websites, heavy multimedia files, or too much traffic can exceed these limits. Hence, make sure you choose a plan that can handle your demands for your website.
- SSL Certificates and Email Accounts
The shared hosting plans normally include email accounts as well as the installation of SSL certificates for securing your website. SSL certificates create trustworthiness among your visitors as well as boost search engine rankings.
- User-Friendly Control Panel
Many shared hosting providers come with a user-friendly control panel like cPanel or a similar interface used in hosting, which can manage the various features of hosting for the customers. It deals with customer databases as well as files and allows one-click installation of any software like WordPress or any other CMS-enabled platform.
- Daily Backups and Data Security
Good hosting providers usually give daily or at least weekly backups of your website data. It's always important to check your hosting provider's backup policy before clicking on the purchase button and confirm that your data is well protected.
- Technical Support Services
One good thing to consider when selecting a shared hosting provider is the quality of customer support. Look around for these types of hosting providers that are open 24/7 to assist you with any issues through chat, email, or phone conversations.
Reasons for Choosing Shared Hosting Services
- Affordability
One of the primary considerations why most businesses and individuals go for shared hosting is the cost. Shared hosting services usually cost less when compared to VPS or dedicated hosting services because the server cost is shared by a number of users.
- Simple Set Up and Management
All shared hosting platforms would include simple control panels such as cPanel, which allow you to manage your website, email accounts, databases, and much more without really having to learn anything difficult. It's really that easy to use.
- Maintenance Free
You can now focus entirely on running your website since the hosting providers take care of server maintenance, software updates, and hardware management. This makes shared hosting an excellent option for novices.
- Perfectly Suitable for Small Scale Websites
Shared hosting is an ideal server option for a small to medium website that does not receive increased traffic or needs specific configurations from the server. Shared hosting provides ample resource allocation for starting personal blogs, knowledge websites, and small commercial online stores.
Shared Hosting Potential Drawbacks
- Resource Limitations
You may face resource constraints since in this hosting the same particular server is shared with many users. Also, your website may become slow or inaccessible because of high traffic to another website hosted on the same server; commonly referred to as the "bad neighbor effect."
- Performance-Related Problems
Shared hosting normally does not measure up with dedicated hosting or VPS hosting level-wise as far as performance is concerned. Hence, there could be reduced speed and interruptions if the website expands or experiences an increase in traffic. In such circumstances, it may require upgrading to a higher level of hosting plans.
- Few Options for Customization
You cannot tune server settings or configurations for your application because you share the server with other powerful clients. Also, if you need specialized software or installation of custom applications, then shared hosting is not that advisable.
- Security-Related Issues
Shared hosting might also be less secure compared to others. In case one other website on the server is hacked, then your website might also fall victim. Most of the service providers usually have powerful safety features implemented in their shared hosting plans, these include firewalls and malware scanners, to secure your website.
When is the Time to Transition from Shared Hosting?
Even though shared hosting is a pretty decent initial option, it may not be enough when your website starts to search for scalability. Here are a few clues that you would need to upgrade:
- Increasing Amount of Traffic
Your website will probably need more resources once it begins to witness ever-increasing visitors. If there are slow load times and your website is mostly unresponsive at times of peak traffic, it is high time you think of switching to either VPS or dedicated hosting for better hosting solutions.
- Performance-Related Problems
If your website is experiencing lag, frequently goes down, or running too slow in general, then it could be the right time to move to a more powerful web hosting plan, having dedicated resources to bear that load.
- Need Tailor-Made Server Configurations
If your website requests certain specific software configurations or needs a higher level of control over the server environment, then it's high time you give up on your shared host and either purchase VPS or a dedicated server.
- Security-Related Issues
If you run an online store or you simply have to process sensitive data over the internet, then shared hosting might not be able to offer sufficient security measures to protect your website. In this case, VPS or dedicated hosting will be required for more secure options.
To Sum Up
Shared hosting is still one of the cheapest, most straightforward ways of getting an individual or business online. Shared hosting is the answer if you are just starting, and your website is pretty limited. Although it is cheap and easy to manage, it is limited to small websites or blogs.
Key factors to look for when purchasing a hosting plan from a provider are customer support, resources, and scalability. A good hosting plan is the one that will ensure that the website works for you without charging exorbitant prices.
If you are to buy hosting, it is definitely important to compare different offers by various providers like MilesWeb for a good shared hosting plan.