Ever heard of a Swedish proverb that goes like “shared joy is double joy”? Bet you have, but for something wonderful, like good news or a piece of cake. The proverb is also true in other aspects of life (or business) – like web hosting.
As a small business owner, your focus is on expanding your revenue while minimizing your operational costs without affecting your service deliverability. One of the best ways to achieve that online is by hosting your website on a cheap shared hosting platform. This way, you get to enjoy the web presence, without breaking the bank.
Shared hosting got its name from the word “share,” which means a part or portion of a large amount that’s divided among several people. Shared hosting is when multiple users share a large server. By having several websites on a single server, hosting providers can offer the solutions at a much lower price. Shared hosting is, by far, the most affordable option when it comes to hosting services.
To make it more precise, a dedicated server, which is at the high end of the spectrum, goes for at least $150 per month but can go into several thousand dollars per month. Shared hosting, on the other hand, can range from as low as $3.00 per month to as high as $9.00 per month or more.
Although a dedicated server gives you full control of server resources, you do not need it at this level of your business. And considering the pricing, you may end up paying an arm and a leg to keep your site online.
What’s the catch with shared hosting?
Shared hosting is designed for small businesses and bloggers – you only use it as a stepping stone as you transition to servers that offer more resources to accommodate your growing business needs, like VPS or dedicated server.
Speaking of which – it’s essential to find a hosting company with excellent customer care solutions. Some hosting companies will suspend your account and send a notification asking you to upgrade when they realize your site is using tons of server resources. Others will ask you to upgrade, but not so politely. Some won’t even be courteous enough to do any of that – they just suspend your account and leave it at that. You’ll find out on your own. So, always go for a hosting provider that has a good reputation in the market.
Benefits of shared web hosting
One of the biggest advantages of shared hosting is the price. Since hundreds or thousands of sites share the maintenance fee, you only have to pay a fraction of the amount, which is anywhere between $3.00 and $9.00.
Shared hosting also features incredible technology – a majority of these hosting platforms come with user-friendly admin panel like cPanel or DirectAdmin.
Top companies work with highly specialized experts to ensure seamless operations. They also offer a range of solutions that allow for easy upgrades.