Shared Hosting vs. Virtual Hosting
So what is better – shared web hosting or virtual web hosting? In fact, many may be wondering what the difference is between shared and virtual hosting. Whether you refer to a certain sector of web hosting as shared hosting or you prefer the more old school term, virtual hosting, it’s all the same concept wherein you pay to use or rent a certain portion of a server’s capabilities and storage. Shared hosting is the most typical route for companies to host their web sites simply for the fact that it’s a big leap from paying someone to use their server services to buying and maintaining all the technology involved in your own set up. In fact unless you are planning on running a mega-site with extra heavy traffic and/or enormous content, and you have the financial means to pay for the manpower to manage your own system, then there are few considerations outside of who are the best shared web hosts out there.
Since you typically share your server space with anywhere from 50 to 1,000 of your web host’s other clients, it’s crucial to find a company who keeps close tabs on the sharing of bandwidth and storage. A neglectful company who allows others to hog up your fair share or who overloads a server with too many clients could literally cause your web site to come to a screeching halt. Even a slow loading web site will send your users searching elsewhere.
Another possible pitfall to be aware of in shared hosting is the bad company of your server neighbors whose questionable content or spamming practices may get your perfectly legit web site blocked. The best web hosting providers are aware of web site content and prevent the problem of guilt by association, whereas free web hosting companies are famous for not monitoring content and becoming a haven for spammers and phishing schemes.
In addition to keeping a close eye on usage rates and content, a good shared server web host should provide security measures, redundancy, reliable and updated hardware and software, and if possible, 24/7 customer support, or at least monitoring. As reviewed by the website ‘100 Best’ the top rated shared web host is BlueHost for a combination of high-tech equipment, top-notch monitoring, and competitive pricing.
Click here for the best shared web hosting by BlueHost!
