Shared hosting- Advantages and Disadvantages

Shared hosting means that many websites are hosted in a single server. Data storage space and band width will be distributed among the users. In shared hosting the user will get only that software support that the service provider offers them. If the user wants more software options he/she should chose dedicated hosting technique. In shared hosting the service provider will be responsible for management of system software, providing proper technical support, and maintaining the security of the web server. Most servers are using Linux as operating system and operated on LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL  PHp) . Linux is preferred because it is open source and it offers high security over other operating systems. Some service providers also offer windows based or free BSD based solutions. There are 1000’s of service providers across the world which provide economic shared hosting packages.

Shared hosting can be done in two ways:
1) IP based shared hosting
IP based virtual hosting is also known as dedicated IP hosting with each virtual host having different IP address.  The IP address of the client is used be the server software to determine the visibility of the website

2) Name based shared hosting
It is also known as shared IP hosting. The service software identifies different users by their host names and all will have the same IP address.

Advantages of shared hosting
• Shared hosting is Economical as the cost of the server is divided among the users.
• For a small business organization, which has an average traffic, shared hosting is perfect. If the website contains large files such as videos or large image files  shared hosting will be not sufficient
• The user will get his own domain  name
• There will be a good support team for satisfying users technical needs

Disadvantages of shared hosting
• Security will be minimal as there will be many sites sharing the same server .
• Bandwidth is less so if traffic  is increased there us a chance that the website might get over loaded
• Database will be available but support will be limited
• User doesn’t have permission to install programs. Software support will be limited. The user must satisfy with that software which the service provider grants them.
• Shared hosting technique will not work in old HTTP/1.0 browsers
• In shared hosting if the file permissions are improperly managed  there is a chance that another user might  access the information and is a big security threat
• In properly secure websites like HTTPS shared hosting technique is not properly supported

If you are looking for a hosting technique that is economical and  you wants a good start to your business shared hosting can the answer.

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The Advantages Of Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the best solution to choose for most small and medium sized websites. There are several advantages to choosing shared hosting. The biggest advantage is the cost. Compared to hosting on dedicated servers, shared hosting is much cheaper and affordable.

You can buy a web hosting package that fits your business needs most. There won’t be any need for you to sign-up for an all-inclusive account if you won’t be using most of the services.

Shared hosting can also be very advantageous for the web hosting company, because it can host hundreds of small and medium websites on one single server. This will diminish the installation and maintenance costs, and will give the hosting company a higher investment return.

Nevertheless, before you decide to host on a shared server you should make sure that the company makes use of state-of-the art servers with a high power for processing. These servers should be connected to the Internet on high speed bandwidth lines in order for there to be no choking when the traffic spurts.

The hosting solution should be in scale with your website’s needs, and should also be able to accommodate your needs as your site expands. The web host must also offer 24×7 toll-free technical support rendered by knowledgeable and technicians who are professionally trained.

You should also ask for references before signing up with a hosting firm. You will also need to consult other webmasters who decide to run sites on the same server. It will be a good idea for you to browse through these websites and find out what the response time is during the peak and non-peak hours.

You will especially need to verify whether the hosting company owns servers or is reselling hosting solutions. Reselling hosting solutions won’t appeal to your needs due to the fact that the web host is only a middleman and therefore not able to control the solutions he is selling. You might find sometimes that the services which are provided don’t live up to the promises made.

You must always have a plan for backup just in case your web host goes bankrupt. This should take into account the maintenance and backup of all the data you post on the web site. You should also have administrative control over the domain name right from the beginning; and your host should only be listed as a technical contact.

You should also verify the nature of other sites which are hosted on the server. Try to steer clear from web hosts who host adult sites. This kind of shared hosting has two disadvantages. The first one is that adult sites generally tend to attract high traffic and habitually corner a large part of the bandwidth. The second disadvantage is that they come to share their IP address with your site. This might be troublesome if some search engine chooses to blacklist all the sites which are hosted on that IP address.


Nora Roberts is contributing editor at WebDesignArticles.net. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.