A Comprehensive Analysis Of Shared Web Hosting

Choosing the right web hosting service is a crucial part of running an online business, because it will directly affect the productivity of your business. The first step in building an online business, once you have a registered and active domain, is to decide what type of web hosting you will be using. One of the most popular types of web hosting is shared hosting, as it is said to be a more appealing option than dedicated hosting. For this reason, it is imperative to conduct a thorough analysis of the benefits and disadvantages of shared web hosting.

The Price of Shared Web Hosting

Of course price is always at the top of the list when considering a new product or service. As a consumer, you would like to know that you are indeed going to be receiving your money’s worth. When it comes to price, shared hosting definitely carries the advantage. Customers receive discounted rates in comparison to other hosting options because only a minimal portion of the server is utilized by the client.

Since the hosting company does not need to provide a lot of server space, the price is therefore more affordable. Overall, shared hosting is definitely worth the money and should be considered as a viable option for any small business owner looking to run their own website.

The Features of Shared Hosting

Even though the price is lower, you still receive customer support, so you don’t have to worry about being “left in the dark” if you experience any technical difficulties. Since shared hosting companies know just how important customer satisfaction is in a highly competitive market, most companies offer a guarantee of quality assurance. Shared hosting also provides the user with access to features such as multiple e-mail addresses, and PHP assistance. It is also an excellent option for technical “newbies” because you do not need to have any experience with server management or hosting in general.

The Disadvantages of Shared Hosting

Even with all of the benefits shared hosting offers, the are some aspects of shared hosting that may be considered disadvantages by some consumers. The most significant disadvantage of shared hosting would have to be the reduced level of security. This elevated security risk stems from the fact that you will be sharing a server with other users.  Another problem with shared hosting is limited resources, since there are other people using the same server, you will like experience some restrictions. You may want to consider another option if your website has a high amount of traffic routinely.  Also with shared hosting you often do not have permission to install programs, since the server is maintained by another  company. However, since multiple servers are at your disposal, it may not be difficult to find the desired program or plugin for your website.

Making The Decision

After considering the advantages and disadvantages of shared hosting, many people base their decision upon their needs. For most individuals, shared hosting provides everything needed to run a website from home. However, if you are planning on building a very large website with high traffic and greater needs, then you may want to consider dedicated hosting, or even co-located hosting with your own private server.

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Dec 18, 2009 : Shared Hosting No responses yet

Three Things That are Not Guaranteed on a Shared Server

The shared server represents a popular type of web hosting that is able to accommodate the needs of many individuals and online businesses.  Shared hosting refers to an arrangement where customers share space and bandwidth on a server.  It is pretty straightforward and typically comes included with desirable features such as multiple email accounts, webmail access and e-commerce solutions equipped shopping carts, SSL support, marketing tools and much more.  This environment is in high demand and actually acts as the vehicle most companies use to get their business online.  Perhaps its greatest advantage is a cost efficiency that allows almost anyone to build a web presence at what has become a very affordable price.  Because there are also a few drawbacks that deserve mentioning, the purpose of this article is to educate by letting you know some of the things you cannot count on when it comes to a shared server.

1.) Superb Performance

While many businesses start out on a shared hosting platform, once they began to establish themselves and their sites grow, that shared server just may become inadequate and insufficient for their needs.  One of the main reasons this occurs is due to the mere nature of the environment.  Because the server could actually contain data for hundreds or even thousands of websites, there is a great chance that the activities of other customers could result in problems with your site.  One of the most common ailments is slow response times that leave your website suffering from performance issues.  For example, if one site on the server all of sudden needs additional bandwidth, that demand could actually threaten the stability of every other website in the environment.  All it takes is a single website to slow down activity on the entire server.

2.) Continuous Availability

A slow server can result in lost traffic as visitors tend to stay away from sites that perform sluggishly.  A surefire way to send them scrambling to the competition is downtime, which is far more likely in this environment than a dedicated server.  Downtime is a business killer because in the eyes of the visitor, it tarnishes the company’s credibility.  You can determine just how much a shared server is costing you by checking your traffic statistics on a regular basis.  A good web stat utility will show you just how fast visitors are leaving your site due to slow response times or unavailability.

3.) Dependable Security

The security on a shared server also becomes questionable once a website starts to grow.  Even though respectable web hosting providers take various steps to make sure customers are running their sites on a secure platform, the sharing aspect deems your website and all the data it contains vulnerable to security issues.  There is a chance that you never encounter such problems in this environment, but if you are running mission-critical operations and e-commerce transactions, hosting on a shared server may not be the best move.

Shared hosting has its advantages, but the issues of stability, availability and security can turn out to be huge disadvantages as your site grows.  VPS and dedicated hosting are the two most logical options you need to consider once your website reaches this point.

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Oct 23, 2009 : Shared Hosting No responses yet

Migrating from Shared Hosting to VPS

Many customers are interested in upgrading from a shared hosting account to a VPS, but they are often uncertain on how their website will perform in the virtual environment.  While we can tell you that a better performance is almost guaranteed, there are also a couple of factors that must be considered to ensure a successful deployment.  This article will discuss some key areas you need to take into account before abandoning your existing shared hosting arrangement.

Control Panel Software

The control panel is one of the most important features in any type of hosting solution and VPS is no different.  Most shared hosting providers use popular applications like cPanel and Plesk. thus if you want the benefit of a smooth transition, you may want to look for a VPS plan that comes with the same control panel you were using previously.  Since you are already familiar with the software, you can get settled in quickly and have little to no trouble managing your account.

Guaranteed RAM

In the shared hosting environment, you don’t have to worry much about RAM.  Even though you must share this resource other customers and have it capped at a certain level, most hosting companies tend to provide you with more than enough.  This is not the case with VPS hosting because in most instances, you get what you pay for.  However, it is critical to make sure you understand the amount of RAM you are allocated as memory is one of the most important factors to consider for a virtual private server.  Without enough of it, you will likely notice that many of your services often fail and your entire site runs slow.

Basic Computing and Server Knowledge

Managing a VPS account is notably easier than keeping up a dedicated server.  At the same time, it does require a bit of technical knowledge on your part, which could be a challenge depending on your experience.  For example, if you choose a plan based on the Linux or Unix platform, it would be wise to learn a few basic commands so that you will be able to perform configurations by yourself.  This cannot be stressed enough because most hosting firms will not be willing to help you optimize your VPS whether you are engaged in managed service agreement or not.

Cost of Service

Another factor you must consider before signing up for a VPS hosting account is the overall cost of service.  While this type of solution is generally marketed as affordable, you should know that it is often considerably more expensive than your typical shared hosting plan.  In fact, a VPS package could end up costing you more than $100 per month depending on the provider.  With asking prices like this, you may be inclined to pay a few more dollars for a dedicated server or decide that virtualization is just too costly for your budget.

Conclusion

Upgrading to a VPS is a major move that should not be taken lightly.  When considering all the challenges, you might conclude like many others that shared hosting is the easiest and most affordable way to get your site up and running.  That is not to take away from the power of VPS because it makes an ideal solution for those who warrant the need and are serious about their web presence.

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Oct 15, 2009 : Shared Hosting No responses yet

Can You Run a CMS on a Shared Server?

For years, many have suggested that webmasters run their CMS software on a dedicated or virtual private server opposed to a shared hosting platform.  However, that hasn’t stopped shared hosts from offering Joomla, Drupal, PHP Nuke and a host of other popular content management systems.  While most claim to offer CMS-friendly solutions, many customers learn the hard way that these shared environments don’t always offer a level of stability they require with their content-rich websites.

Improvements in Shared Hosting

A large number of today’s shared hosting packages have features and services that are a great improvement over what was available two or three years ago.  Web hosting firms finally came to the realization that static pages could only do so much and web 2.0 applications were the direction of the future.  For instance, most hosts now provide their customers with access to powerful features such as server-side programming languages and databases, things that were off limits not too long ago.  These packages provide you with much greater control than in past.  In addition, hosting companies have embraced the multiple domain concept, thus allowing you to run several websites on a single account with relative efficiency.  Such improvements are certainly noteworthy, but they are enough to handle the power of a CMS?

CMS-friendly Qualities

The truth is that you can indeed run a CMS on a shared hosting platform.  In fact, many of today’s Drupal and Joomla sites are thriving in this environment.  The key is knowing what to look for a shared hosting package.

Language Support – Most content management systems are written in the PHP programming language.  Therefore, you will need a web host that either supports PHP or the specifc language the software is written in on their server.  Also keep in mind that there is a significant difference in PHP4 and PHP5 when it comes to certain CMS platforms.

Database Support – Databases are critical for a CMS as they are responsible for blog entries, user data and other information related to your website.  Therefore, you will need a shared hosting provider that supports SQL databases, preferably MySQL.  It would also be a good idea to find out how many databases are included in the package, how large they are allowed to be and so forth.  Should you decide to install a forum or shopping cart later on down the road, additional databases would definitely come in handy.

Storage Space – Just as you need enough capacity on your local hard disk to store software, documents and music files, adequate web space is needed to store your templates, website files and databases.  A content-rich site generally requires more space than the typical website so it is vital to make sure a shared host provides enough for your storage needs.

Although you are likely to get a better performance out of a VPS or dedicated server, in most cases, a shared server can be sufficient for running a CMS.  The ease of use and vast improvements in this environment makes it far more desirable for the less experienced user.   Factor in cost and you have plenty of reasons to maintain your content on a shared hosting platform.

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Aug 28, 2009 : Shared Hosting No responses yet

Is Shared Exchange Hosting Really Sufficient?

Communication and collaboration became far more seamless with the introduction of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.  With a hosted solution, this product makes email management simple and efficient, providing for increased business productivity and improved customer relationships.  Similar to many hosted solutions, there are a couple of ways to run a Microsoft Exchange Server.  One of the most common involves a shared server.

The Benefits of Shared Exchange

In recent times, numerous companies have emerged to provide large Exchange infrastructures capable of meeting the needs of thousands of users.  These firms offer simple solutions geared towards individuals and small businesses who desire all the benefits, but simply cannot afford to host an Exchange Server internally.  Their offerings are generally affordable with great features and adequate storage for each user account.  This type of service allows the small business to take advantage of the benefits typically enjoyed by larger enterprises. With service charged on a fixed fee, there will be no surprises on your bill for hardware upgrades or ongoing maintenance.

Potential Drawbacks

While shared hosted Exchange offers many benefits, it also has its share of disadvantages.  Similar to the websites in a shared web hosting environment, the mail accounts for a company’s employees are stored in conjunction with other customers on the provider’s network.  In fact, there is a great chance that your accounts could be allocated over a number of different servers, a factor that could result in lengthy delivery delays.  For the most part, shared hosted Exchange platforms are one-size-fits-all solutions that give you little to no control over how the messaging system is configured.  If you run across a nice tool that you feel would integrate well with Exchange, it may be prudent to set those plans to the side because you will not even be able to install it on the server.  Furthermore, if you want to incorporate a more efficient spam filter or integrate a certain protocol, forget it about because those options are not available to you either.

Another knock on shared Exchanged hosting platforms is that most of them are lacking in essential features.  One of them is single sign-on.  In the traditional Exchange environment, users are able to log in to both their AD (Active Directory) and email system with a single password, thus providing convenient access to important data and applications.  This type of integration usually is not available on a shared hosted Exchange platform.  Such an exclusion could be a considerable disadvantage for many organizations, especially those subject to IT audits.   Other drawbacks are related to how customers are limited to simple web control panels with no access to the integrated and supported management tools available for Exchange and AD.  These factors can greatly hinder the simplicity and flexibility Microsoft Exchange offers.

Conclusion

Shared Exchange hosting makes an ideal solution for companies who cannot afford the costs and complexities of maintaining the server software and hardware behind it.  Though it can be viewed as a more affordable and user-friendly option, the drawbacks limit its potential for those who require more control and flexibility.  If this sounds like your business, you may be better suited with a dedicated Exchange service or a privately hosted solution, with the latter being able to offer the perfect compromise.

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Aug 25, 2009 : Shared Hosting No responses yet