Choosing a hosting plan is one of the first things you need to do to get your website up and running. There are two main types of hosting plans for people to choose from including:
- Dedicated web hosting plan
- Shared web hosting plan
Choosing between the two is not as simple as it seems. Your choice of web hosting plan should be based upon various factors including the specific needs of your company, your budget, your future goals, and more. You need to select a plan that offers you several scalability options as your business grows.
In this article, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of choosing a shared web hosting plan. But before that let’s learn what a shared web hosting plan is and how it differs from a dedicated web hosting plan.
So without further ado, let’s get to the details.
Shared web hosting is a type of web hosting plan where multiple websites are hosted on one server. It means your website will be hosted by a server that also hosts several other websites. A shared website hosting plan is when different websites sign a shared hosting contract with a single service provider.
One of the main reasons why companies opt for a shared web hosting plan is the cheap rates. When you choose a dedicated web hosting server for your website, you have to pay more. Getting a shared web hosting plan means you have to share the resources offered by the service provider with other websites. This helps the service provider to cater to a wider clientele with limited server space.
Web hosting resources you have to share with other websites include:
- Bandwidth
- Database
- Email accounts
- Ftp accounts
- Space on the server
On the contrary, a dedicated web hosting server is only dedicated to your website. Its web hosting resources are not shared with other websites. This server only serves your website and you have complete access to the resources offered by the service provider.
Now let’s discuss the pros and cons of shared web hosting services.
Similar to everything in this world, shared web hosting services also have their pros and cons. In this section, we are going to discuss some of them.
Following are some of the advantages of choosing a shared web hosting service:
- Cost-effectiveness:
One of the major reasons to choose a shared hosting service over a dedicated web hosting service is affordability. Businesses looking to cut costs will prefer shared web hosting services that are available for a much lower cost as compared to dedicated web hosting services. Not only are these resources available for cheap, but you also get various opportunities to get more space for free.
- Discounts and promo codes:
There are thousands of web hosting firms working in the market. Most web hosting services providers launch amazing deals to stay ahead in the over-competitive IT industry. Shared web hosting firms also offer discount coupons and promo codes via popular online discounting websites like EMUCoupon.com to make these services even easier to afford.
- Easy customization options:
Shared web hosting services also come with a variety of customization options. Even though this hosting plan is divided among various users, the webmaster has the main control. The control panel is easy to use and features a variety of tools that allow effective website customization.
You can upload files, images and check website statistics using the features available within the control panel.
- Convenience:
The ability to customize your website to your desire and affordability makes a shared web hosting plan a convenient option for users. Managing your website is a lot of work. By choosing a shared web hosting plan, you let your website be managed by a professional and skilled expert. This provides you the convenience to focus on the other more important aspects of your business.
- High efficiency and enhanced performance:
One of the most important aspects you need to consider while choosing a web hosting service is its bandwidth and the disk space the selected service provider offers.
- Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is important for business owners to run their websites more efficiently. Shared web hosting services offer enough bandwidth to make it easy to manage your website. The best thing is, you get adequate bandwidth at the fraction of the cost offered by dedicated web hosting services. It also helps website owners to get more resources on their websites.
This adds to the efficiency of the website and your business starts to grow in a matter of time.
Just like pros, there are various cons to choosing a shared web hosting plan. Some of them include:
- Crashes:
Even though shared hosting services improve the efficiency and performance of your website, some customers also experience crashes sharing a web hosting plan with other websites. This happens because in some cases thousands of websites are put on one server causing it to fail and crash in severe cases.
Therefore, while choosing a shared web hosting provider, it is important to research the previous history of the web hosting services provider. Visit their social media pages to read reviews and use their hosting forums to get more information.
- Shared resources can lower the performance:
Shared web hosting plans have their resources divided within several websites. For some businesses, access to shared resources works. However, for more established businesses, this might be a problem. Your choice of hosting plan should depend upon the size and needs of your business. Moreover, the software is shared within several websites. In case of high web traffic, it may stop.
- Security issues:
Security is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to using a shared web hosting plan. The misuse of HT access can put your critical data and the integrity of your website at stake. A small glitch in the server can wreak havoc on your website and cause several security issues. It also makes it easier for intruders to get access to your data. In certain cases, your website can also get blacklisted if customers’ personal information is exploited by cybercriminals.
- Limited scalability options:
Every business owner wants to take his business to the next level. Shared web hosting services work for a rigid business. However, when your business starts to grow with time, you need to cater to a wider range of audiences. This means you need to evolve your business practices and scale them with time.
When your business starts to grow, your need for space also increases. For additional space, you need to pay additional charges, and eventually, you have to switch to a dedicated server. Sometimes, getting additional space on a shared web hosting plan costs you more than having a dedicated server to host your website.
Conclusion
One of the first questions that come to your mind while trying to get your website up and running is which web hosting plan you should choose. Your choice of web hosting plan should always be governed by the needs of your business and its size. It should also depend on the budget you have to host your website. The above-mentioned pros and cons will help you make an informed choice.