Shared hosting is by far the most popular type of hosting by WordPress users. Despite its popularity, people do not necessarily understand what a shared server is. Before making a decision for your web server, we suggest you read this article to understand what this type of hosting really is. What are its advantages and disadvantages? We hope to help you make the best decision for your business!
What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is when several sites are hosted on the same server. By having multiple sites on a single large server, hosting companies can then offer you these services at very affordable prices. This is by far the cheapest option for web hosting for WordPress. It may be the most affordable, but it doesn’t fit someone who lacks technological skills. In that case, managed WordPress hosting is definitely a better option.
To give an order of magnitude, the price of a dedicated server starts at around $150.00 dollars a month and can go up to thousands of dollars a month. With shared hosting, we turn more around $3.95 to $9.95 per month.
The best shared hosts for WordPress
BlueHost
BlueHost is the hosting solution that I recommend. Affordable, reliable and very professional. Created in 1996, the hosting company is even the first company recommended directly by WordPress. Bluehost offers to register a free domain name, automatic backups, one-click installation, 24/7 support and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
We recently obtained from BlueHost an exclusive offer for our readers at US $3.95/month.
We also invite you to follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to create a WordPress blog using Bluehost as shared hosting.
What is the catch behind shared hosting?
One of the biggest pitfalls is the marketing effort deployed by hosting sites for shared sites. Indeed, they tout unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited domains and in fact, almost anything can be called unlimited. You must know that the only thing that is unlimited is the pile of lies that can come out of the mouth of some companies. For a shared server, there is nothing that can be described as unlimited. The shared hosting option is reserved for smaller sites such as blogs or websites for small and medium businesses. If each of the sites hosted on a shared server used their quota, then the server would not work anymore. As very few people and websites use their package, shared hosting works perfectly for everyone. Users have a service that is quite affordable and efficient for their type of need.
In short, this is the best option when starting a project or when you have a website with not a lot of traffic (- only 5000 visitors / month for example) . If your site starts to become popular and uses tons of server resources, then web hosts will ask you to increase your package. Having already dealt with many different hosting companies, some do not ask you very politely. Indeed, some companies (which we do not recommend in the list below on this page) have already simply blocked our account and then sent an email explanation. That’s why you have to choose a shared hosting company that has a good reputation.
Reputation is by far the only thing you need to be careful about when choosing a shared server. There is a good chance that you will not use all the features that will be available to you, so choosing by looking at the list of features will not help you. Most people do not understand computer jargon, they look at the volumes that are listed in the feature list to justify their decision. Trust only reputation. This is the only important factor because most of the shared hosts offer the same offers.
The benefits of shared hosting for your WordPress site
- There is a real cost advantage because server maintenance costs are shared by thousands of sites. Accommodation costs are between $3.95 and $9.95 per month.
- Competition has led to improvements in technology. Most hosts offer easy-to-use interfaces, such as cpanel or fantastic control panels.
- Most companies employ highly skilled professionals. This allows you to focus peacefully on your business instead of worrying about maintaining the hosting.
- Most big shared hosting companies offer multiple services. For example, if the traffic on your site increases, you can update your package without hassle.
The disadvantages of shared hosting for WordPress
- Compared to dedicated servers, you will notice a load of web pages a little longer with shared servers.
- Also, your server may be faster on some days than others. This is one of the disadvantages of shared servers.
In conclusion
That concludes our summary of the truth, the whole truth about shared hosting services. We hope this guide will enlighten you on your decision making! Remember … for a shared server, trust the company’s reputation and not just the price and features.