What is Shared Hosting and How Does it Work?

Thinking of starting a website but feeling overwhelmed by the decision of hosting options?

Shared hosting is a great option if you want your hosting plan to be easy to manage, budget-friendly, and scalable. 

Before we dive into deep details about shared hosting, think of it like having a house in an apartment where you share some resources with other houses. 

In this guide, we’ll break down everything a business owner, blogger, or anyone aspiring to have a website should know about shared hosting. 

What Is Shared Hosting?

Ever lived in an apartment building where you shared resources like electricity, water, and parking space? Share hosting features a similar model but for websites. 

In shared hosting, multiple websites share the same server resources such as RAM, CPU, and disk space. Since websites share resources, shared hosting is the most budget-friendly hosting plan. 

Like sharing any other resources, there are limitations to what your hosting provider gives you. Hence, when a website outgrows shared hosting, it becomes insufficient to support a bigger site. 

Shared hosting is a great way to begin your digital presence journey, especially if you are starting off with a small website like a lifestyle blog or a small business. 

How Does Shared Hosting Work?

Signing up for shared hosting means your website has storage on a server alongside thousands of other websites. 

It is important to identify a credible hosting provider to ensure they can seamlessly handle shared hosting.

Once you sign up, your hosting provider manages a powerful server by dividing resources such as processing power, bandwidth, and storage among all the users. 

Sharing of resources means activities in one site. For example a suden spike in traffic on some websites can slow down the others temporarily. 

The hosting provider handles the: 

• Server maintenance
• Technical issues
• Updates 
• Security

You do not need technical expertise to manage shared hosting. However, this does not mean that you have no control over your website. 

After signing up for a shared hosting plan, you have access to cPanel, where you can manage emails, databases, and files. 

Key Features of Shared Hosting

Pros Of Shared Hosting

Here’s why shared hosting makes a great hosting plan option for websites:

Affordability

If you are working under budget constraints, shared hosting is a great option for you. For small South African businesses, shared hosting with TrueHost starts from as little as R35/month. 

Shared hosting provides an affordable option for small and medium websites to run smoothly with no security or management issues. 

Easy-to-use

Your hosting provider takes on the responsibility of full management in shared hosting. Whether you just started a blog or want to have a portfolio but have no IT skills, you can have your website up and fully functional with shared hosting.

Quick Set-up

Share hosting provides instant account set-up.

You do not have to wait to start building your website. For example, shared hosting has pre-installed tools like Softaculous that allow for WordPress installation within seconds.

Sufficient Security Features

Shared hosting comes with security features that mostly do not require additional costs to run. Also, there are advanced malware scanners to ensure that your website is secure. 

Furthermore, some providers such as TrueHost SA provide shared hosting with a free SSL ensure that your website is secure.

Scalability

Shared hosting is a perfect plan if you do not want to commit to something expensive right away. If you are beginning a tech blog, for example, you can use shared hosting and monitor your traffic. 

If need be, you can upgrade to another hosting plan as your website grows. 

Disadvantages of Shared Hosting

Limited Resources

While the hosting provider has space for every website on the server, there are limitations to how much a website can consume.

Hence, your website may experience problems if it exceeds the amount of resources it is allocated. 

If you choose shared hosting, you must ensure that your website works within the limitations. 

Security

Just like living in an apartment, if your neighbor experiences a security problem, you are at a higher risk of experiencing the same issue. 

With shared hosting, if a hacker attacks one website, other websites sharing the same server might experience problems. 

Another security disadvantage with shared hosting is the limited ability to install advanced security. Your hosting provider has the biggest control of the server; therefore, it might be challenging to have custom security for your website. 

Limited Customization

If you are tech-savvy, shared hosting can feel limiting because there are restrictions on customizations and installations.

There are restrictions on software installations. Also, you cannot modify server settings because this can affect other websites sharing the servers.

Slower Loading Speeds

Compared to other hosting options like dedicated hosting, shared hosting has slower loading speeds.

There are hundreds of websites sharing the same server; hence, the loading speeds might be slower compared to other hosting plans. 

Unpredictable Uptime

Depending on the server, your website can temporarily go down if another website sharing the server has a surge in traffic. However, this depends on the hosting provider. 

On the Bright Side…

The challenges of shared hosting do not have to worry you. Here’s why:

Limited resources? But do you need more?

If you have a starter website, you will rarely need more resources than your hosting plan can provide.

For example, if you have a blog with 10,000+ visitors, the Truehost basic shared hosting plan can smoothly sustain your website.

Also, you can avoid depletion of server allocated resources by:

• Optimizing images
• Using caching plugins
• Upgrading when traffic spikes

You Can Easily Manage Security Risks

Most hosting providers have the needed tools to manage security risks that come with shared hosting. For example, Truehost manages security risks through: 

• Isolation of each account to prevent cross-account access
• Regular server software and security updates
• Fire and DDoS protection
• ModSecurity: Web application firewall rules block common attack patterns.
• Secure FTP and SSH access
• Daily Backups
• Free SSL for encrypted communication.
• Continuous monitoring for suspicious activity.

You can also apply these simple tips to enhance security:

• Install a security plugin such as Wordfence for WordPress
• Avoid null themes and plugins
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Slow Speeds? You Can Fix Without Upgrading

You can fix loading speeds for your website without upgrading a shared hosting plan. A simple tactic like optimizing images can do wonders for your loading speeds.

Your speed optimization checklist can look like this:

• Use a light WordPress theme like Astra
• Optimize images and videos
• Enable browser caching 

As a Beginner, You Don’t Need Root Access

If you are a beginner, you won’t miss root access. The cPanel is enough. Through your cPanel, you can manage everything you need on your website, such as emails, databases, and files. 

No Uptime Issues With the Right Hosting Provider

Shared hosting providers offer the industry-standard uptime of 99.9%. Also, with TrueHost shared hosting plan, you do not have to worry about uptime problems because we:

1. Use reliable, high-performance servers with redundant hardware.
2. Employ network redundancy and multiple internet providers for continuous connectivity.
3. Proactively monitor server status and automated alerts for issues.
4. Perform regular maintenance during low-traffic periods to minimize disruption.
5. Have quick incident response teams to resolve outages fast.
6. Perform daily backups to restore sites quickly if needed.

Who Needs Shared Hosting?

First-time Website Owners

Website owners with no experience of running a website can have a shared hosting plan. Features like one-click installs makes it easier for first-timmers to navigate. 

Even if you are a senior citizen who wants to share decades of cooking experience through a recipe website, it is easy to learn with a shared hosting plan. 

Bloggers

Shared hosting is perfect if you are considering starting a blog. For example, if you are confused about blog niches, you can try out different ideas without incurring a big cost for hosting.

Community Organizations

Community organizations on a pressed budget can opt for shared hosting. With a basic shared hosting plan, you can share what you do with the world and build on the website sufficiently. 

Also, it is easy to manage the website without stretching resources to hire experts for website management. 

Temporary Projects

If you are a business person who is still testing out different ideas, you can use shared hosting before scaling up. 

Also, if you have a one-time short project that needs to be separate from the rest of your business but does not require many resources, you can have shared hosting for the website. 

Final Take On Shared Hosting

If you are trying out business ideas, starting a blog, have a small business, or are a student, shared hosting is perfect for you. 

While shared hosting has some limitations, such as security risks, uptime concerns, and limited resources, these issues are not a cause for concern to most beginners.

Plus, if you apply simple tips such as enabling two-factor verification and caching, you can overcome some of the challenges. 

Remember, you need a reliable hosting provider to have the best shared hosting experience.