Shared Hosting: A cheap way to gain an online presence

Website hosting generally falls into two categories: shared and non-shared. Shared hosting will see one server used to host websites & email for multiple end users.

Shared hosting is a standard type of web hosting ideal for users who are starting out looking for a low cost hosting solution.

What are the advantages of shared hosting?

• Shared hosting is usually low cost, simple and easy to use and quick to set up.
• Once you have secured your domain name you can have content online within hours.
• With the number of free Content Management Systems (CMS) and Website Builders available you can create a professional looking website whilst having no prior technical knowledge.
• No software to download – most CMSs are managed online.

• Resources available to you may be limited. In most cases this won’t be a problem but if you had a popular site with many concurrent visitors this may throw up issues.
• A shared hosting server hosts multiple clients. If one of those clients were to start sending out unsolicited / spam emails, it’s possible for the server’s IP address to become blacklisted. Most companies will monitor this daily and ensure their servers are never listed on blacklists but it is something to bear in mind when choosing a web host.