Shared Hosting - The Cheap Web Hosting Solution

Posted by Faizan Shiwani / at 12:09 AM / /

Shared web hosting is probably the most known and used among casual web surfers and entrepreneurs alike. If you have a website right now, and you don't know what shared hosting is, chances are you are on it.

This articles aims at shedding some light on what shared hosting is, its limitations, and to enable you to make a decision if it is right for your purposes.

In the US alone there are literally thousands of web hosts that offer shared web hosting. Some of these hosts have their own data center, others lease servers from larger data centers. Then there are resellers, who themselves have rented shared server space or dedicated servers with bigger web hosts.

Let's take a look at the concept of shared web hosting plans.

With shared hosting, many individual websites from different customers reside all on the same physical server. That means that all of these websites share the same resources on that server.

As a result, none of these sites will be able to utilize 100% of the server's resources. Rather, they will be divided among all of the websites hosted on that respective server.

This is to keep costs low and to enable web hosts to offer plans in the price range shared hosting is known for. Since all of the shared hosting accounts on a server utilize the same hardware, maintenance and administration costs are low.

But don't many hosts offer unlimited bandwidth and disk space with shared hosting?

Yes, indeed some do. However, disk space and bandwidth are not the same as RAM and CPU usage, which will have to be capped to ensure the server's stability.

This means that your website is likely not going to load as fast or be as responsive as on a dedicated server. This is especially true for sites that rely heavily on scripting and queries to the database.

Not all websites are created equally. Some static web pages utilize very few resources to host and serve, others need a lot. Good hosts will migrate your website among different servers to ensure you are getting the performance you need. Also, good hosts will not completely fill a server, rather cap it at a certain percentage.

However, not even bandwidth (or disk space) is unlimited - there is a physical limit the network can handle, and most hosts will suggest a dedicated server once you reach that limit. If you host a lot of images or other media files, you may want to consider hosting them separately on a storage service like the Amazon S3.

Read your host's Terms of Service thoroughly. Shared hosting providers usually do not allow resource-hungry applications like Forex programs or live streams to be run on shared hosts.

Out of the box, most shared hosting solutions serve all domains with a shared IP address. You can see what other domains can be found on the same IP you have by looking up your domain and the matching IP on www.webhosting.info. However, if you require a dedicated IP (e.g. for SSL), that's usually possible for a small monthly fee.

Another concern with shared hosting is security. Bad neighbors are theoretically able to hack into files owned by other domains on the same host. Also, not everybody updates their installs of WordPress, DruPal etc. frequently, leaving room for exploits on that host.

You will either have to accept the fact and live with it, or move to a more expensive solution like dedicated servers. In any case, you should always update all of your web applications as soon as possible to minimize the risk of security holes. Do not host your site on a shared host if you are handling highly sensitive data.

To sum things up, most people run their websites on shared hosts, and happily so. It is surely worth your time (and some trial and error) to find a good host to make the most out of your shared web hosting solution. Take security updates for your applications of choice serious, best yet subscribe to their mailing list or rss feed to stay informed.

Backup often. Don't rely on your host to backup your files in the event you have been hacked. Don't forget your database(s).