Monday, August 2, 2010

What is Shared Web Hosting

For a beginner Shared Web Hosting typically is THE preferred way to start the adventure. This is the most popular of all types of hosting services. The provider of the shared web host stores multiple websites in the same machine, so all these websites on the shared server use the same network connection, the same hardware resources, and the same software. You are only responsible for managing the design and content of your website.

A shared web hosting can be name-based (domains of all shared websites map to the same IP address, but different host names) or dedicated IP-based (each website gets a separate IP address).

Pros:
  • cheap cheap cheap. Many popular providers offer a shared service for around $10 per month. That is also for a reasonably good service -- ample bandwidth, disk space, control panel.
  • Shared web hosting hits a sweet spot between price and service. It is more than sufficient for most of the websites.
  • You don't need almost any technical knowledge work in a shared host environment
Cons:

  • Limited resources are available because of the shared nature of the service. Providers promise to give unlimited bandwidth, storage, but that is just a marketing gimmick. Also there are restrictions on the type of scripts you can run on the server.
  • You cannot get "root" privilege of the server
  • Sometimes the web hosts do not support Secure HTTP transaction (through HTTPS). Some of them require you to get unique IP address to get this done.

Recommended to:

  • This is perfect for beginners. That is true for both personal and small business websites. Even if you suspect that over the years your personal website may transform to a giant, still it is better to start with shared web hosting to cut the cost and test the market.
  • Company brochure or profile
  • Basic e-commerce, Bulletin board or small chat room
  • Small and medium sized businesses

Which web host is the best for shared hosting:

Most of the popular web hosts belong to this category. As far as price and resources they offer, there is virtually no difference. Some of them provide more resources which you are unlikely to use. The key to choose the best shared web host or at least one of the best hosting providers is to look for the one that is known for high reliability (uptime etc.) and better customer service. A few of them are given below.

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