Shared Web Hosting
Due to its affordable prices, the shared web hosting is the most popular hosting package on the market. However, there are several things you should know about what shared hosting means before you can decide if this is the package for you.
What is shared web hosting?
As the name suggests, shared web hosting is a plan which is “shared” among several users. That, of course, doesn’t mean you share an account with other people, but rather your hosting account is on the same server with other accounts. Usually, shared accounts have a certain percentage of the resources dedicated to them, while others are distributed in a flexible manner.
What are the shared web hosting limitations?
To ensure the work of all users and their accounts, shared web hosting providers need to impose certain limits so that all users get a fair share of the server they are hosting on. These limits are of various nature: storage, traffic, PHP values, email storage, file usage, etc. Keep in mind that although these limits might be a pain, they are implemented to ensure you get just as much as any other person on the server and to avoid overloads of that server.
What is unlimited shared hosting?
If you research shared web hosting providers, you might notice the word “unlimited” when it comes to storage or bandwidth. That, however, can be very misleading. Imagine servers like they are computers. Just as there is no possible way for a computer to have unlimited storage, the same way a server cannot be without limits. What hosts mean is that they do not have a fixed storage or bandwidth limit on your account. Therefore they limit you in other ways (number of files, number of sites or email accounts, etc.) or they reserve the right to suspend your account if it starts interfering with the performance of other users on the same server. This can be very inconvenient, as you will not know how much space you can use before your account is suspended and you have no way of monitoring if you are close to reaching your limits. That is why I would advise you don’t get fooled by the promises of “unlimited” hosting, but rather count on hosts with a fixed storage. If you are considering unlimited hosting after all, carefully read their terms of service and ask on chat how much exactly is available for your account.
What are the prices of the shared web hosting?
The fee for shared web hosting might vary from provider to provider as well as within hosting companies as well. The price depends on the resources the shared plan has, as well as some additional features, available support and server location. I would recommend that you look for a host with several shared plans so that if you eventually need more resource, you can upgrade without paying for a VPS or a whole server. You can review my list of top affordable and cheap hosts.