Shared Web Hosting: A Useful Guide for Those Getting Started

0
1359

Shared web hosting—just as the name suggests—is a service that allows you to use the same physical server with several other users, from any part of the world, simultaneously. But, while other users get access to physical hard drives and the server’s RAM, they will not be able to access your personal data. On the hosting platform, every user has a limit on services such as email accounts, databases, disk space, and monthly traffic, just to mention a few.

Below are some important points that one should be aware of when thinking of buying shared hosting.

Pros of Shared Web Hosting

The first and standout advantage for shared web hosting is the small price involved. As much as you may get a discount if you pay a lump sum figure for the whole year, the monthly charges are also very affordable. Secondly, you do not have to wait until you have a lot of money to upload your website. You can start with a small package and upgrade with time as your site grows. Lastly, features such as blogs, chats, and popular scripts go a long way to ensuring that your site gets off the ground faster than it would have if you handled the process alone.

Uses

Small and medium businesses can adopt shared web hosting not just to host their clients but to create an interactive community as well. Similarly, designers and developers can host their customers and keep them up to speed with crucial details regarding their upcoming site when working a long-term project. Also, blogs and regularly updated websites hugely benefit from shared web hosting as it serves as a way to reach out to more people and, of course, accrue more feedback.

Unlimited Hosting

Naturally, when most people hear of unlimited hosting, they will conjure up images of vast space to store their movies and unlimited gigabytes of data at their disposal. In the practical world, this is far from accurate. While unlimited might mean ‘without restriction’ in a layman’s language, it is technically impossible to create a server that can host more than five people and still offer them unlimited space.

First, the number of semiconductors required to build such a CPU and its RAM is stupendous, and the task is just not doable. Secondly, seeing that we have limited cables transmitting data all across the world, it is impossible to offer unlimited bandwidth. Lastly, hiring the unlimited workforce necessary to maintain the servers and networks would put the company out of business faster than you can say unlimited.
Below is a list of some of the top shared hosting companies:

  • HostGator
  • BlueHost
  • SiteGround
  • DreamHost
  • iPage

How Does Shared Hosting Compare to Dedicated hosting?

Dedicated hosting revolves around leasing out an entire server for yourself without having to share it with anybody. In most instances, large organizations opt for dedicated hosting based on the traffic generated/expected per second/minute/hour etc. An individual can also choose to down this road and enjoy unimaginable disk space and lightning fast loading speeds.

In comparison to shared hosting, dedicated hosting has a broad range of benefits. One of them is an increased bandwidth threshold and almost unlimited disk space free of annoying soft limits. Which, of course, implies that if your website receives massive volumes of traffic, then this is definitely the best option for you.

Dedicated hosting also offers you better security and reliability compared to the alternative—shared hosting. You are the only person using the server/virtual server, thus chances of external infiltration from malicious hackers are close to zero. Besides, you can run virtually all types of scripts and software, something that you may not be able to do when using a shared platform.

Your website’s performance can also be affected if you are using it on a shared platform. If another user receives more traffic than you, the server will channel most of its resources that way hence affecting the loading speeds of the other counterparts. A website hosted on a dedicated server, on the other hand, will rarely suffer from slow loading speeds regardless of the amount of traffic it receives per a given time.

Who Needs Dedicated Hosting?

Shared servers can be slow for your specific purpose. They can also be vulnerable to malware attacks. So if you desire a more reliable and faster site with advanced options, then dedicated hosting is the ideal choice for you. The only downside is that it is more expensive than shared hosting. But as the old saying goes; all good things come at a price.

Lodlois, a website that offers Hostgator coupons, offered this article.