If you want to build a website, you have to make a decision on a number of important topics as a start. Your domain name is one for example, as is your content management system. You will also have to decide on a hosting provider, and a hosting plan to get your site online, and the choice you will make here will directly affect your site’s performance and user experience- as well as your own experience managing it. The topic of this article, shared hosting, is among the most popular options out there when it comes to hosting solutions, and you will find all you need to know about it in the following lines.
Let us then, without wasting any time, take a look at shared hosting and see if it is the right choice for your website!
What is Shared Hosting?
Basically, in shared hosting, a number of websites share a single web server. This means all server resources and costs are shared by the websites hosted on the server. Shared hosting is a very popular hosting solution, and it is perfect for small websites that don’t get tons of traffic, as it is quite easy to maintain and very affordable.
Now that you know what shared hosting is in a nutshell, let’s dig a bit deeper.
Top Shared Hosting Providers
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
How Does Shared Hosting Work?
As you probably know, every website needs to be hosted on a secure server to be available to internet users. Once you type the address of a specific website and hit Enter, your browser requests information from the server your site is hosted, and once the server provides the necessary data, your website appears on the screen. This is what hosting is, basically.
Now, in shared hosting, a single server houses the files for several websites simultaneously. Once you sign up for a shared hosting plan with the provider of your choice, a space is created on their server to host the files of your website, and you will be simultaneously sharing the server resources -such as CPU and memory- with the other websites on the same server.
Shared Hosting Pros & Cons
You should never decide on a hosting plan -or anything, for that matter- without taking a serious look at its pros and cons. Shared hosting is a generally well-rounded alternative, with a few pros and cons that might help you decide. Here are they:
Pros
😊 Affordable: As you will be sharing the server’s resources, you will also share its costs, and it makes shared hosting plans much more affordable when compared to other hosting types, such as dedicated and VPS hosting.
😊 Easy to maintain: Most of the time, the maintenance of the server is handled by the provider, so you won’t be sweating over the technical details.
😊 User-friendly: With shared hosting, you will be able to easily set up your website with just a few clicks, without the need for much -if any- technical knowledge.
Cons
☹ Limited resources: Yes, sharing resources means lower costs, but it can also mean performance issues, and even system crashes under certain circumstances. See, if the other websites on your server use too much resources, your site performance will be affected as well. Still, if you think you really need more resources after a point, it is not that hard to upgrade.
☹Security problems: As everyone will have their files on the same server, a security issue with one website -such as hacking, which is always a threat- can easily be a problem for all the other sites.
☹ Not very customizable: There is a limit to what you can customize with sharing hosting plans- most of the time you basically have to do with what your provider gives you. While this won’t usually be an issue for beginners, some users might like to get more freedom, which is understandable.
How to Choose the Best Shared Hosting Provider for Your Website?
You are building a website, and have decided to go with shared hosting. That’s fine, but how are you going to choose from the dozens of providers out there? First of all, set your priorities. Shared hosting plans by different providers have minor differences, and as minor as they are, those differences might become a deciding factor for you, based on your priorities.
To help you, here are a few important factors that we think you should consider when comparing the sharing hosting plans of different hosting companies:
- Resources – How much storage will you get? How many websites can you host? What’s the approximate monthly traffic your website will be able to handle?
- Price – Yes, shared hosting plans are not usually costly, but still, prices vary a lot. Try to find the provider that gives the best deal for its price.
- Security & Support – Try to get a plan with a free SSL certificate, and 24/7 live customer support.
- Extras– Some plans offer a free domain name, e-mail, tools like website builder, one-click WordPress installs, and more. Try to find the plan that will make your life easier, and maybe help you save a few bucks.
Shared Hosting FAQ
If you still have questions about shared hosting, take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions, and you may find the answer you’re looking for:
Q: For what types of sites shared hosting is a good choice?
A: Shared hosting is a great choice for simple sites that won’t be getting tons of traffic, such as personal websites, small businesses, blogs, online portfolios, etc.
Q: Is shared hosting a good option for online stores?
A: This is a subject of debate, and you will find different sources giving you different answers. Unless you have a huge number of products and customers, of course you can successfully host your online store with shared hosting. But even with a small store, you might want a more scalable and secure option and more consistent performance, so you should consider other options as well.
Q:Can I upgrade from shared hosting whenever I want?
A:Yes! If at some point you feel like you will need more performance and shared hosting is not cutting it for you, you can upgrade to a different hosting solution, using your provider’s server migration services.
Conclusion
If you are just starting out and want to build a small-scale website, shared hosting is more or less your best option, with its affordable price and satisfying performance. It is always user-friendly and trustable as long as your site does not blow up with suddenly increasing traffic -which is not necessarily a bad thing by the way!- and there are a lot of good providers out there that offer advantageous shared hosting plans. We think it is a very good option to stick with at the beginning. But once your website starts to really grow -you will notice it!- you should consider other alternatives.