Web site hosting comes in many forms and can be divided into different indexes. There are paid and free web hosting, Linux/Unix based and Windows based (and others but they are not very popular), shared hosting, dedicated hosting and virtual private servers (VPS). Each type of hosting has its pros and cons. In this article, we will cover the main pros and cons of shared web hosting. First, let’s define the term “shared hosting”. What is Shared Web Hosting? Shared web hosting is a type of hosting that provides space for hosting web sites on a hoster’s server when it is shared with other customers’ web sites. In this way, all web sites are hosted on the same server. However, unlike with free web hosting where the conditions are the same, with shared hosting you get much more benefits.
Shared web hosting can be divided into two subtypes:
Free Shared hosting is the best option if you want to try something new and don’t want to pay for hosting. This kind of web site hosting gives you everything you need to float your site. Obviously, you can’t expect the best hosting conditions for your website. Bandwidth and disk space are limited. This kind of shared hosting might not give you MySQL and PHP support. Web statistics are not well provided.
Paid Shared hosting offers all the features you need, such as Multi-User Email, Multi-User SQL, PHP support. You can use it if you need to host a small business, mid-sized, or large professional site, but don’t need the entire server. Shared hosting gives you a good chance to host your website on a high-performance, well-managed server at an affordable monthly fee.
First-time webmasters are in high demand for shared hosting because it offers a dependable web presence without the need for specialized technical skills. So, let’s now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of shared hosting:
Pros
• Low cost
• Good server administration
• Multiply e-mail, MySQL, PHP support
• You don't need some unique knowledge in web site and server administration
Cons
- Low level of security resource constraints
- Everyone has the same amount of memory, CPU and hard drive
- You can only use the software provided by your hosting company and cannot install your own
- some available ports and connections may be restricted due to security policies
The main benefit of shared hosting is the fact that you don’t have to worry about server issues. Your hosting company’s support service is designed to resolve all server issues. Therefore, when selecting shared hosting, you need to carefully consider the quality of company support, the higher the quality of support, the better the conditions for your site, etc. Shared hosting also allows you to place several sites on the neighbour parts of your server. Now that you’re familiar with all the unique features of shared hosting, you can decide whether it’s right for your needs and requirements.