Shared web hosting packages are generally the cheapest available and provide consumers with a way of getting started with web hosting without the need to pay out any large amounts to begin with. A shared web hosting package will be able to provide you with the basic features that you require to make the most of web hosting to begin with, although some do offer more advanced features that more experienced users may wish to take advantage of. The features offered with your shared web hosting service will depend on the operating system that you have chosen to use, with Linux and Windows being aimed at different markets and offering different features as appropriate. Linux shared web hosting services are the low cost option for the most, although for businesses that rely on Microsoft products then Windows hosting is generally the only option available to them. As shared hosting is a very basic form of web hosting, it is offered by the smallest web hosting companies as well as the biggest because it can carry good profit margins if priced correctly; this means that shared web hosting is a competitive market, providing consumers with low pricing and good deals.
Linux Shared Hosting
Linux shared hosting packages are seen as being the cheapest web hosting services available because web hosting companies use Linux to offer low cost shared hosting packages because Linux is a cheaper platform than Windows in general. For users that are on a budget, Linux shared hosting represents a clear option that will allow you to make the most of your small budget by providing you with features and resources for your budget than Windows shared hosting services won’t be able to match. Linux provides the perfect web hosting environment for those who wish to host PHP and MySQL based websites as usually both technologies can be optimized to provide the best level of performance on a Linux server. Even though Linux shared web hosting can be cheap, it doesn’t mean that you have to compromise the level of quality you receive in terms of the service offered and the support provided by your chosen web hosting provider; if you can find the equilibrium at which you are provided with a reliable hosting service by your hosting company as well as a high level of support then you can be sure that you are receiving good value for money.
Windows Shared Hosting
Windows shared hosting provides Windows web developers with a low cost way of entry into the Windows web hosting market, although you need to note that Windows web hosting will always be slightly more expensive than any Linux web hosting services of a similar specification. Windows as a hosting platform is able to provide you with access to a wide array of features that will allow you to make the most of your web applications; for example, classic ASP and ASP.NET are the two scripting frameworks that have been developed by Microsoft – both are only compatible with the Windows platform. There are also various Microsoft applications that are used by bigger businesses that are only compatible with the Windows operating system, simply because Microsoft wants to give businesses a good reason to use Windows over Linux. Windows in a shared hosting medium can be quite limiting because although you will be provided with sufficient disk space to host a website and maybe a Microsoft Access database, you may be required to pay extra if you wish to use Microsoft SQL Server databases as some web hosting companies see this as an optional extra as not everyone will be using MSSQL Server.
Benefits of Shared Web Hosting
Shared web hosting can provide you with many benefits with regards to offering value for money and will ensure that you have the core features necessary to host any basic website on your web hosting service. The main benefit of using shared web hosting is the low cost associated with most shared web hosting packages, simply because web hosting providers wish to market their shared hosting services at the cheapest they have available; for beginners that don’t want to spend large amounts on web hosting, shared web hosting is ideal. Any good web hosting companies will provide its shared web hosting customers with a good level of support because the web hosting provider is the one responsible for the management of the shared web hosting server; this will mean that the shared web hosting servers are secured to a high level to prevent hackers from being able to gain entry and to protect the data that is being hosted. Most shared web hosting services are reliable as web hosting companies have worked hard to improve the reliability of their shared web hosting services, address the concerns of many users who had previously been affected by large periods of downtime whilst using shared web hosting.
Disadvantages of Shared Web Hosting
For the beginner who is looking to receive good value for money, there aren’t many disadvantages to using shared web hosting because a standard shared web hosting service can provide you with the features and resources that any basic user will need to host a small static HTML website. As most shared web hosting servers are hosting a large number of websites, reliability and high uptime can’t always be guaranteed and instead you should be prepared to experience downtime, although cloud hosting is working hard to improve the stability of shared web hosting.
In conclusion, a shared web hosting service makes the ideal form of web hosting for a beginner looking to get started properly with web hosting because the low pricing coupled with the generous resource assignments means that shared hosting can offer good value for money when compared to other forms of web hosting. Although shared web hosting isn’t known for its reliability, if you are hosting a mission critical website on such a low end web hosting service then you should maybe consider using a more stable web hosting service, even though it will mean paying more.
