There are many types of website hosting options, and shared hosting is the most common of them all. Shared hosting is a service where the provider hosts websites for multiple customers on a single machine. Each customer has their own internet domain name, but is forced to share many vital components. This includes a web server and operating system, as well as resources such as disk space, RAM, CPU and bandwidth. Although this type of arrangement is very popular, there are pros and cons you need to understand before choosing shared hosting.
The Benefits of Shared Hosting
Most customers are attracted to shared hosting because it makes for a cost effective solution. Since the expenses for the most critical IT resources are being divided amongst domain owners, hosting providers are able to offer their service at a much cheaper price. It isn’t uncommon to find a plan for under $10 or even $5 per month.
In addition, since you don’t have direct contact with the server, shared hosting is a very user-friendly alternative, offering comprehensive tools that allow someone with virtually no experience to effectively manage their website.
The Downside of Shared Hosting
There are many drawbacks to shared hosting, mainly performance and security. The fact that numerous customers could be residing on the server makes it more susceptible to slow response times and failures. If one of your neighbors suddenly starts to experience a significant amount of traffic, everyone on the machine could suffer due to one website absorbing all of the system’s resources.
Shared hosting is also vulnerable to security issues that exist because of inexperienced users and the provision of sensitive permissions. This is why experts recommend the use of a dedicated server for high-traffic sites and mission-critical operations.
Conclusion
Shared hosting has several advantages and makes an excellent first choice. The key is finding a provider that offers a reliable platform and takes various measures to ensure as few interruptions as possible.