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Is Shared Hosting good and safe?
Shared Hosting is one of the most popular Hosting services on the internet today for WordPress websites. So, in general, of course, Shared Hosting is not only good, it’s safe as well. But, there’s more.
The question shouldn’t be whether or not Shared Hosting is both good and safe, but just how good and how safe Shared Hosting really is?
In this post, I’m going to look at Shared Hosting and talk about just how good and how safe Shared Hosting is.
In addition, I’m also going to talk about who should get Shared Hosting and who should not.
I will also address some website safety issues and other common questions related to Shared Hosting as well.
Who Is Shared Hosting good for?
Shared Hosting is good for those of you who are getting your first WordPress website up and live on the internet.
There’s a reason why Shared Hosting is probably the most popular hosting plan that hosting providers offer. This is because, it is, first of all, usually the lowest cost plan.
But what exactly is Shared Hosting?
Shared Hosting is basically when a web hosting provider hosts numerous websites on one server.
They divide up server space on their servers and sell it usually for a monthly or yearly fee to their clients.
Many Shared Hosting plans offer unlimited websites. Other hosting providers offer a certain gigabyte limit on their servers per website in their Shared Hosting plans.
The beauty of Shared Hosting, especially on plans that allow unlimited websites, is that if you are looking to build a variety of websites or blogs based on your different interests, businesses etc., then Shared Hosting allows you to get these websites up on the internet.
However, Shared Hosting is not without its own set of issues that you should be aware of.
Most importantly, you don’t know which websites or how many websites will be shared, along with yours, on any particular server.
The results may be slower loading times and even server outages from time to time.
Also, you have much less control over your files and what you can put onto these Shared Hosting servers for your website.
Who Is Shared Hosting bad for?
Shared Hosting is bad for anyone with a website that has a lot of traffic, i.e. a lot of visitors.
The more visitors and traffic a website has, the more resources it uses on any particular server.
The results of having too much traffic, especially, if it’s all at once, is that it could cause a server to crash.
This unnecessary downtime due to heavy traffic can additionally cost serious money if your website is monetized and the monetization method depends on traffic numbers for revenue.
So, if you are looking to take your website or websites to a higher level using more web server resources and a better quality of service and attention from your web hosting provider, then Shared Hosting is not for you.
But for absolute beginners or if you’re just starting out with a website or websites, Shared Hosting is probably the best plan you can get for the money.
What is the difference between Shared and Dedicated Hosting?
The difference between Shared Hosting and Dedicated Hosting is with Shared Hosting, as I had mentioned above, you are sharing a server with other websites.
Dedicated Hosting is when you have an entire server all to yourself.
Basically your website has its own server that is not shared with any other websites.
Is Shared Hosting safer than Dedicated Hosting?
Actually, the contrary is true. Dedicated Hosting is much safer than Shared Hosting. Why?
First off, you’re going to be paying much more for a dedicated server.
Therefore, support and service is usually at a much higher level.
However, with a dedicated server you are also responsible for many issues that may occur on that server, even though you are paying a higher price for the use.
Hosting providers usually expect webmasters who require a dedicated server to also be somewhat knowledgeable on how servers are run and can manage their own resources without the assistance of the hosting provider.
That’s not to say that there is no support for websites that have a dedicated server, however, much of the heavy lifting, the webmaster may have to do themselves.
Any assistance with issues on a dedicated server may even require you to pay extra on top of the monthly or annual planned fee.
With a Shared Hosting plan the hosting provider is responsible for the maintenance and the running of that shared server much more directly.
How safe is Shared Hosting?
Even though your website is sharing the same server with many other unknown websites, in general, Shared Hosting is relatively safe.
In fact, most reputable hosting providers have quite tight security over their servers.
The best way to check to see how safe and reputable a web hosting provider’s servers are is to go through several reviews sites and forums and read the comments and reviews.
For example, you can go to reddit.com/r/webhosting.
There are quite a few other forums and websites as well as doing a simple Google Search for the web hosting provider you’d like to check out.
However, more than likely, the safety and security of your website will depend more on you and the security measures you have put into place on your website that will determine how safe and secure your website is.
For example, subscribing to security services like Wordfence, Sucuri or any number of reputable website security services will give you the level of safety and security that your website requires.
These services can also help rectify many hacking issues and threats that your website may encounter as well.
Is Cloud Hosting better than Shared Hosting?
Cloud Hosting is definitely an upgrade from Shared Hosting. Why?
As I have mentioned above, with Shared Hosting you are going to share the same server with other websites.
With Cloud Hosting your website’s files are literally duplicated and served through a series of different servers based throughout the world.
These are otherwise known as Cloud Servers.
Your website hosting provider usually has contracts with other various web server companies in many different regions as well as countries throughout the world.
Your webhost basically duplicates the files of your website and hosts them from these different cloud based servers.
The advantage is of course, faster and easier access for your website’s visitors, no matter where in the world they may be.
In addition, the chances of your website going down because of a server issue is mitigated due to the fact that your website’s files are hosted on many different servers throughout your web hosting provider’s cloud network.
There are other reasons why a Cloud Hosting plan is better than Shared Hosting, but those are the two main reasons.
How do I know if my server is Shared or Dedicated?
You will know if your server is Shared or Dedicated based on the hosting plan you choose with your hosting provider.
Providers normally don’t make the mistake of putting a single website on a Dedicated Server unless the webmaster pays for that service.
In general, you will know whether or not your website is on a Shared Server or Dedicated Server based on the hosting plan you sign up for, since Dedicated Server Hosting is definitely more expensive.
Shared Hosting is not only good but safe as well, conclusions.
As you can see, Shared Hosting is definitely good, especially for first time Website Owners, as well as for those on a limited budget.
Some Shared Hosting plans even allow unlimited websites. Shared Hosting, in general, is also quite safe as well.
Although your Web Hosting Provider isn’t the only party responsible for the security of your WordPress website, you as the Webmaster and Owner, are also responsible too.
However, if you implement the right security measures and use the services of some reputable WordPress Website Security Services and plugins, you should be able to keep your website safe and sound on the internet.
