Shared web hosting is a web hosting arrangement where multiple accounts are run from a single server, where all the accounts share the capacity and bandwidth. 

If you have had experience with personal websites that you ran from your home computer, then most probably, what you’ve got is a shared web hosting. Even if it is not specifically stated by your provider, most inexpensive hosting options are shared web hosting.

 

This is ideal for start-up and small companies and organizations, and people who are looking for the cost effective web hosting service for their basic needs.

Shared hosting is best for customers with websites that have small or moderate traffic levels. These shared web hosting packages are offered at very modest and reasonable rates. The setup allows different customers to share computer hardware resources, and maintenance and operating cost are distributed over a large number of clients which results to reduced cost. Although the accounts are hosted to a single computer server, the hard drive space is separated so no one else has access to your files or data.

Advantages of Shared Web Hosting

The strongest point about shared web hosting for most people is its low cost. You have the option to choose the amount of disk space and bandwidth you would need. Those who opt to sign up in a long term contract, the prices will be lower than paying on a monthly basis.

Since shared hosting is managed by the hosting company, all security and software updates and maintenance are performed by their staff. All shared hosting packages come with an easy to use client management interface that allows them to set up file and FTP access; manage email accounts and other basic functions. This set up provides the hosting client full control of their websites.

For companies who will require more features, such as shopping carts, automated backups and security certificates, this add on features will be added as extras to the web hosting package.

Disadvantages of Shared Web Hosting

Beyond these advantages of shared web hosting, there are several tradeoffs if one chooses this kind of web hosting service. Shared web hosting would logically mean that you are on the same computer server as hundreds or even thousands of other websites. The arrangement of sharing of resources translates to less than optimal response time. This means that you may notice a performance lag if you are in a web server as several other high volume websites. Most hosting providers monitor shared servers for abuse and resource hogging. There are instances that some malicious scripts or bad codes cause it to stop functioning, shutting down every website hosted on the server.

The issue on limited disk space and bandwidth allowance is another concern by those on a shared hosting server. If you are experiencing a busy traffic spike, you may exceed you disk space and bandwidth allowance. This will translate to additional charges or your website gets shut down.

Shared web hosting is not a perfect web hosting solution for everyone. However, one should always consider it as a web hosting option. This setup can allow us to start small and manage our costs, time and resources, while still having access to technical expertise of the web hosting company. This web hosting solution can be just the perfect one for you or your company.