Shared Hosting: The Solution To Host Your Site At A Low Price

Easy to manage and inexpensive, discover how shared hosting can be the solution to host your website simply!

Among the main types of web hosting, shared servers are surely the most widespread. These are not necessarily the subscriptions that offer the most performance, but they have many other advantages, which we will discover throughout this article. What is shared hosting worth compared to a VPS or a dedicated server? 

According to what criteria should it be selected? We will answer all the questions you have, and we will give you our top 3 of the best shared hosting solutions.

Quick access (Summary):

• Shared server: what is this type of web hosting?

• Why choose shared web hosting? 2 advantages

• How to choose shared hosting?

• What type of site is shared hosting?

• Our top 3 of the best-shared hosting

Shared server: what is this type of web hosting?

Concretely, everything there is to know about shared (or shared) hosting lies in its name. With this type of hosting, your site shares a physical server with one or more other websites. If you're not a hosting expert, this probably doesn't speak to you, but it does matter. To understand what changes, you have to see how this type of server works.

Every website on the Internet is stored (or "hosted") on a server, a kind of powerful computer. This is how it becomes publicly available for Internet users. When someone types the URL of a website into their browser, the browser uses that address to determine where the site is stored.

Then the browser requests information about the website from the server. The server provides all the necessary data and the web page appears in the browser. After that, the user can interact with the site by navigating to other pages, clicking on links, filling in forms, etc.

With shared hosting, one server stores all files from multiple sites at once and is responsible for providing information about them. It is the opposite of a dedicated server which is a server that hosts a single specific website/service.

Since sites on a shared hosting server consume fewer resources than those on dedicated servers, shared hosting plans tend to be much cheaper. 

The host who owns the server also usually takes responsibility for maintaining it, which means less work for you. However, there are also downsides, as sites can sometimes find themselves competing for server resources.

Nonetheless, shared hosting plans are a popular choice for beginners looking to host their first sites, and for good reason. Let's find out in more detail why.

Why choose shared web hosting? 2 advantages

The price of shared accommodation.

Of course, money is always the center of the debate. And that's good since shared hosting is the most low-cost solution on the market. The fact that the server is shared with other users has a lot to do with it. It is easily possible to find solutions for less than €5 per month, which is relatively very accessible. 

Almost all hosts offer offers around these prices, but you also have to pay attention to the quality of service and the responsiveness of their technical teams. You still entrust them with your website!

Easy to use and maintain.

Another great thing about shared hosting is that you don't need to be a web expert to use it. Unlike a dedicated server, you don't have to manage it all, the host already takes care of it. You just need to get familiar with the cPanel interface to administer your domain name, databases, email addresses, etc.

In terms of maintenance, your host still takes care of everything. But, once again, you have to pay attention to the quality of the service offered by your host.

How to choose shared hosting?

Choose the hosting plan that fits your budget and the features you need.

Compared to other types of hosting, shared hosting is clearly the cheapest. Either way, it's totally logical. As a reminder, the server on which your site is located is shared with several other users, so costs are reduced. But this advantage is also a disadvantage. Effectively, all server users will share server resources, including storage space, bandwidth, etc.

So check what your budget is and the features you need for your site. For example, many shared hosting plans come with a free domain name, making it easy to set up the site. 

You can also add one or more email addresses with it, for free or for a small additional cost depending on the host. All these small features will depend on the hosts and the packages that they will offer you. We could say that these are only details, but they can make a difference.

Therefore, if you don't have a huge amount of money to spend on your website, or if you're just starting out and looking for a not-too-complicated solution, shared hosting might just be the best option for you.

Are you comfortable with the technique?

If you are a beginner, taking care of the management of a server is not something to consider. Besides, it can annoy you even if you are not a novice. It takes skill and time.

But, with a shared hosting plan, that part is usually taken care of for you. This means that even if your technical skills are not high level, you will have enough time to focus on the site itself while someone else takes care of your hosting. 

But with other hosting plans like dedicated hosting, you'll be responsible for managing the server, or else you'll have to pay your host to do it.

How big is your website?

The bigger your website, the more resource-intensive it will be. And since you share the same server with several other users on shared hosting, you might encounter problems. 

For example, you will encounter storage space problems, because all sites on the server will share this space. And some sites on the server can quickly push your website off due to their growth.

Also, an increase in traffic to one of the server's websites may impact your website. This can overload the server and cause your website to crash. Your site is also more prone to malware attacks on a shared hosting plan, as there is less security. 

Therefore, if you expect heavy traffic to your website soon, it might be worth considering trying other hosting plans like a dedicated server or a VPS.

Takes into account the constraints of shared hosts.

Depending on the company providing you with the hosting service, the constraints may vary. In general, most of them prevent a single site on the server from monopolizing too many resources since it does not play anyone's game.

Although this may seem like a benefit to users, it can affect your site if you don't know what you really need for your site. Some limitations you may need to check when choosing shared hosting are RAM limits, security, storage restrictions, or bandwidth.

Now that you know what to watch out for when choosing a shared web host, you can decide if this is the best option for your website. But don't just look at the benefits. We must also consider the disadvantages of this solution. Examples include security or limited resources.

Shared hosting or VPS?

This is the type of question that you can clearly ask yourself when you are looking for a host for your website.

A VPS is in a way a high-end shared hosting. As for a shared server, the space is shared between different users. The difference is that in a VPS, sharing is achieved by creating virtual servers within the base server itself. 

Thus, security is of higher quality, as well as performance.

However, the price is correspondingly a bit higher.

Dedicated server or shared hosting?

Then, a slightly less common question, should you choose shared hosting or a dedicated server. It is quite rare to ask this question since these are 2 clearly opposed solutions. Suppose a server is a building. For a shared hosting package, you rent an apartment, while for a dedicated server, you own the building.

What type of site is shared hosting?

In fact, you can host the site of your choice on any host, it's just not recommended! In the context of shared or shared hosting, it is preferable to avoid storing a resource-intensive site there. 

No need to insist again on this point, you understood that it was not necessarily the strong point. 

However, this does not mean that you should avoid shared hosts at all costs. This type of hosting is very suitable for small to medium websites that have limited needs.

So, here are some examples of websites that we could host without worries about this type of solution:

• A showcase site with relatively low traffic, and less than 50,000 monthly visitors. This type of site is not the neediest since the number of interactions is quite limited and the level of security required is not necessarily very high.

• A blog that attracts relatively few visitors. We can talk about the same figures as for the showcase site or even a little more traffic. Again, the needs are not huge and a dedicated server would be a bit excessive.

• Small e-commerce sites. You have to be more careful than for a blog, of course. Indeed, if your site does not work and is inaccessible, your turnover and your brand image will be impacted. For our 2 other examples too, but to a lesser extent. In addition, you have to be on your guard in terms of security, since your customers will enter rather important information when buying your products. Thus, you can opt for shared hosting if you have a small online store, with a limited number of products and fairly low traffic.

Is it possible to host a WordPress site on a shared server?

Absolutely! Finally, a site running under WordPress remains a website. So there is no problem hosting it on a shared platform. Again, this will depend on your site's needs. If your WP site has a traffic of 100 visitors per month, obviously, it makes sense to opt for a shared plan. 

On the other hand, if your site attracts more than 500,000 visitors per month, shared hosting is a very bad idea.

What is practical with hosting WordPress sites is that it has been the most popular CMS in the world for several years. Thus, it is not uncommon to see web hosts offer specialized WordPress offers, with servers optimized for this type of site. 

In general, in this case, it is shared accommodation, which is reserved for “small” websites. You should always pay attention to this aspect when subscribing to a hosting package.

Our top 5 of the best-shared hosting.

As explained above, what really makes the difference with this type of hosting is the quality of service delivered by your provider. It is therefore important to take this into account when choosing your plan.

Here are, in our eyes, 5 of the most relevant shared hosting on the market.

1. Bluehost

Bluehost is a reputable provider and a popular choice for hosting, even among more experienced users. It offers decent speed and uptime and is one of the companies officially recommended by WordPress.org (although you can host any site on its servers).

Bluehost’s Basic shared hosting plan starts at just $2.75 per month for a single website and includes the following:

• Unmetered bandwidth

• 50 GB storage

• Free one-year domain registration

• Up to 25 subdomains

More expensive plans, such as Choice Plus, give you unlimited websites, storage, and domains for $5.45 per month. Also, you’ll receive unmetered bandwidth, spam protection, and site backups.

Another advantage of Bluehost is that its services are scalable. You can always start with the Basic plan and easily upgrade when you need to.

2. Hostinger

Hostinger is arguably the most price-competitive provider on this list. Although we experienced small performance issues with this platform, it’s still a reliable choice for low-traffic websites.

Here’s what you get when signing up for the Single Shared Hosting plan, which starts at just $1.99 per month:

• 1 email account on your domain

• 100 GB bandwidth

• Free SSL certificate

• 2 subdomains

• The Litespeed Cache WordPress plugin

Note that if you want a free domain, you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium Shared Hosting plan. It’s still affordable, starting from just $2.89 per month. Plus, it also provides 100 subdomains and unlimited websites, emails, and bandwidth.

3. A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is another trustworthy provider that delivers one of the fastest services on the market. We took this company for a test drive and were pleasantly surprised by the speed its servers provide.

Shared hosting plans from this provider start at $2.99 per month for a single website. The basic Startup plan includes:

• 100 GB storage

• Up to 5 databases

• Unlimited bandwidth

• Free site migration

If you want to avail yourself of A2 Hosting’s ultra-fast technology, the Turbo Boost plan comes highly recommended. It includes unlimited sites, storage, and databases, giving you a near-high-end experience for just $9.99 per month.

4. HostGator

HostGator is a competitively priced provider that offers excellent customer support around the clock. We tested its services ourselves and were impressed by the fast turnaround.

This platform’s shared plans start from $2.75 per month for a single website. They all come with a $100 credit towards Google AdWords and Bing Ads, which is an excellent bonus for start-ups.

The entry-level Hatchling plan includes:

• Free one-year domain registration

• Free SSL certificate

• Unmetered bandwidth

• Unmetered storage

• Free website transfer

The Business plan comes with additional benefits such as a free dedicated IP address and extra search engine optimization (SEO) tools, starting from just $5.95 per month.

5. GreenGeeks

GreenGeeks is a unique platform that proudly delivers eco-friendly hosting services. Although we found its performance inconsistent at times, it’s still a reliable option with excellent speed and high security.

This host’s shared plans start from $2.95 for a single website. The Lite plan packs impressive features for an entry-level service, such as:

• Unlimited storage

• Unlimited bandwidth

• Free SSL certificate

• Free one-year domain registration

• Nightly backups

• Free content delivery network (CDN)

• Unlimited email accounts on your domain

• Unlimited databases

• LightSpeed Cache

If you want to double your plan’s performance quality, it’s worth considering the Pro plan, which starts at $5.95 per month.