So you’re looking to get your website online, but not sure where to start when it comes to picking a web hosting provider. Shared hosting can be a great option for small sites just getting started. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about shared hosting and how to find the right plan for your website.
What Exactly is Shared Hosting?
With shared hosting, your website lives on a server “shared” with other sites rather than having a server all to yourself. It’s an affordable way to host smaller sites since the server costs are spread across multiple users.
The resources on the server – things like disk space, RAM, and bandwidth – are allocated from larger shared pools and divided amongst each account.
The main pros of shared hosting are that it’s budget-friendly and you typically don’t need robust technical skills to manage it. The main con is that you have less resource isolation from other “noisy neighbor” sites on the same server.
But shared hosting works excellently for personal blogs, small business websites, beginner sites, and other modest web projects in terms of traffic.
Some key types of shared hosting include:
- WordPress hosting – Plans optimized specifically for WordPress sites.
- Reseller hosting – Host accounts you can re-sell to your own customers.
- Cloud hosting – Platforms that draw resources from distributed networks.
- Free hosting – Services that host sites at no cost with limitations.
So in summary, shared hosting is an affordable, user-friendly option suitable for most starter websites.
Key Evaluation Criteria for Choosing Shared Hosting
When researching potential shared hosting providers, keep these key criteria in mind:
Reliability and Uptime
This is huge. You want a host with proven server reliability and uptime ideally in the 99%+ range monthly. Even brief amounts of downtime can negatively impact sites.
Seek out providers like HETNiX with robust infrastructure redundancy including distributed, load-balanced server networks along with failover capabilities when issues arise. This protects against downtime-causing disruptions.
Monitoring tools that rapidly detect and address problems are also must-haves. Avoid hosts with frequent outages or downtime incidents reported by users.
Page Load Speeds
Shared hosts can vary widely in how much server CPU power, RAM, and other resources they allot per site. More ample resources allocated per account means consistently faster page loading speeds.
Optimized hosts also offer SSD-based storage rather than slower traditional HDDs. Look for providers using newer generation Intel, AMD, or Xeon processors on their servers as well. The specifications directly impact site performance.
Customer Support Quality
Even with shared hosting, issues inevitably come up where you’ll need technical support and customer service assistance. Make sure the host offers 24/7 live chat, phone, ticketing to address problems any time of day or night.
Evaluate user reviews to see what current customers are saying about the quality and responsiveness of support. How long do they take to resolve issues and respond to requests?
Scalability & Growth Options
As your site grows over time, you may eventually outgrow the capacity limits of entry-level shared hosting plans.
Choose a provider that allows you to seamlessly upgrade within their platform to VPS or dedicated server hosting. This enables scaling up resources without needing to migrate hosts and change your DNS.
Security & Protection
Even though you share space with other accounts, a quality host implements security layers like firewalls, DDoS mitigation, patched servers, HIPAA compliance, SSL encryption, VPN access, and more.
See what steps they take to harden and monitor their infrastructure against threats. Features like website backups and recovery options are also vital for protection.
Reputation & Independent Reviews
Lastly, research the host’s reputation and check third-party review sites to see what actual customers and unbiased reviewers say about the provider’s services, performance, and support.
Favorable long-term experiences from users indicate a reliable host that delivers on advertised offerings. Beware of low ratings and an abundance of complaints.
Migrating Your Site to New Hosting
Once you evaluate options and select a top shared hosting provider for your needs, most will migrate your existing website over for free. This typically includes:
- Moving your files and databases to the new hosting server.
- Updating DNS settings to point your domain to the new host.
- Ensuring proper configuration on the new environment.
Quality hosts may also offer free site builders, templates, and tools to get you set up if it’s a brand new site. Then you can focus efforts on creating awesome content and drawing visitors rather than technical setup.
Conclusion
The key when choosing any web host is finding a provider that offers the right server resources for your website’s current needs, along with the capability to scale up as traffic inevitably grows over time.
Conducting thorough research and evaluation pays off when it comes to identifying the best shared hosting provider for your specific needs and budget.
Have you used shared hosting for your sites? What specific features did you find most beneficial or wish your provider offered? I’d love to hear thoughts from those with experience selecting and utilizing shared hosting packages! Feel free to reach out with any questions.