subject: Useful Tips Of Shared Web Hosting [print this page] A shared hosting environment simply means clients share space on a server. It's much cheaper than dedicated server hosting, and it offers clients great features like multiple email accounts and shopping cart software solutions. It's very easy and affordable to open up an online business with shared server hosting.
Shared servers are a popular hosting option that works well for many individuals and businesses. The main advantage of shared servers is that they provide access to quality web hosting at a very affordable price.
Businesses often start out with shared hosting, but if their websites grow and thrive, shared servers may become inadequate. There are several issues that can arise with shared hosting.
Since the server may be hosting hundreds or even thousands of websites, there's the possibility that an issue with another site could cause problems, including server slow downs or even crashes. If one of the many sites on a server suddenly requires additional bandwidth, the stability of all of the server's websites is threatened. Additional bandwidth usage by even one site can strain the server to the extent that it runs slower or crashes.
Slow shared servers can equate to lost traffic, as most Internet users quickly click off sites that load too slowly. Downtime can also cost businesses clients, as the reliability of the website reflects on the quality of the business in visitors' eyes. In fact, one way to determine whether shared servers are costing you customers is to check your website's traffic stats regularly. Look at how often your website is down and how fast visitors are clicking off your site due to slow load times.
Security is another consideration when online businesses and websites begin to grow. While quality shared servers go to great lengths to keep customers' websites secure, the fact that they involve "sharing" means your website and data could be open to security breaches. You may never have a security problem with a shared server, but if the nature of your website means it's critical you safeguard data, shared servers may not be your best option.
Shared hosting does offer customers many advantages, and for many businesses the features, power and simplicity they offer makes them the ideal hosting choice. Yet as bandwidth, stability and security needs grow, it makes sense to explore the option of upgrading to a more costly but more appropriate hosting option. Virtual private servers and dedicated servers are two next logical steps to consider when your website and your business' needs outgrow shared servers' capabilities.
