Is shared web hosting right for me?

You have decided to start a new business, and you know that you need a new Website. The first thing you will discover is that you need Web Hosting – that is, the server that your Website lives on. At this point, it is important to note that there are various different types of Hosting that will be available to you, and while they will all provide an online home for your Website – some will be more suitable than others for your website, and business. 

Types of Hosting

The main types of Hosting you will be presented with is Dedicated Server Hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), and Shared Hosting.

A Dedicated Server is a Server that is hosting only your Website, the customer pays to have a Server, dedicated to their Website alone, and no other accounts. Although this can be costly, it is necessary for larger companies storing lots of data, companies with major client data protection protocols or companies that want to guarantee their online service will never be effected by usage or misuse from other accounts.

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a partition of a physical server, used to create its own virtual server. You can be the sole account on a VPS, or share with limited multiple other accounts – it really is a hybrid of Dedicated Server Hosting and Shared Hosting, making it a good interim for customers not ready to commit to their own server.

A Shared Server is Server on which many different accounts – often hundreds of accounts are Hosted. A server is split between many customers until the Server storage reaches capacity. Paying for a smaller proportion of a large Server, rather than the whole Server is a much cheaper option, usually favoured by newer or smaller businesses or personal bloggers who need Web Presence on a budget.

Why choose Shared Hosting? 

Getting started. Unless you are already well established in your business, there’s a good chance you need a place to start, because you need to get Online. In most cases, your Hosting Provider is responsible for maintaining all of the server hardware and software, including all security procedures and protocols that are in place to safeguard against crashes and downtime. While this is the case for most types of Hosting, if you were choosing a Dedicated Server there would be lots of considerations involved when choosing the right size and type of Server. If your Host is putting your website in a shared server all of that cost and confusion is eliminated because the Host will judge the nature of your website and house it on a suitable a shared server accordingly.

Is Shared Hosting User-Friendly?

Shared Hosting is the easiest type of Hosting to set up, even for a website owner with absolutely no experience in web design, development or hosting. It made so easy due to the fact that most hosting companies offering a Shared Hosting plans offer at least basic customer support, including installing website installs such as WordPress with built-in ready-made themes for customers who can not or do not wish to build their own website, and would rather make simple customisations to something pre-made by the hosting company. 

What are the Limits/Restrictions to Shared Hosting? 

Every individual account on a Shared Server operates on a standard allotment of that Server’s overall resources – this will include CPU power, memory and bandwidth. However, rather than having access to all of the available bandwidth, many Hosts will opt to cap the amount of traffic that can come through a Website to keep each account evened out. The reason for this cap is that just as a city may experience a sudden surge of power at certain times or in certain weathers, and overload the power grid resulting in a power cut – a sudden surge of activity coming through one particular website has the potential to disrupt every other account of the Server. 

To further protect the interest of all accounts on the Server, hosting companies might also make the decision to prohibit users from installing certain plugins or certain types of applications for their Websites. While this is generally in the interest of everyone, including the customer, it can sometimes mean limitations on what customisations or features you can add to your Website. 

If I am sharing a Server, am I at risk of security issues? 

The short answer to this is that the risk is slightly higher than with other types of Hosting. Everything relating to the security of the Server is the responsibility of the hosting company, but even though each account is a separate website and business, the nature of the shared technology means it is possible for malicious malware to come through one account’s website or email, and infect others on the Server.  However, just as you would choose carefully the security company who fits the security system to your home or place of work, this is why it is important to choose your hosting company wisely, do some research, and ask questions. While Shared Hosting is excellence budget Hosting, you will still find cheaper Shared Packages with some Providers than others – and cheaper hosting companies may not include every security measure they could.

While it is not possible for the Host to allow every account to install their own conflicting security measures, they have the option to (and are sometimes advised to) hold or organise Backups of their own. The hosting provider should have security enough to prevent, detect and eliminate potential threats. 

Who is Shared Hosting for?

Shared Hosting works best for websites that don’t require huge amounts of memory and bandwidth and don’t experience very heavy day to day traffic. Larger businesses with consistent large amounts of traffic and emails may not be best fitted in a Shared Server due to the bandwidth restrictions. 

Don’t worry though, a Hosting Provider wants to see your business grow and succeed, and when you outgrow the Shared space, they will help you upgrade to your most suitable next step. 

That’s not to say Shared Hosting is a temporary stay, is your site remains steady at low-level of traffic, there is no limit to how long you can Share the Server, with low-hassle, and at a low cost.  

How do I get Shared Hosting? 

If you have a website, view Shared Hosting plans to suit your budget Here. 

If you need to move from a package that isn’t currently suiting your needs, Migrate your Website today.