Shared web hosting — what it is and who it suits
On shared web hosting, several websites sit together on one server and share its memory, processing power and disk. Because the cost of that server is spread across all those sites, this is by far the cheapest way to put a website online. You manage only your own space — maintaining the server itself is our job.
For the vast majority of websites that is exactly enough. Below you can read where the limits are, so you neither pay for capacity you will never use nor run into a plan that is too small.
Who is it enough for, and who is it not?
Shared hosting suits you if…
- You run a company site, blog, portfolio or association website
- You run a small to mid-sized web shop
- You work with a common CMS such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal
- You do not need to install your own server software
- You would rather not administer a server yourself
Look beyond shared hosting if…
- You need root access or want to run your own services
- Your site structurally runs into the limits of the plan
- You need full control over the server configuration
- You run a heavy web shop or application with many concurrent visitors
Shared, VPS or a server of your own?
The difference is not speed as such, but how much you share and how much you control yourself. The more control, the more administration comes with it.
| Type | What you share | Root access | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | Server, memory and processing power with other sites | No | Most websites and smaller web shops |
| Managed VPS | Only the physical machine; resources are allocated | Yes | Your own software, growing web shops, more control |
| Dedicated server | Nothing — the whole machine is yours | Yes | Heavy workloads and specific requirements |