Shared Web Hosting Package
Shared Web Hosting Package
Shared web hosting is the most basic form of web hosting available, and at least one shared web hosting package is offered by most web hosting providers for those who wish to get started with web hosting services on a low budget. A shared web hosting package can be purchased on either a Windows server or a Linux server which will give you choice if you ever choose to venture into using one or the other; however, the price of a Linux shared hosting package is traditionally cheaper than what you would pay for a Windows web hosting package, although you are likely to receiver a greater level of reliability with Linux shared web hosting than you would with Windows shared hosting. A shared web hosting package is a good place to start if you are new to web hosting, as not only will you be paying a low price for what you are getting but you will also receive a large number of features that you can use to help you develop your website. Most web hosting providers will be offering users client-side control panel access with their shared web hosting package, and this means that you can easily manage your shared hosting account without the need for you to contact your web hosting provider; in most cases you will be offered access to the Plesk control panel for Windows shared hosting services and the cPanel control panel for Linux shared hosting services. Although shared web hosting may be seen as a good place to start off, you may find that your website is too resource intensive to be hosted on a shared web hosting package; in the case of this you will need to upgrade your web hosting package to something more substantial such as VPS server hosting. To make the most of shared web hosting it is a good idea to get a web hosting account with high resource allocations which you can make the most of.
Why should I start off with using shared web hosting services?
There are several different reasons for you to start off with shared web hosting, these being the time, cost and experience needed to setup a basic shared web hosting account, whether it be a Windows shared hosting package or a Linux shared hosting package. Shared web hosting packages cost relatively little when compared to other forms of web hosting, and because of this it makes shared web hosting the place to start as why spend a lot of money on an advanced web hosting package which you more or less don’t need when you are starting out with web hosting. Most web hosting providers setup their shared web hosting packages instantly, of course ensuring that your order has passed all the necessary fraud checks first; this can benefit you in many ways since it means that you will get your web hosting account straight after you have placed your order, therefore meaning that you can get started with web hosting much sooner. As your web hosting provider is likely to offer control panel access to you, you don’t need any prior experience with using a shared hosting package as the web hosting control panel which you have access to should be very intuitive and easy to use. In summary, the main reasons for you to start off with shared hosting include:
- Cost – even if you are not looking into getting started with web hosting but are an existing user then you can still consider shared web hosting for your small projects as you will be offered a reliable web hosting package for a cost which you won’t have to worry about – the cost of shared web hosting allows more or less anyone to get started with shared web hosting, and over time you can work your way up the web hosting ladder until you have a dedicated server if that is what you require – however, you will need to remember that the higher the form of web hosting that you choose, the higher the cost you will have to pay
- Time – many web hosting providers setup their shared web hosting package orders immediately which allows them to offer you the best level of customer service, and for you as the customer this will allow you to start using your web hosting package immediately, granted that the DNS propogation has taken place for the domain that you want to use with your web hosting package – more advanced forms of web hosting require that you wait for your web hosting package to be setup as VPS servers needs to be manually provisioned for example, however you should note that some web hosting providers won’t offer immediate activation so that they can manually fraud screen all their orders
- Experience – shared web hosting is the most basic form of web hosting available and because of this web hosting providers don’t ask that you have any previous experience of server management or of using web hosting – control panel access is provided for most forms of web hosting, and in the case of shared web hosting you can make use of the control panel that you have access to (either cPanel or Plesk) to manage the different aspects of your shared web hosting package without the need to contact your web hosting provider unless you are facing specific issues with your shared web hosting service.
If you feel that the above factors affect you then y0u should certainly start off with shared web hosting, and even if you need something quick for you to test your new website on then you can also make use of instantly activated Windows and Linux shared web hosting packages. Shared web hosting is always the best place to start as you can begin with having no prior knowledge of web hosting, and as you learn you can build up your knowledge using a website hosted on your shared web hosting package; it is a good idea to note that most web hosting providers have many security restrictions in place on their servers, and although this may appear to be an inconvenience at first sight it does mean that you won’t have to worry about damaging the server you’re hosted on if you do something wrong.
Advantages of Shared Web Hosting Packages
There can be many advantages to using shared web hosting services, many of which you will experience even on the most basic of shared web hosting packages. You will find that the management of the server that you are hosted on is taken care of by your web hosting provider, and this means that you don’t need to have any relevant server management experience nor will you be responsible for any software updates or hardware upgrades that may be needed. Shared web hosting packages also come with access to a number of premium features at no additional cost, and this on its own makes shared web hosting packages worth it as most of the features which web hosting providers will provide you with access to cost a lot more than the web hosting package itself. You will also find that the level of security that web hosting providers maintain on their shared hosting servers will help to keep your websites and data safe, after all you could face serious problems if your websites or databases are hacked. In summary, the main advantages of shared hosting include:
- Server management – most people starting off in web hosting won’t even know what a server is and because of this you will find that it is an advantage not having to manage your own server, although in some cases you may find shared web hosting just too restrictive which would mean that your only other choice for a web hosting package that can suit your needs would be VPS server hosting – this also means that you can contact your web hosting provider about any issues your enquiries you may have regarding the server that you are hosted on, and most shared hosting providers will be offering fully managed hosting services
- Features – you will find that most web hosting providers are able to offer a wide range of features with their shared web hosting packages which would only otherwise be possible on dedicated hosting solutions on which customers would have to pay extra for such features – such features can include certain server side components that you can use to create new features for your website to increase the interactivity that your visitors can have with it – if you wish to have such features with your shared web hosting package then it is a good idea to shop around as this will allow you to find a web hosting provider that can offer you a varied range of features
- Security – for most people security is one of their top priorities when it comes to shared web hosting, and this is regardless of whether you are running a popular online shop which is processing confidential information or if you are just using your shared web hosting package for the hosting of your personal website and personal email – most web hosting providers ensure that their shared web hosting servers are as secure as possible to ensure the safety of all customer data, however you shouldn’t be surprised if your website is hacked when you are using a small hosting company as small providers don’t have the budgets that larger providers have to cover security.
You will find that the benefits of having a shared web hosting package are likely to tempt you towards using a shared web hosting package, although you should always take into consideration your requirements as you may find that even a high end shared web hosting package is unable to offer you what you need. If you have previous experience with web hosting services then you may wish to take that experience a bit further by purchasing a form of web hosting that is a bit more powerful than a shared hosting package; this may benefit you in terms of security and reliability in the future.
Disadvantages of Using Shared Web Hosting Services
There can also be disadvantages to using shared web hosting services which you should be aware of before purchasing any shared web hosting package. The main disadvantages of shared web hosting is the level of reliability that you can expect from your web hosting provider; you will find that web hosting providers try and fit as many customers as possible on their shared web hosting servers, and because of this the number of websites hosted can threaten the stability of the server. You may also find that if you choose to go with a shared web hosting provider offering unlimited amounts of disk space and bandwidth that your account gets terminated without any prior notification; this can be an inconvenience for many, but people still fall for the trap of web hosting providers who are overselling their shared hosting services. The final disadvantage of using shared web hosting services is the amount of disk space and bandwidth that you are able to use; these are the two resources which make shared web hosting an unsuitable option for larger websites as shared hosting packages only come with small assignments of both. In summary, the main disadvantages of using shared hosting include:
- Uptime and reliability – shared web hosting is never going to be the most reliable form of web hosting available for several different reasons, the main one being the fact that there are so many websites hosted on one server that maintaining a high level of uptime is near on impossible – this means that you shouldn’t expect too much from shared web hosting in terms of reliability and that shared web hosting shouldn’t be used for the hosting of mission critical websites as this could lead to inconveniences if your website is inaccessible – if you require a reliable hosting package then you should consider something a bit more substantial than shared web hosting
- Resource assignments – due to the nature of shared web hosting you are unlikely to find a shared hosting package that comes with large assignments of disk space and bandwidth meaning that shared hosting isn’t suitable for you if you are running a large or busy website – however, it is important that you don’t fall into the trap of web hosting providers who are overselling their shared hosting services by making promises they can’t meet, such as the offer of unlimited amounts of disk space and bandwidth – the likelihood is that your account will get suspended once you have used so much of each which will be an inconvenience to you
- Overselling web hosting providers – overselling web hosting providers are to be avoided at all costs as not only will they cause you inconveniences in the future, but they could harm the running of your website if your account happens to be suspended for one reason or another or if the hosting server crashes simply because there are too many websites being hosted – websites who oversell their shared hosting services can be easily identified by their web hosting plans on by looking at reviews for the web hosting provider concerned as unhappy customers are normally very eager to get their voice heard.
You will find that in some cases you may have to overlook the disadvantages that you can face with a shared web hosting package because of a number of reasons such as your budget for web hosting services or your requirements. As long as you avoid web hosting providers who appear to be overselling their web hosting services then you are unlikely to face any issues, although it’s still a good idea to be cautious and to read the necessary web hosting reviews before purchase from any web hosting provider.
In conclusion, shared web hosting services are some of the most cost effective web hosting packages available. You should only consider shared web hosting if you know that your website isn’t going to be getting much traffic or if you don’t require any specific server side components. Shared web hosting is very cheap meaning that shopping around will allow you to find the best deal, and at the end of the day it is a good idea for you to save as much money as you can on your web hosting package. Shared web hosting is ideal for most as you can purchase both Windows and Linux shared hosting packages if required.
